Hello Maggie - I've been using Past Perfect Museum software since 2000, and I love it. I had a bit of a learning curve when I first started, as I had no real records of the objects that were transferred to our building. But with their wonderful tech support we figured out a system to combat the lack of records and then be able to smoothly continue that system as it merges into objects that are given directly to us. With 4 catalogs (objects, photos, archive, and library) you have lots of options from general accessioning and identification/location to the ability to make all kinds of reports. There are additional options for bar coding and creating an online catalog of your collection. The other bonus for us was the ability to use it as a membership management system. It keeps track of members, volunteers/hours, fundraising, and more. It's clear in it's typeface -nothing fancy or fussy. I've done years and years of data entry, and this is nicely straightforward and easy to work with....along with their great tech help, of course. In the beginning I was given slides with duplicating numbers that corresponded to carbon paper lists, for my cataloging system. Past Perfect is a gem. Hope this helps. Kim Hanninen Registrar, Dennos Museum Center, TC, MI On Thu, Jul 9, 2015 at 4:25 PM, Maggie <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I work for a small non-profit with an art collection of about 2,000 > objects. We occasionally loan works, and accession several items each year. > We are considering switching our collection management software from > Microsoft Access to PastPerfect as an affordable, out-of-the-box solution. > I wanted to get some thoughts or tips from people who work with > PastPerfect, and see if there are other affordable software recommendations > for a small collection. > > Thanks! > > ========================================================= > 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). > -- Kim H. Hanninen, Registrar Dennos Museum Center 1701 East Front Street Traverse City, Michigan 49686 p 231.995.1574 (direct) p 231.995-1055 f 231-995-1597 [log in to unmask] www.dennosmuseum.org ========================================================= 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).