Cataloguing

[stem]

I'll open up the topic of cataloguing the museum today. This is something I had mentioned before, included in a list of quite a few other things. Now, specifically, is the time to get this important topic underway.

The museum requires a cataloguing system to survive. Museums require funding to continue to operate and funding requires preparing finite plans and open access to museum resources to determine need and scope of projects for which the museum would submit plans to use the funding they would receive.

In order to start a cataloguing system in the museum we're going to require equipment, software and manpower just to put in the infrastructure to do this. After the system has been created and is ready to use, then the museum is going to need further resources to enter the artefact data and create images of the artefacts to put everything into the system.

Then and only then will the museum perhaps be able to apply and receive long term funding to insure it's survival.

Because private funding that has sustained the museum for the last 15 + years has essentially run out, unfortunately it leaves very little time to actually do all of this.

It's actually pretty disappointing to have found all this out this year. Never the less, the musem is a worthy effort and I personally intend to put as much effort in as I can to try and make this happen from my end of the country.

Can I have some open discussion and opinions on how to accomplish this and hear from people who wish to get involved in any way possible?

[hecrowell]

Hi Steve

I am offering this link for your consideration. Again, I will help this effort in anyway that I am capable of.


http://www.adlibsoft.com/

This is a freeware "lite" version of a museum software application and I have requested the download link fom the developer for evaluation to see if this may suffice.

[Duane Duff]

Steve is aware of this development. So far, only the Memory Lane Boasrd members know it, too. Thus, this is for other members of the forum.

At the September board meeting, Sean Duff, our son, offered to photograph every artifact in the museum, whether railroad or non-railroad. This will be done after the close of the museum for the season so that he can do the work without interruption. After that, he will place the photos on line for identification and, later, classification. I have experience as a teacher-librarian in classification of books, audio-video equipment, and pamplet files. I last performed this work twenty years ago. I do not want to attempt this huge job after this long a time and at my age. Besides, I have never classified museum items or archival material. There must be someone out there with some valuable experience.

I, too, would like to hear from experienced and willing people of the forum.

Duane Duff

[SamuelMClark]

Photographing some of the items are great such has the uniforms, hats, badges things that can not be scanned. And as for the photo's Matthew and I have started scanning them (to save some time be helpful if one of us where there to help scan to so we know what was scanned already), and we're going to be doing some more scanning soon hopefully. Though I believe it would be a waste of time to photograph items that shouldn't been there. The collection they have needs to be weeded out, as some of the items are not DAR or NS rail related.