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  From: Christina Simpson <[log in to unmask]>

I have had a request from one of my co-workers to ask the list members
about their experiences with barcodes for tracking collections items.
She would like to know:
a)  which institutions, if any, are using a barcode system, and
b)  what they think of the system.

If you have any experience with barcoding your collections, please let me
know and I will pass your information on to Barbara.

Thank you.

Christina Simpson
Co-ordinator of Evaluation/Results Monitoring
Glenbow Museum
Calgary, Alberta  Canada
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Christina,

The Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney, has used a barcoding system to
track object locations since about 1987. Barcoding has served us very well
indeed and I can't imagine trying to keep up to date and accurate location
records without bar coding.

Until recently our barcoding software was Dbase based, but to save down loading
time and other minor difficulties, we are now writing a new revised program in
Rbase for Windows (the software in which the rest of our collections management
system is written). We attach barcodes to object labels, tied to the object in
much the same way many museums label their objects. In addition we write the
object number on each object. We can read and update object location
information either by scanning the bar code or by keying in the object number.
Either way, this provides an immediate record of an object's location change
etc. We also have the facility to bar code storage locations. We can, of
course, make a variety of reports and perform stock takes much more easily than
we could without this system.

I strongly recommend barcoding, or other newer electronic location control
systems, for use in museums.

Sally Fletcher
Senior Registrar
Australian National Maritime Museum
Ph: +61 2 552 7777  Fax: +61 2 552 2318
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