Max van Balgooy wrote: > it certainly makes it more difficult for researchers, who > are left searching through different databases, each with different "rules". > > I do encourage a single database for all collections, no matter the format, > but the goal has been elusive. Max, I wholeheartedly agree. But hang on, it's coming. I always did use a single cataloguing system, and it isn't that hard. Where most stumble is in realizing that object names (as found in Nomenclature or other object based lists) do not supply subject based retrieval. One has to use both, and with modern databases that is so simple. Last year in Polk Co., Oregon, an IMLS funded project developed a subject heading system that was created to be adaptable to any locality or type of collection. Four libraries and two museums in Polk Co. participated and converted their local history materials to the system. We're hoping to present it at the AASLH Annual Meeting next year. A summary follows. The system would use about 3 to 6 data fields of a larger catalog database, depending on the degree of detail you wanted to go to. Obviously, in addition to the subject headings, you would have numerous other data fields to describe the item, name the donor, etc. A good way to build the list of data fields is to use the now ancient book Museum Cataloging In the Computer Age. Chap. 2 has a great list from which to choose those you need for your particular collection. Here's the blurb: ------------------ "The Polk Classification System is a model history classification and processing system developed for a multi-agency, grant funded local history project called the Polk Cooperative History Project. Developed by two veteran public historians, museologist Lucy Sperlin and archivist/librarian Ronald J. Baker, the subject based system is inclusive, expandable, and adaptable to local or regional use in any locality. Its original application was to pamphlet file materials, ephemera, and archival, manuscript, and scrapbook collections, but it can also be used to classify and process photograph, map, and artifact collections in a unified retrieval system. Controlled fields allow for database creation and electronic searchability. The antecedents of the system are rooted both in museum and in library classification systems and make it an ideal one for multi-agency cooperation." -------------------- By spring we should have it as an "off-the-shelf" system with manual, a work forms package, and a model "pathfinder" product (both in paper and on the Web), that can easily be adopted by small institutions with modest resources and limited experience in processing, conservation, cataloging, and indexing. Lucy Sperlin Heritage Management Chico, CA ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . 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).