Dear Amy,
This is a note from our Events Manager here at the UMLAUF from his experience at a previous job:
The best system I’ve seen involves two people for dedicated database management (with other side duties). When I was working with our SRSA (Sales Reporting System Auditor), we double teamed on projects where I solely handled one area, and she did the other. Then we were cross trained to understand each others entries & data. This system worked well because there were limited people doing the data & a double check system that ensured compliance, and splitting the task between two people assured that if one was out of the office, the other could assist. It also helped to have two people trained on it.
Hope that helps!
Kate Edwards
Curator
Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum
Austin, Texas
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Hello everyone,
My mid-size museum with about a dozen full-time staff and an army of volunteers just selected a new database for managing members, volunteers, and marketing and media. We are afraid of falling into the same quagmire as we have in our current database with poor data entry control, repetitive and unnecessary user defined fields, etc. and we are considering designating one main Admin to control the data consistency and clear up any unneeded fields and reports, etc. Unfortunately, we do not agree on who would be in the best position to be that Admin - finance, marketing, membership, the director? Anyone else? We do not have a designated development person. However, for us, it is also a question of who has the computer skills and savvy to understand how to manage the web-based database.
I was hoping to find out how everyone manages their donor/membership databases - is there a main admin who has the most access and control? How is access to the database, data entry, and customization controlled?
Any suggestions?
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Amy Kelch
Membership Coordinator, Reference Desk Coordinator, Collections Inventory Assistant
Sharlot Hall Museum
Prescott AZ
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