Diane, Thanks for the very good explanation of the difference between data bases and collections management systems. I found it helpful and interesting. One point of disagreement - >Why would any sane person want to spend so much time and energy developing a >system when there are very good systems already developed? I chose to hire someone to develop a database on FilemakerPro for me because I work on a Mac. While there are tons of wonderful options for PCs, when I went to AAM in Cleveland and visited every vendor there, there were exactly 2 options for us Mac users. One system was so well hidden that I couldn't find them (not reassuring when thinking about future support) and the other got very bad reviews from the users I polled. Well, come to think of it there was a third option, but no way is my small museum going to spend $20,000 on a collections database. One of the salespersons of the $20,000 system took me aside and suggested I get FilemakerPro. All of the concerns you state are valid, and shared by me. I once swore that I would never build my own database because it is so dependant upon the whims of the person who builds it. Over the past 10 years I've walked into three museums with databases no one knew how to use because the person who developed them had moved away. However, in my current situation, building my own system on FilemakerPro was the best choice. It's an off-the-shelf piece of software which we've modified very little. Anyone who's used Filemaker in any situation should be able to figure it out. There is lots of support for Filemaker here at Penn State, so even if my museum didn't have anyone who knows how to use it, there are people around who do. Plus, it's affordable. What we ended up with is clearly a database, not a collections management system, but it's a step towards a CMS and has helped tremendously in keeping track of the collection. Just my 2 cents from a small museum perspective. Beverly Balger Registrar, Palmer Museum of Art The Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 (814) 865-7672 ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ museum-l.html. 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).