Hello! I'm hoping that y'all can help out with thoughts and suggestions. I am a lone-arranger (with an awesome volunteer) at a non-profit institution with 150 years worth of history. My department isn't a museum, archive, or library in the traditional sense; we act as all three. We have a large collection of heterogeneous objects including: photographs (from 1860 to today), scrapbooks, an institutional magazine, trophies, blueprints, ephemera, a 1920s library (currently in storage), sports paraphernalia, and archival materials. Over the years, my volunteer has digitized many objects. However, there is neither an asset database nor the necessary back up procedures in place to protect them. This is part of what I'm working on - making sure that we're protected and prepared for the future. Right now, the lost of either of our hard drives would be catastrophic. ;) In 2001, an outside consultant was brought in to inventory and "catalog" the archives. He created a FileMakePro database which never really filled the institution's needs. It was never updated -- and a renovation unhoused much of the collection four years later. In the intervening years, the password that allows for changes to be made to the database has been lost. Right now, I'm searching for a solution that will help me gain internal collections management control as well as provide the basis for a searchable online archive. Since I'm starting from scratch, I'm trying to build a system that will work easily for a small department, cheaply, and still prepare the institution to move forward in the future. As this project progresses, I'll be working with our IT department for hardware needs and our website designer for integrating everything onto the webpage. But for the most part, I'm on my own. I'd like something user-friendly. I'm hoping to find a system that allows for collections management and content delivery in one package. Members and management want access to as much of the material online as can be provided -- and sooner rather than later, of course. The first goal it to make the photographs, trophies, and other objects available online in a searchable database. I'd also like to OCR the digitized magazine and have that searchable as well. I've searched for and read about a lot of different software that's out there -- and right now, Collective Access (previously OpenCollection) has caught my eye. Does anyone have any experience with that product? --- Jessica Smith Collections Manager The Olympic Club Ph: (415) 404-4307 F: (415) 404-4308 Email: jsmith at olyclub.com
