Paul, I
might mention that DIY collections management can be wonderful as long as the
developer doesn’t move on. If you’re left with a complex system and
no way to contact the designer when it breaks, you’ve got big problems.
Anne
ANNE T
LANE, COLLECTIONS MANAGER
THE
CHARLOTTE MUSEUM OF HISTORY
WHERE HISTORY HAS A HOME
3500
Shamrock Drive
Charlotte
NC 28215
tel
704-568-1774, ext 110
fax
704-566-1817
FEATURED
EXHIBITS:
Carolina Mountains - Photography of Margaret Morley
Charlotte Stories - Our Collections, Your Treasures
From: Museum
discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Paul Pipik
Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2009
12:50 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: information
management in museums
What I have found in my
internships is that IT systems at museums fall mainly into four categories:
administration, contact management, collection management and financial
management. A fifth that is coming on fast is internet presence.
Admin would encompass the the general task of getting the museum staff
connected to each other and the various operational system they would need to
use each day and encompasses the basic setup and maintenance of networks,
security, internet access and all the accompanying hardware. Most
institutions with the resources to do so hire specialists to keep these systems
running, or engage a pro on a contract or consulting basis to do so. Many
museums probably do this using their own (non-IT) staff for one reason or
another, but it seems to me a special set of skills that are best left to
trained professionals since the services are critical to the proper functioning
of the staff.
Contact management is the process of keeping track of museum membership,
visitors, volunteers and donors. It is key to maintain a solid
understanding of the institution's constituency, both to maintain attendance
and encourage participation, financial or otherwise. This is usually
conducted using a specialized system such as Past Perfect, but can also be home
grown using standard commercial database tools-especially if there is an IT pro
on the staff. There are many opinions about which is best. Canned
applications are more expensive, but usually well-designed to perform all the
necessary functions out of the box and have the advantage of large programming
staffs supporting them. Home grown apps in this area are usually based on
fairly limited technology like MS Access, are rarely well-documented and
usually rest on the shoulders of a single person whose presence is necessary to
maintain or modify the code.
At a high level, collections management is contact management for your
artifacts, documents and images. There are quite a few commercial
products for these needs as well. Past Perfect is quite common in this
area, but there are others. Programming this type of application in house
is probably much more challenging than the contact management piece because it
incorporates quite a bit of knowledge unique to curators and conservators and
can require interaction with outside databases, the internet etc. DIY is
pretty hard and probably requires a very talented programmer(s) and a lot of
money.
These systems are engineered for use by museum professionals, not technicians
and are reasonably easy to understand and use by the layman who has limited IT
knowledge and skills. I have not only used most of the functions in Past
Perfect, but taught secretaries and volunteers to use them without undue
strain.
Financial management systems track income and outflow of funds via standard
accounting processes. Smaller institutions almost always use a product
like Quick Books because it is comprehensive, fairly easy to learn and not too
pricey. It is also well maintained and keeps in step with changes in
accounting rules, tax laws and so forth. These systems require an
understanding of accounting, but are designed as tools and don't require
IT-specific training.
Finally, many institutions are now expanding their presence into the virtual
world, especially through the use of the internet, specifically with web sites,
but now including so-called social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace
as well. There is a lot of flak around suggesting you can do these tasks
easily and many job posting are asking for people who can develop and publish
information on the internet. In my opinion, if you are thinking about any
IT training, this is the best place to go. It seems more and more museums
want you to come in the door with these skills while they are willing to train
on the other systems they may use for internal operations.
On Thu, Oct 15, 2009 at 10:31 AM, Michele Sabol <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Hi,
I am a student in an MA program for museum studies. I am currently
doing an internship where my main responsibility is information
management and accountability using TMS.
I do not have an IT background. However, most of the professional
experience that I have includes data entry and info management using
various database systems. I have experience in medical records, and
payroll using both HR systems and payroll data systems, among others.
What type of positions if any in the museum field consist of manly
information management? Is it necessary to have an IT degree for these
types of positions?
I am concentrating in museum registration. However, I am struggling to
get experience in the object care side of the job. I am not even sure
that it is for me. However, I am a strong advocate about record
keeping and the importance it has to collections care.
If any one has any advice, it is much appreciated.
Sincerely,
Michele Sabol
Graduate Student, MA Museum Professions
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