Just to say thanks very much for all the very helpful ideas members of the group sent - this has been a big step forward for us and we'll be following up on them. Any further ideas welcome!
All the best
David
----- Original Message ----
From: DAVID HEMMING <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tuesday, 14 November, 2006 3:06:02 PM
Subject: Tips on creating a smallish database for history-related documents
I¢m writing on behalf of a small, volunteer-run town museum. We have about 8000 pages worth of text, perhaps half of which are available in Word format, documenting all aspects of the history of the town of Wallingford . These pages are currently in various physical folders in filing cabinet and include excerpts from wills, council minutes, miscellaneous reports and academic studies. What we want to do is create a searchable database for this information to make it easier to use as a research tool.
We¢d be very grateful for any examples of best practice from other museums/collections.
As ever, we have very limited finances, and want to create a framework that our volunteers can use.
Issues that we¢re particularly mindful of are
Most appropriate IT tools
Using appropriate thesaurus terms and field structure
Potential for future web enablement
Integration with records for physical objects in the museum
Basically any help in guiding us on where to start would be excellent. As our resources are limited, we want to start off from the best place to allow the database to grow as we are able to introduce information into it.
Thanks for any guidance anyone can give.
Regards
David Hemming
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