DJK, What kind of museum, what kind of collections, and what kind of information do you want to track? Accessions, loans, exhibit uses, catalogs, conservation information and schedules, donors, images? The type of collections that you have and what you want to use the software for make a big difference in the software that will most effectively fit your needs. There is a wide variety of off-the-shelf collections software available or you can design your own interface with something like Access, Paradox, FoxPro, dBase, etc. Whatever you choose, addressing a variety of questions in advance - what are your needs, your goals, your budget, how many users, how computer literate/comfortable are the users, etc. will save you a lot of headaches, money, and time in the long run. I can say this with conviction because we are in the middle of that same process here at VMNH. Finding software for natural history collections is especially troublesome so if that is what you have and you have some questions about what we have found out already feel free to contact me off-list. Dr. Elizabeth A. Moore Curator of Collections and Archaeology Virginia Museum of Natural History 1001 Douglas Avenue Martinsville, VA 24112 [log in to unmask] ---------- > From: djk <[log in to unmask]> > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: collections software search > Date: Friday, January 23, 1998 5:44 PM > > I am a new employee of a small museum. My job is to take care of all the > computer business. We're looking for a software package for our > collections. We have Access, but it turned out to be a 'watered down > version' (the one that comes with "MS Office Small Buisness Edition") No > wonder it was so cheap!!! Does anybody know about such software? (We're > very poor also) > Thanks...(p.s. I love my new job in the museum!!! :-) > dk