Dear Mr Hemming
Another option for you to consider is the software which runs the My
Brighton and Hove website at www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk.
This is essentially a cataloguing system and content management system for
small community heritage groups and small museums. It enables groups of
volunteers without technical skills to use a web-based interface to
catalogue their collections, publish documents, text and images onto the web
as an attractive website, and export the results as XML. The capabilities
for the collection of metadata and the export of XML are being brought into
line with the emerging standards for community archives being looked at the
Community Archive Development Group.
It's also a flexible system, which allows you to evolve the categorisation
structure as the volume of the content grows.
A growing number of small museums and community heritage groups are adopting
the software. The cost is £2000-£5000 and we provide support in preparing
Awards for All applications to acquire the funding.
Get in touch if you're interested in discussing this further or having a
demo.
Jack Latimer
www.communitysites.co.uk <http://www.communitysites.co.uk/>
Award-winning websites for museums, archives and community groups
Tel: 0845 6801542
Mob: 07977 445709
CommunitySites
25 Hanover Street
Brighton
East Sussex
BN2 9ST
-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of DAVID
HEMMING
Sent: 14 November 2006 15:06
To: [log in to unmask]
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
Don't forget the Autumn meeting: 16 November, Natural History Museum, London
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Don't forget the Autumn meeting: 16 November, Natural History Museum, London
**************************************************
For mcg information and to manage your subscription to the list, visit the website at http://www.museumscomputergroup.org.uk
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