Good Morning Fenton Jeffery,

Between 1995-1997 the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) conducted a
series of reviews of collections management software for museums. As a result
we have published a three volumn set of our Collections Management Software
Review.

The Review contains detailed evaluations of twenty one commercially available
collections management software packages. It outlines the software's
suitability to museum discipline, collections size, museum functions, and
hardware and software environment.  It also analyzes vendor reliability,
support requirements, customization possibilities, costs, and more. The
software evaluations were performed by CHIN staff and a team of museum
professionals, including registrars, curators, and IS staff from all sizes and
disciplines of museums.

Knowing that each museum has different needs, the Review is not meant to be a
recommendation of specific software but a tool for museums looking at moving to
inhouse collections management systems.

We recently developed a training course to assist with the continuing task of
choosing and maintaining collections management software as a one-day course.
This course is now available through subscription over the Internet for
institutions to complete at their own pace as they go through the process of
selecting software. These modules will help you define your requirements, plan,
budget, select and install software, convert data, get your system running, and
ultimately maintain your system. All you need is an internet connection! It's
easy-to-use, it allows you to set your own pace of learning. It also keeps you
in touch with your instructors and other museum professionals through e-mail.

The Collections Management Software Selection Course and the Collections
Management Software Review (on-line) is available for $149 on our Web site by
subscription (www.chin.gc.ca).

Criteria Checklist is meant to identify most functions that can occur in a
collections management system. This checklist contains over 500 functional
requirements from which museums can choose when documenting their own
requirements for a new software system. With changes to reflect individual
circumstances, the criteria checklist will provide a base from which you can
work when defining your needs.
Price: $25.00

If you would like to discuss collections management software or have any
further questions, please feel free to contact me at 1-800-520-2446. For
further information on the software review, as well ordering information,
please visit the CHIN web site at http://www.chin.gc.ca.

Sincerely,
Diane Bowden
Systems Analyst
Technology Assessment
15 Eddy Street, 4th floor
Hull, Quebec
Canada K1A 0M5
telephone: (819) 994-1200
fax: (819) 994-9555
Internet: [log in to unmask]
www.chin.gc.ca
*****************************************************************At 10:07 PM
23/07/99 -0300, you wrote:
>Hello Everyone:
>
>I am on the Board of Directors of a small Community Museum in rural, Prince
>Edward Island.  We have a good collection of artifacts and photographs
>depicting the history of our community, as well as an extensive genealogy
>section.
>
>Now to the help part :-))  We are attempting to computerize the catalogue
>of our collections, and are trying to identify a suitable software product
>to accomplish this.  Can anyone on the group suggest a suitable "Museum
>Database" product (i.e. name of program, where it is available, etc.) for
>this purpose.  We would like to be able to cross-reference our records and
>do useful searching.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  THANKS
>!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>
>
>Fenton Jeffery
>P.O. Box 306
>Alberton, PE  C0B 1B0
>[log in to unmask]
>
>=========================================================
>Important Subscriber Information:
>
>The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
>http://museums.state.nm.us/nmmnh/museum-l.html. You may obtain detailed
>information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message
>to [log in to unmask] The body of the message should read "help"
>(without the quotes).
>
>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).

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://museums.state.nm.us/nmmnh/museum-l.html. You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

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).