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Thu, 9 Mar 2006 01:56:45 -0500 |
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Eileen,
I can relate to your frustrations! I am a volunteer at the museum in my
hometown and have my M.A. in Public History, specializing in museums. The
museum began in the 1970s and their original collection information was
recorded on index card with a category, i.e. BZ (Business) and an object
number, i.e. 967. In addition to this card, the year, the accession
number, and object number was recorded into a separate binder with the
donor's name and a description of the object. Very view of the artifacts
were physically labeled. Eventually the museum got a computer and started
cataloguing all new artifacts using the software Past Perfect. During my
two internships I was responsible for taking the old cards, match them up
with the artifacts and add them to the computer database. A daunting task
that is still not complete 3 years later. I can tell you this program has
been a lifesaver, it has also gone through several updates since the museum
started using the program in the late 1980s (I believe). If you can
convince your director/board of directors to spend the money on computer
and the program, I highly recommend it for your sanity. You can do so much
with this program including making reference to your catalogue #, we did
the same thing. There is area for donor info, as well as an area where you
can download a picture of the object into the program. The database is
searchable in several ways, such as accession #, donor, artifact, etc. You
can also keep track of loans (in/out) which may help with your other
problem.I suggest that you visit the website (if you are a member of AASLH
there is a discount): http://www.museumsoftware.com/pastperfect4.htm
Good luck, I hope everything goes well!
Julie
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