We use PastPerfect at The Museum of Ashe County History.  The program is
pretty intuitive, but I recommend you read the manual all the way through
before starting with entries.  Also, PastPerfect has training DVD's that
will walk you through the entry process, and the telephone help and online
help services have been very forthcoming when we have called on them.

 

The first entries you need to make are the names, addresses and other
information for your Contacts list.  You should enter all your existing
contacts, and then make sure you enter new donors before trying to enter
their accessions.  That way, you will be able to call the donor information
from the list without having to enter it all separately.

 

One of the benefits of an off-the-shelf program is that you don't have to
reinvent the wheel.  The program is built on standard museum practices that
have been tested at other institutions and conform to generally accepted
standards.  If you follow the program, it will keep your wheels between the
white lines.  For example, their advice on three-part registration numbers
is particularly valuable.  It will result in a system that is simple,
functional and familiar to personnel who may come in from other
institutions.

 

Don Long

Curator

The Museum of Ashe County History, Inc.

PO Box 1404

Jefferson, NC 28640

336-846-1904

  _____  

From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Suzanne Soden
Sent: Wednesday, September 02, 2009 1:14 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Small Museum Registration Methods

 

 

I like the book, "Registration Methods for the Small Museum," by Daniel
Reibel.  Its fairly short and easy to read and it discusses the issues you
wrote about.  

 

Suzanne

-----Original Message-----
From: Angela Hoover <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wed, Sep 2, 2009 11:53 am
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Small Museum Registration Methods

Does anyone know of any resources (books, articles, websites) that deal with

creating a numbering system for an already existing museum? 
 
I recently took a job as a catologuer at a museum that has ~5000 items in
its 
collection. They used Filemaker Pro to record information on each item, but
the 
only two pieces of information that were consistently recorded were the
item's 
country of origin and the object name. Half of the items have donor names
and 
dates, while the other half do not. 
 
The museum just obtained PastPerfect software, and I'm at a loss for how to 
begin entering these items! How do I accession these items (especially those

that have no donation date), and what kind of numbering system is ideal for
this 
situation?
 
Thanks in advance!
 
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If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).