The Bowers Museum, like a growing number of Western State museums, uses the
ARGUS Collections Management Software System produced by Questor Systems in
Pasadena. The software was actually developed at the Southwest Museum with
the input of the curatorial staff, Peter Welsh and Steven Le Blanc. Peter
now directs the Heard and Steven left the museum business (sort of) to work
for Questor. The software uses security keys for those who have an account
allowing differing levels of information to be observed. Each field and
screen is tied to the key scheme so that a general user account can be set
to a low level of security and certain screens can be at high level. In
like manner fields on the screens can be designated higher or lower levels
of security. In this manner, a dial-in visitor can be limited to seeing
narrow areas of info, with sensitive material kept only for those on the
staff with a high enough security key.
 
Most museum software packages should have similar type security levels to
help insure privacy where needed and still provide access for visiting
researchers and dial-in visitors. Accession is a Macintosh software system
out of Florida that can provide such security. Probably any software you
consider will have such consideration. These are software packages I am
familiar with and I am in no way endorsing or advertising these products.
Their merits are for the company to promote, not me, and not on the net.
 
Paul Apodaca
Bowers Museum
Santa Ana, CA
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Paul Apodaca
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