========================================================= Important Subscriber Information:Mark,
It sounds like what you are looking for is the standardized Nomenclature system which is built into Past Perfect. It is a system used to standardized object terms (and spellings) not only within an organization but also between institutions. Depending on what version of Past Perfect you are using you will have Nomenclature 2.0 or 3.0 built in. There is a nomenclature discussion board where you can post questions and get more instruction through AASLH (and you don’t have to be an AASLH member to use it!) It can be found http://aaslhcommunity.org/nomenclature. I would be happy to talk to you more about Past Perfect search terms ---you can also sort items by people, subject, classification or search terms in addition to object name. Since it sounds like you are just starting out in Past Perfect I would encourage you to use nomenclature from the beginning. Cleaning it up afterwards is possible, but it is time consuming.
Kristie D.
Kristie Dobbins, Curator
Toy & Miniature Museum of Kansas City
phone: 816.333.9328 • fax/info: 816.333.2055
5235 Oak Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64112
www.toyandminiaturemuseum.org
•••From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mark Turdo
Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 10:50 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Objects, OPAC, and PastPerfect
Greetings All,
I am working on a project to enter 100 years' worth of collections information into our PastPerfect database. Along with that we're trying to standardize our approach to the database including how we organize and search information.
One of the questions that has come up is how best to use the search terms field to help link related items within the collection. In the past we have used proper nouns in the search terms field (e.g. American Red Cross) to link objects, archival materials, books, and photographs together. However, it's recently been suggested that using an Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) would be better. The argument for this approach is that it would standardize the copious terms we have for the same things (some localities have several spellings each used at different times), it would bring our database in line with the local library's database (who also has a local history book collection), and ultimately it might bring us in line with other collecting agencies when all of our collections information is fully available online and we're operating under web 3.0 (which may or may not be a ways off).
In researching this possibility I have found that museums are using OPAC for their library and archival collections, which makes sense since it was designed for those collections. However, I have not found OPAC is also being used to search object and photographic collections. In fact I haven't seen any discussion of a generally accepted approach to object catalogs and search terms. Each institution seems to create their own.
Is anyone using OPAC for all of their collections (beyond just books and manuscripts)? Are there are any reasons not to use OPAC for object collections? How does your museum organize and use the search terms field, if at all? Is there a generally accepted approach to search terms?
Any help you could offer would be most appreciated.
Thanks In Advance,
Mark A. Turdo, IMLS Project Manager
Andover (MA) Historical Society========================================================= 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).
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).
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).