For $100 you may do just as well to get yourself an old copy of microsoft
works for win3.1.  msworks has got a simple database, spreadsheet and word
processor all in one package.  of course that means you will have to come up
with the fields and tables for your database design yourself.  and as for
"user friendliness", it's hard to say.  the trouble is, collection management
systems tend to be quite complex.  i know that everyone wants to computerize
and I would love for everyone to computerize their offices, but if you don't
have any money in the budget to do so then you would be better off getting the
most efficient paper system you can while pushing for increase in your
technology budget.  when planning your budget you need to think about hardware
as well as software.  if all you have is a 386 then you should add in at least
$3000 for a new pentium running windows 95.  then do some research to find out
which collections system will suit your needs and add it's cost to your
budget.  If you figure the time it would take you in designing your own system
in some database program (i.e. Access, dBase, etc) including the learning
curve, you will go far beyond the cost of a small collections management
program.  for 2000 objects, purchasing a pre-packaged program seems more
appropriate.

Gary Acord
Acord Information Management
[log in to unmask]

-----Original Message-----
From:   Museum discussion list  On Behalf Of Kari Laurent
Sent:   Thursday, May 15, 1997 7:34 PM
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        request for software info

I need all the advise I can get!

Our system is 386 win3.1.  I'm looking for a database for a small collection
(under 2000) for registration and cataloguing.  What I would like is
something incredibly user friendly with several data fields plus unlimited
space that you can see on the moniter (i.e. not scrolling) with word
processing capability for additional info.

OR -- Would it be easier to use two databases and link them?

I have $100 in the budget for this.  Is that reasonable, or am I insane?

Please reply on or off list, and PLEASE dont be too technical!

Thank you!
Kari Laurent ([log in to unmask]), Collections Manager
Cave Creek Museum, P.O. Box 1, Cave Creek, AZ  85327