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  • 1.  collections software

    Posted 06-04-2024 06:38 AM
    As curator of a small (under 400 objects) decorative and fine art private corporate collection, I would like to find software that is suitable for our needs. PastPerfect seems like overkill and expense is an issue, but we want to be sure that whatever program we select will be sustainable in the long run and "just enough" for our needs. Any suggestions would be welcome.
     
    Thanks,
    Lee Ellen Griffith, State Curator
    Maryland State Society DAR


  • 2.  RE: collections software

    Posted 06-05-2024 07:47 AM
    I highly recommend making an Airtable. Most of what you need to do can be done in the free version and it is easy to set up relationships between different tables of entities (donors, objects, storage and exhibit locations, etc). 

    https://airtable.com/


    Erin Richardson, Ph.D.
    Founder and Principal
    C - 518.577.0186 | FrankAndGlory.com
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  • 3.  RE: collections software

    Posted 06-05-2024 08:51 AM

    Hi Lee Ellen,

    I work with a similar collection and I recently switched to CatalogIt. I really (really, really) like it. Feel free to get in touch if you want to chat.

    Elise Brunet

    Curator, Law Society of Ontario, Osgoode Hall



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    Elise Brunet
    Curator
    Toronto ON
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  • 4.  RE: collections software

    Posted 06-05-2024 09:42 AM

    We are a small liberal arts college museum and recently have taken oversight of the college's small (under 700 pcs) art collection. Most of big names in collection management software were overkill for us as well. We recently switched to Artwork Archive and have been quite happy with it. We're still exploring it's features and potential, but feel it was a good move.

     

    Amanda

    Windgate Museum of Art

    Hendrix College

    Conway, AR

     

     

     

     

     

     

     






  • 5.  RE: collections software

    Posted 06-05-2024 10:18 AM

    Greetings to a fellow Marylander! Here's another vote for CatalogIt. PastPerfect and TMS were also overkill for the size of our museum's collection. CatalogIt has all of the fields I need and the interface is really easy to use - I definitely preferred it to the others I looked at. It seems sustainable as well - even if the software goes away, it's very easy to export the information into another format (not ideal, but it's possible).



    ------------------------------
    Hillary Belzer
    Founder and Curator
    The Makeup Museum
    Baltimore MD
    mmcurator@gmail.com
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: collections software

    Posted 06-05-2024 10:50 AM
    Hi Lee Ellen,
    I believe Artwork Archive will be "just enough" for your needs! We are an easy-to-use, very affordable cloud-based collection management system (a collection of your size would fall into our $29/month plan). Many collections actually migrate over to us from PastPerfect. We support collections of all sizes from a variety of institution types – corporate, museums, academic, public art, etc. I'd be happy to connect and give you a demo if you'd like. You can contact me at elysian@artworkarchive.com. 

    All the best,
    Elysian
    --

    Elysian McNiff Koglmeier (she/her)
    Head of Partnerships
    Artwork Archive

    Part Time Hours
    Online: Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays

    National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH) Board Treasurer







  • 7.  RE: collections software

    Posted 06-05-2024 01:08 PM

    I recommend Artwork Archive as well. It is intuitive, flexible, and scalable. Several of my private and corporate clients use it and find it user-friendly for those without a museum/library/archive background. 



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    Jennifer Souers Chevraux
    Principal + Founder
    Shaker Heights OH
    jennifer@illuminecs.com
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    Original Message


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