tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28558728447260990902024-02-02T18:19:21.951+11:00Cataloguing Guidelines for Historical SocietiesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-54984453594252409532014-12-04T14:28:00.000+11:002014-12-04T14:28:24.706+11:00IMUG Meeting at Yarra Ranges Regional Museum<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-FuGftHcaI4PIH5rYDb09EKldTS9sG8CSK0wozShoTiWRqjmqbznd8sV6BUgvbN91zoP1kG9Y-SmuR07OS5AJWMn5A5xRXJ-uiOcutagQz59PspWp3EYf2PYrT-yu9btgjVxad57at9Q/s1600/YarraRangesMuseum2B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-FuGftHcaI4PIH5rYDb09EKldTS9sG8CSK0wozShoTiWRqjmqbznd8sV6BUgvbN91zoP1kG9Y-SmuR07OS5AJWMn5A5xRXJ-uiOcutagQz59PspWp3EYf2PYrT-yu9btgjVxad57at9Q/s1600/YarraRangesMuseum2B.jpg" height="291" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yarra Ranges Regional Museum <a href="http://ach.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Regional_Museum" target="_blank">website</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On 2 December, approximately 25 people attended the Inmagic Museum Users Group Meeting hosted by the Yarra Ranges Regional Museum, Castella Street, Lilydale. Karlie Hawking (Curator Collections) provided a brief history of the development of the museum (formerly Lilydale Museum) and its collections before discussing the challenges of putting the catalogue of the collection online. There has been an online database since July but two years planning and experimentation were undertaken before the online database was ready to be made available to the public.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtUD6FUF9mUzJBHUKkLgkLC0vXK4jiCassLCnIDiM1hi8dwAL81vNQj9Tc5XhBkfcPfd-ruytnUNlgjcifR7EJK0Q2_wQbdmbJqlLw3cJYxgTtz1jO7e_BgZvKuA_UhHcJRbn2S95yBsM/s1600/YarraRangesMuseumB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtUD6FUF9mUzJBHUKkLgkLC0vXK4jiCassLCnIDiM1hi8dwAL81vNQj9Tc5XhBkfcPfd-ruytnUNlgjcifR7EJK0Q2_wQbdmbJqlLw3cJYxgTtz1jO7e_BgZvKuA_UhHcJRbn2S95yBsM/s1600/YarraRangesMuseumB.jpg" height="170" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">url for <a href="http://ww1.yrrmuseumcollection.com/Presto/home/home.aspx#" target="_blank">catalogue</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>Presto for DB TextWorks</i> was the program used for the online platform and the database is hosted by Maxus. This was the first time that this version of the Presto software had been used in Victoria for a DB TextWorks database, as well as being the first time Presto had been used for a museum collection, resulting in considerable experimentation by the staff at Maxus working with the museum staff. It was an interesting learning curve for all.<br />
<br />
One of the issues for museum staff was deciding the fields to be included in the online catalogue as opposed to the fields used in-house to maintain the collection. It was therefore necessary to have another look at the records of items already catalogued to ensure fields that would appear online contained information of use / interest to the public. <br />
<br />
Images are provided for most of the records and multiple images can appear in one record. However when putting images online it is necessary not only to ensure the quality of the image but also to keep the size of the images not too large as large images take longer to download. Images are a great way to publicise the collection and smaller images will achieve this as well as providing the opportunity for the organisation to make some money by selling larger copies of images when required. <br />
<br />
The database was also to be an engagement tool between the museum and the public. The online database includes a section where the public can add comment for a record item. The comment section can be set up so that comments are monitored before appearing online. If this option is utilised someone needs to check for possible comments. There is also a link on the record page allowing researchers the option of sending an email. A telephone number is also provided. Experiments with social media sites have been undertaken - <i>Twitter</i>, <i>Facebook</i> and <i>Pinterest</i>. Urls need to be shortened to use with these sites and although there has been success with <i>Twitter</i> and <i>Pinterest</i> there have been problems interacting with <i>Facebook</i>. As there is an increasing number of projects combining platforms it is useful to know how you want your data to be used by other platforms if the opportunity arises.<br />
<br />
In <i>Presto</i> you can email records, download records as a pdf or html file and save records. One issue with the database is that <i>Presto</i> uses pop-up screens. As browsers increasingly block pop-ups it may be necessary to temporarily disable this action when using this site.<br />
<br />
Pam from Maxus also spoke briefly about this project and then there was some general discussion including the possibility and challenges of including records of online databases on <i>Trove</i> in the future. We then went upstairs for refreshments and the opportunity for a more informal chat and networking. Many thanks to Karlie and her team for hosting this event.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-41218777350395096602014-05-13T23:09:00.001+10:002014-05-13T23:09:30.699+10:00IMUG meeting at Emerald Hill Heritage Centre<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
The Inmagic Museum
Users Group meeting was held at Emerald Hill Heritage Centre at South
Melbourne on Friday 9 May 2014. Twenty-two people attended from a range of
organisations including public
libraries, historical societies and small museums and archives. The
heritage centre was opened in its current location in November 2013 and
is located as part of the Emerald Hill Library. The City of Port
Phillip covers suburbs from Elwood to Port Melbourne.
Kay, the history librarian, provided an introduction to the development
of the heritage centre and its collection and then Sandy spoke about
the databases and the digitisation program.</div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
As well as an annual
allocation of money for the digitisation of photographs, money is also
allocated for the digitisation of newspapers for
<i>Trove</i>. Many of the early electoral rolls have been scanned and
made available using ISSUU software. An A-Z listing of City of St Kilda
correspondence in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century is
also available and digitised images are available
for some items. The issue of copyright of previously unpublished
material was discussed.</div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
Heritage and Art
databases have been catalogued using DB TextWorks and the records are
then accessed via Spydus, the library’s cataloguing software and
incorporated with records of items from
the library local history collection. Low resolution images are linked
to the catalogue records and copies of images can be ordered.</div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
Additional information about the Emerald Hill Heritage Centre is available at
<a href="http://heritage.portphillip.vic.gov.au/Home" target="_blank">http://heritage.portphillip.vic.gov.au/Home</a> . The catalogue and other digitised resources can be accessed in the Research Resources section of the heritage website.</div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
Many thanks to the staff at the Emerald Hill Library and Heritage Centre for allowing us to visit and especially to Kay and Sandy for showing us part of the collection and explaining how DB/TextWorks is used in conjunction with Spydus to catalogue their collections.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-74442759346809371152013-12-04T21:27:00.002+11:002013-12-05T13:39:38.874+11:00IMUG meeting at Whitehorse Art SpaceOn 4 December 26 people met at the Whitehorse Art Space in Box Hill Town Hall to attend the final IMUG meeting for the year. Those present came from diverse organisations including galleries, school archives, museums, historical societies and specialist research libraries illustrating the range of smaller organisations using DB/TextWorks. Three people travelled from Daylesford to attend the meeting.<br />
<br />
Jacquie and Gillian were our hosts and started the proceedings by showing us around the exhibition space and providing a brief history of the establishment of the collection. The main collection consists of 1,300 plus artworks - paintings, photographs, ceramics, textiles. Most of the items have been donated since 1927. The Box Hill area has a strong connection to the history of Australian art and this is reflected in the collection. From 1885 to 1888 Tom Roberts and other artists established an artists' camp at Box Hill so they could paint the surrounding countryside. Among the paintings in the Whitehorse Art collection are works by some of these artists including Tom Roberts, Frederick McCubbin and Arthur Streeton as well paintings by E Phillips Fox. The collection also includes modern works from local artists.<br />
<br />
In the meeting room Gillian and Jacquie spoke about
cataloguing the collection and why they like using the software, primarily because it is user-friendly. It also is useful to be able to create report forms showing information plus an images for selected items. As well as the database for the art collection there is a database recording long term loans, a memorabilia database and a database recording items in the small library collection. Art works are displayed in a number of locations and an inventory of the collection is taken every year.<br />
<br />
As well as the opportunity to visit a variety of collections, IMUG meetings provide the opportunity for general discussion on any topic related to using databases and cataloguing and managing collections. Backing up databases, merging databases, using a mask in the number field and cataloguing digital items were some of the topics discussed at this meeting with comments and solutions being shared by those present. Networking continues over a cup of tea or coffee and, at this meeting, delicious muffins. <br />
<br />
Jacquie then showed us the art storage area including some of the items not on display while Robyn, from Box Hill Historical Society who also use DB/TextWorks, showed people the local history rooms. Many thanks to Jacquie, Gillian and Robyn for making this an extremely informative and interesting meeting.<br />
<br />
Additional information about the Whitehorse Art collection:<br />
<a href="http://www.whitehorse.vic.gov.au/Art-Collection.html" target="_blank">City of Whitehorse Art Collection</a><br />
<a href="http://www.boxhilltownhall.com.au/Townhall-Artspace.html" target="_blank">Whitehorse Art Space</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-2137026976184215672013-05-12T15:36:00.000+10:002013-05-12T15:36:53.728+10:00IMUG visit to Museo ItalianoOn 7 May seventeen IMUG members visited the Museo Italiano in Faraday Street, Carlton. Opened in October 2010, exhibitions at the Museo Italiano explore the experiences of Italian migrants in Australia, the influence of Italian culture on life in Australia and the resulting Italian Australian culture that has developed. Among the permanent exhibitions is a timeline along one wall illustrating key events in Italian and Australian history as well as Italian Australian history. One display portrays settlement in a new country while the Italian influence in Australia on food, language, performance and sport is the theme of another exhibition. Many techniques including the use of audio visual material is used tell the many stories.<br />
<br />
After visiting the museum, Paolo Baracchi, <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;">Coordinator - Co.As.It. Italian Historical Society, spoke to the group about the Italian Historical Society which was founded in 1981 with the aim of </span></span></span><br />
collecting, preserving, interpreting and promoting the history of Italians in Australia. An overview of the collections was provided as well as an outline of the programs offered during the year. The collections are increasingly used for family history research and a number of research guides have been prepared to assist researchers with their enquiries.<br />
<br />
DB TextWorks is used to catalogue the society's collections and Web Publisher is used to make the catalogues of three of the collections available to the public via the society's website. There are four search options - Browse the entire archive, Search image collection, Search diplomatic archive (information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Italy covering the period 1856-1947) and Search internee database.<br />
<br />
There are presently 9,000 photographs catalogued in the image collection. The catalogue record displays a small image and larger images can be obtained from the society. The images online are harvested by Trove and are therefore available in any searches made in this national database. Search in Trove <a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/picture" target="_blank">(http://trove.nla.gov.au/picture)</a> for Vendramini to see an example.<br />
<br />
More information about the Museo Italiano and the Italian Historical society can be found on their <a href="http://www.museoitaliano.com.au/" target="_blank">website</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-48019253225166700102012-11-12T10:36:00.000+11:002012-11-12T10:36:03.267+11:00Editing databases 3<ol>5. to check for the use of multiple terms in a field if the data is to be transferred into another database structure where only one term is allowed in a field </ol>
<ol>The next stage in the life of the regional database on the library website is to transfer the records as a subset of the library catalogue. In order to do this the information in some of the fields needed to be edited.<br /><br />In DB/TextWorks databases multiple terms can be added to a field using the F7 key to separate each term. Consequently the data structure created for the local history database had just the one field for Title and one field for Author. The MARC records used in the library catalogue required only one title in the Title field and one Author in the Author field with an additional field for Added Authors.<br /><br />It was therefore necessary to check for records that had more than one title or multiple authors. To do this I created a series of report forms (Display menu, Design Form, then choose Blank Form) with one box for the Accession Number and the second box for Title or Author for example. In this second box I made sure that the 'make each item or entry a paragraph' option was used.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFa-rDxD3sqNdM-boR1aLXTbOcolhcQZF5jJIXL0Tc7D_o3ohBmzlJP5A5dQoFaN2DWM6ITJH1AR8kUqG_UCJEcimzZhMAjGOPLqOt_pOhkQYcBqHp55l7-3P5rQkK7EtwoDr4CzB1ag/s1600/Author.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFa-rDxD3sqNdM-boR1aLXTbOcolhcQZF5jJIXL0Tc7D_o3ohBmzlJP5A5dQoFaN2DWM6ITJH1AR8kUqG_UCJEcimzZhMAjGOPLqOt_pOhkQYcBqHp55l7-3P5rQkK7EtwoDr4CzB1ag/s320/Author.jpg" width="289" /></a></div>
The new form was then selected as the Report form and search was made for the items that required checking. Scrolling through the list was not a particularly exciting task and amused my work colleagues when they passed my desk. However the report form worked and I was able to identify and then alter the records that needed to be changed for the next stage of the database.</ol>
<ol><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLghGyCip2ioIy10hiOje2LQHNYstCUQp7ZGG0q6L1OFATcXqTvtCNv1rhJh5at9O95lLxd5dAWNid1wQOyd1nKkI6JQVyWoCB4vaBTaJNql6JLvuP0bStZOIV4kL3J6pUeT5rWAf_Cs0/s1600/Author2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLghGyCip2ioIy10hiOje2LQHNYstCUQp7ZGG0q6L1OFATcXqTvtCNv1rhJh5at9O95lLxd5dAWNid1wQOyd1nKkI6JQVyWoCB4vaBTaJNql6JLvuP0bStZOIV4kL3J6pUeT5rWAf_Cs0/s320/Author2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-66443717711293213362012-11-09T19:55:00.002+11:002012-11-15T19:12:57.834+11:00Editing databases 2<ol>
</ol>
4. to remove spaces in records caused by use of the Enter key, particularly after data has been entered in a field leaving spare lines in the report and display forms<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0F-j1vjNMvjZ_VZyBvZJ3EbbYjT09UoNsifYXaz8fHhE96SXDxP7hdC5NTkVjkQgYr6EeecWTREF4Kn8kJn41mwXHrVc7MvyzuqMo1c7ByXmNXFKcqp0-AGECx8SOKk_l5TXWrQyZxk/s1600/modify2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0F-j1vjNMvjZ_VZyBvZJ3EbbYjT09UoNsifYXaz8fHhE96SXDxP7hdC5NTkVjkQgYr6EeecWTREF4Kn8kJn41mwXHrVc7MvyzuqMo1c7ByXmNXFKcqp0-AGECx8SOKk_l5TXWrQyZxk/s400/modify2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
The spaces that appear in the above image in the Author, Genre, Subjects and Comments fields are caused by using the Enter key when data is entered.<br />
<br />
This can easily be corrected by viewing the record in the Edit form and backspacing where the spaces caused by the use of the Enter key occur.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8B-p5AVW-K481rdyejzm68Pp8w9CF9e4vIyYhBxcCpGqAq0ewqQXl5ICy7Wip5KHp7NOOzcuqnokVjht31Kt_S3WtqZYYwwaGBbVwQllDeGR-4Gw7NHhyF_KrucW8kTqS0wEJr6yCBaA/s1600/Modify3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8B-p5AVW-K481rdyejzm68Pp8w9CF9e4vIyYhBxcCpGqAq0ewqQXl5ICy7Wip5KHp7NOOzcuqnokVjht31Kt_S3WtqZYYwwaGBbVwQllDeGR-4Gw7NHhyF_KrucW8kTqS0wEJr6yCBaA/s400/Modify3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Generally the use of the Enter key will just cause the records to look untidy but for some projects it is necessary to locate and remove all occurrences of the use the Enter key, particularly if records are to be transferred to an Excel spreadsheet or another database that accepts records in an Excel format. <br />
<br />
We encountered this issue in the library when IT decided to publish the local history databases online using MySQL. Any records where the Enter key had been used were rejected and unlike DB/TextWorks which informs you when records are not imported the library online database didn't. <br />
<br />
One way to check for the use of the Enter key in a group of records is to export a set of records, view the export file in Notepad and use the Find feature (under the Edit menu) to locate the > symbol which appears when the Enter key has been used.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7tWOhwRAhVhEtzpMZHfJvJFT-uebR2FtdNxnTtijJqP_015-nNxe_GVTx9j0G96AuCu_7uZR_IsuhTojeQyCh-PTC6vCPLyNO1CmT6UDpM6fDjTwifcdTW633972bv7xFE4lEdb7-6QE/s1600/Modify4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7tWOhwRAhVhEtzpMZHfJvJFT-uebR2FtdNxnTtijJqP_015-nNxe_GVTx9j0G96AuCu_7uZR_IsuhTojeQyCh-PTC6vCPLyNO1CmT6UDpM6fDjTwifcdTW633972bv7xFE4lEdb7-6QE/s640/Modify4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I take a note of the records that require editing and make the corrections in the database. <br />
Another way would be to make the alterations in the Notepad file and then import the file back into the database, making sure that the the changed records replaced the existing records.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecasH0g7aTS-aheB5U69mVlNhAQMUwqiDcspy7DD0UPucwuLDH765HMIFaMlfh_Nsbxalwpq2B4pjyS8vhB7jW_123IS9Dx5z4BlFDLUOGnvNRoI0JgL9t9y-tQA-WYWdr7jVzLc43rg/s1600/Modify6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecasH0g7aTS-aheB5U69mVlNhAQMUwqiDcspy7DD0UPucwuLDH765HMIFaMlfh_Nsbxalwpq2B4pjyS8vhB7jW_123IS9Dx5z4BlFDLUOGnvNRoI0JgL9t9y-tQA-WYWdr7jVzLc43rg/s400/Modify6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-84509472904293295042012-11-08T12:20:00.002+11:002012-11-15T18:53:14.110+11:00Editing a databaseNo matter how careful you are when entering data it may be necessary to edit the database records.<br />
<br />
Database records are edited:<br />
<ol>
<li>to maintain consistency of information in fields</li>
<li>to correct misspelling of words or terms that need to be altered</li>
<li>to ensure that the F7 key (and not the Enter key) has been used when an additional term is added to a list, for example in Subjects</li>
<li>to remove spaces in records caused by use of the Enter key, particularly after data has been entered in a field leaving spare lines in the report and display forms</li>
<li>to check for the use of multiple terms in a field if the data is to be transferred into another database structure where only one term is allowed in a field</li>
<li>to check for multiple versions of a record to merge if information from other sources has been added to the database, for example if information from different sources has been entered initially in Excel and then transferred into the database</li>
</ol>
Editing to identify instances of numbers 1, 2, 3 and 6 can be done via the Search Screen<br />
<strong>F3 key</strong><br />
In DB/TextWorks databases placing the cursor in any of the field on the Search Screen and then using the F3 key will give you a list of all the entries or terms in that field. Scrolling down the list usually shows any inconsistencies that require attention.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmpXQSbwqRZ3JqF3K7R6JtubvGy0ZO3SAUXZiyZWS_LOhnNwU3PqsAXjH_Z_2y2vRDwUTPA44oCzumM8BOeH0V1wxbtEV549zKp9qRGv3jce9P84dbrEbF9PDCzUB4cpmd0gpHRJjtU8/s1600/F3List.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmpXQSbwqRZ3JqF3K7R6JtubvGy0ZO3SAUXZiyZWS_LOhnNwU3PqsAXjH_Z_2y2vRDwUTPA44oCzumM8BOeH0V1wxbtEV549zKp9qRGv3jce9P84dbrEbF9PDCzUB4cpmd0gpHRJjtU8/s320/F3List.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Examples of instances where editing may be required:</div>
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<u>Example 1 - Error in entering data</u></div>
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After using the F3 key in the Accession / Registration Number field the list showed</div>
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1 B</div>
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1 7065</div>
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1 B0001</div>
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1 B0002</div>
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The entries for B and &7065 needed to be corrected</div>
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<u>Example 2 - Misspelling</u></div>
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After using the F3 key in the Subjects field the list showed</div>
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10 Australian Tessallated Tile Co</div>
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29 Australian Tessellated Tile Co</div>
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Batch Modify option was used to correct the misspelling of Tessellated</div>
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<u>Example 3 - Using Enter key instead of F7 for a new term</u></div>
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After using the F3 key in the Subjects field the list showed</div>
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1 Schools Churches Hotels</div>
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The entry was corrected by placing the cursor in front of the second and subsequent terms and then using the F11 key </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<u>Example 6 - Merging data from several records in one field</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
For one project information about people originally recorded on a number of Excel spreadsheets was imported into a database. A search under Name showed that, in some cases, there were multiple records for the same person.</div>
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4 Smith, John</div>
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2 Smith, Thomas</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Once the multiple records for each name were identified, relevant information from some fields was cut and pasted into one record the the person. Once this was done the records no longer required were deleted. </div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<strong>Basic Query Screen or Add Query Box</strong><br />
If the Search Screen does not contain a field you want to search, either go to the Select Query Screen icon (fourth icon from the left) and choose Basic Query Screen which contains all the fields in the database<br />
or select the Add Query Box icon (third icon from left) <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNaJOLFcdEuXYATq1wrS0CpVHrPXYp_uoW92ssCcF6_2iRATDbrYVd7w1HyxQAaw8J7TP4OXfGztj7Cxd6w7t9Jz7lOeEvj6uqYWtaobA6A-1jEoOYTqulm2K5D5YHEKc95i0zK-T0cqg/s1600/search+screen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNaJOLFcdEuXYATq1wrS0CpVHrPXYp_uoW92ssCcF6_2iRATDbrYVd7w1HyxQAaw8J7TP4OXfGztj7Cxd6w7t9Jz7lOeEvj6uqYWtaobA6A-1jEoOYTqulm2K5D5YHEKc95i0zK-T0cqg/s320/search+screen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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and then select the field required. </div>
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</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqoBIy-gyMZpyNTyVZBHD2PJ8DaL_PXvoXfnqpE2sz0ukc2kv9weKJRXND_3099H8Ar9snfxCrEXMAi0gO4FV4tv9QfUaPxBVDWjOtFhcizI-TutRw7gtLSLthYWmxaLf6j7D08uUnyd0/s1600/search+screen2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqoBIy-gyMZpyNTyVZBHD2PJ8DaL_PXvoXfnqpE2sz0ukc2kv9weKJRXND_3099H8Ar9snfxCrEXMAi0gO4FV4tv9QfUaPxBVDWjOtFhcizI-TutRw7gtLSLthYWmxaLf6j7D08uUnyd0/s320/search+screen2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This will produce a temporary field box on the Search Screen until the database is closed.</div>
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</div>
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Once the items to be edited have been located, records can be edited individually or if the same change needs to be made to a term in the same field for a group of records then the changes can be made using Batch Modify.</div>
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<strong>Batch Modify</strong></div>
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Once the records to be edited have been selected, go to the Records menu and choose Batch Modify.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3bRfhQ37SEvDx1cCs6S7XwqAku9TmcJjOs3GBe93UwmvcsnSbEfzcxfC39ALkOLTkn6YcWNYN97C35HK7xixPv2MJ6eWlwOO-aGWoBGe6B1c2BnxPp3hsQuKdsuFaNXMouP2v43tFVog/s1600/Modify.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3bRfhQ37SEvDx1cCs6S7XwqAku9TmcJjOs3GBe93UwmvcsnSbEfzcxfC39ALkOLTkn6YcWNYN97C35HK7xixPv2MJ6eWlwOO-aGWoBGe6B1c2BnxPp3hsQuKdsuFaNXMouP2v43tFVog/s320/Modify.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Select the field to modify and then select how the set of records will be modified. In the above example Substitute Entry is the operation chosen while Matching is selected in the Affects column. The existing term is typed in the Old Entry box while the new term is typed in the New Entry box. Click OK, read the information in the next box that comes on the screen and if the information is correct click the OK button. </div>
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Additional <a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/IS2_Batch_modify_records.pdf" target="_blank">examples</a> of Batch Modify</div>
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</div>
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More information about editing databases in subsequent posts.</div>
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</div>
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</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-81121377648732310652012-05-23T17:21:00.000+10:002012-05-23T17:21:33.454+10:00Computers & Cataloguing Yahoo groupWith the closure of My Connected Community (mc2) at the end of June the information in the Computers & Cataloguing mc2 has been transferred to new online group with the same name in Yahoo groups. As in our former mc2 group the Computers & Cataloguing group in Yahoo groups provides a forum, a place for storing and sharing documents and other files, photographs and a links page.<br />
<br />
<div class="group-description" id="ygr_desc">
Increasingly computer databases are
used for cataloguing local history and small museum collections in
Victoria. Joining this social networking group provides you with the opportunity to share
ideas and discuss issues relating to cataloguing collections and using computers
whatever the database program used - DB/TextWorks, Access, Filemaker,
Collections Mosaic or any other program.</div>
<div class="group-description">
</div>
<div class="group-description">
To join Computers & Cataloguing Yahoo groups click the link below and then click the Join this Group button. </div>
<br />
<a href="http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/computercataloguing/" target="_blank">http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/computercataloguing/</a><br />
<br />
If you do not already belong to to any online services provided by Yahoo you will need to fill in an online form to join - otherwise you use the login and password you use for other Yahoo services.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-54645172281304531412012-05-23T15:40:00.002+10:002012-05-23T15:40:56.367+10:00Online DatabasesFor the past fifteen years I have been involved in projects involving the publication of online databases. The <em>Whitehorse Manningham Local History Database</em> was the first regional local history database in Victoria. Since then a number of other databases have been published online including the <em>Victorian Local History Database</em> established for promoting collections held in organisations affiliated with the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. More recently Museums Australia (Victoria) has produced <em>Victorian Collections</em> launched a month or two ago.<br />
<br />
At the recent Inmagic Museum Users Group meeting there was much discussion about participation in projects such as <em>Victorian Collections</em>. Below are some of my thoughts regarding involvement in an online database project.<br />
<br />
Online database projects are a great way for societies to promote both their collections and their organisation. Including records in a regional online database allows researchers to know about the range of items held by your organisation as well as specific items that may be useful for their research. In some cases the use of an online database may be the first time researchers become aware of the existence of your organisation. Researchers can then contact you for information on viewing or obtaining copies of items, including charges for this service.<br />
<br />
Participation in an online cataloguing project encourages standardisation of cataloguing in the use of fields required to adequately catalogue items. <br />
<br />
Many online database projects also have a thesaurus which participants in the project are encouraged to use when selecting subjects making it easier for researchers to locate items on a specific topic. One such online thesaurus is the <em>Victorian Local History Thesaurus</em>. Another online thesaurus is the <em>Australian Pictorial Thesaurus</em>.<br />
<br />
Online databases should provide a range of options to aid the searching of the database. Through the Internet we are now used to being able to type what we want in a box and after clicking the Search button have immediate access to the material we require. Sometimes this works but often a much more reliable search can be undertaken using the options provided in an Advanced Search screen. It is therefore useful to have more than one way of searching a collection. Even <em>Google</em> has an Advanced Search option.<br />
<br />
Currently in Victoria there are two types of online databases. <br />
In the first, organisations catalogue their collections and then export the fields required for inclusion in the online database. Organisations therefore have a full copy of the database records on their premises and can include information for their own use in additional fields if they wish to do so, enabling full control over their catalogue records. <br />
In the second, organisations catalogue information about their items directly into the online database using the set of fields provided. The organisation therefore does not have its own copy of the records unless it has a reliable link to the Internet at all times. This may restrict access to the records within the organisation.<br />
<br />
Cataloguing directly into an online database such as <em>Victorian Collections</em> could be a useful way for organisations having small and often valuable collections but whose main focus is not collecting such as sporting clubs, churches, RSLs and similar organisations in order to provide public access to their collections. However organisations whose main focus is the collection and dissemination of information may find that it is more useful to catalogue their collection in-house and then transfer all or some of their records into an online database (or databases).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-9059441510296377002012-05-09T21:11:00.002+10:002012-05-09T21:11:39.165+10:00Inmagic Museum Users Group meeting<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66b2mdiwvavIWbvNoh76c9TWrKNmUCalFEJRjit75pmTelD7p3Qrro2WboINmjgSV_oxC8vTUlixWZmw3fTVYsAzSOEMmSDw1y9SeA6Xxh7axHTig6qtsU7saevSRgtmtNHNPExaHxqA/s1600/puffingbilly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66b2mdiwvavIWbvNoh76c9TWrKNmUCalFEJRjit75pmTelD7p3Qrro2WboINmjgSV_oxC8vTUlixWZmw3fTVYsAzSOEMmSDw1y9SeA6Xxh7axHTig6qtsU7saevSRgtmtNHNPExaHxqA/s320/puffingbilly.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puffing Billy at Emerald Lake Station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The first Inmagic Museum User Group meeting for 2012 was hosted by the Puffing Billy Railway Archive. Members boarded the steam train at Belgrave for the hour trip to Emerald Lake Park, plenty of time to chat with other users of DB TextWorks software in the carriage and also enjoy a light lunch. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
At the station members of the group discussed a number of issues including concerns about the new cataloguing system <em>Victorian Collections</em> being promoted by Museums Australia (Victoria) and finding a replacement social media site for the Computers and Cataloguing My Connected Community Group (mc2) as Vicnet is closing mc2 at the end of June. It was decided to set up a Computers and Cataloguing group in Yahoo Groups. Barbara has now left Maxus and at the beginning of the meeting she introduced Pam who will take over Barbara's former role working with smaller organisations using the software. Barbara will continue to attend our meetings.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
One of the major aims of these meetings is to allow those using DB/TextWorks software for cataloguing to be able to meet and discuss issues. Many thanks to the members of the Puffing Billy Railway Archive for hosting this meeting and for providing such great hospitality.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It was then time for those who had travelled by Puffing Billy to board the train for the return trip to Belgrave. Last seen they were being served scones. It was a most successful excursion and meeting.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.puffingbilly.com.au/about-puffing-billy/" target="_blank">Puffing Billy</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-69746103994621785442012-05-09T20:22:00.001+10:002012-05-09T20:24:09.627+10:00Information Technology and Historical Societies ReportIn 2010 the Royal Historical Society of Victoria surveyed affiliated societies to investigate how they were using technology to help manage and promote their collections in Victoria.<br />
<br />
Part of the report focussed on cataloguing software used by historical societies, small museums and allied collections.<br />
<br />
The report also compared the results from a similar survey conducted in 2003.<br />
<br />
A copy of the report is available on the RHSV website:<br />
<a href="http://www.tobstar.com.au/client/HistoryVictoria/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/information_technology_report_2010.pdf" target="_blank">Information technology and historical societies report (2010)</a> (pdf)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-33620812652413330062012-05-09T20:06:00.000+10:002012-09-13T13:46:45.766+10:00Notes from mc2 - DB TextWorks GuidesA series of guides providing information on using Inmagic DB/TextWorks databases for cataloguing<br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/IS1-Backing_up_databases.pdf" target="_blank">Backing up databases</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/IS2_Batch_modify_records.pdf" target="_blank">Batch modify records</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/IS3_Delete_records.pdf" target="_blank">Delete records</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/IS4_Duplicate_records.pdf" target="_blank">Duplicate records</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/IS5_Help_files.pdf" target="_blank">Help files</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/IS6_How_to_alter_database_structures.pdf" target="_blank">How to alter database structures</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/IS7_Importing_records.pdf" target="_blank">Importing records</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/IS8_Linking_images.pdf" target="_blank">Linking images</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/IS9_Password.pdf" target="_blank">Passwords</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/IS10_report_forms.pdf" target="_blank">Report forms</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/IS11_search_screens.pdf" target="_blank">Search screens</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/IS12_thesaurus.pdf" target="_blank">Thesaurus</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/IS13_Validation_lists.pdf" target="_blank">Validation lists</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/IS14_Exporting_records_from_Excel_to_DBTextWorks.pdf" target="_blank">Exporting records from Excel to DBTextWorks</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/IS15_Exporting_records.pdf" target="_blank">Exporting records</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/IS16_Reformatting_multiple_entries_in_fields.pdf" target="_blank">Reformatting multiple entries in fields</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-85542994904763861782012-05-09T09:11:00.001+10:002012-09-13T13:50:28.957+10:00Notes from mc2 - Links to general cataloguing guidelinesGuidelines and forms that may be useful when cataloguing<br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/Cataloguing_information_items.pdf" target="_blank">Guidelines for computer cataloguing of information items</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/photograph_information_form.doc" target="_blank">Photograph information form</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/potential_donations.doc" target="_blank">Potential donations form</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/potential_donations_reverse.doc" target="_blank">Potential donations form - reverse</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/Receipt.doc" target="_blank">Receipt</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/Receipt_reverse.doc" target="_blank">Receipt - reverse</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/Documents/Victorian_Local_History_Database.pdf" target="_blank">Victorian Local History Database</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-4273274496645731312012-05-03T20:31:00.000+10:002012-05-03T21:06:10.346+10:00Notes from mc2 - Links<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Links from Computers & Cataloguing mc2<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Community Heritage Grants useful links page – Includes links
to organisations and papers on a variety of topics including conservation,
preservation, grants, microfilming, digitisation and preservation assessments.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<o:p><a href="http://www.nla.gov.au/chg/useful-resources" target="_blank">http://www.nla.gov.au/chg/useful-resources</a></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Copyright & cultural institutions – guidelines for
digitisation projects<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=881699" target="_blank">http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=881699</a><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Counter code – Script to add a counter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<a href="http://www.statsmachine.com/counter.html" target="_blank">http://www.statsmachine.com/counter.html</a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Image digitisation of local history collections – the manual
provides a simple introduction to issues to be considered when planning &
implementing digitisation projects</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<o:p><a href="http://www.libraries.vic.gov.au/downloads/Victorias_Virtual_Library_Digital_Collection/manual.htm" target="_blank">http://www.libraries.vic.gov.au/downloads/Victorias_Virtual_Library_Digital_Collection/manual.htm</a></o:p><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Maxus Australia – information about DB TextWorks & other
Inmagic software</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<o:p><a href="http://www.maxus.net.au/" target="_blank">http://www.maxus.net.au/</a></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Small museums cataloguing manual – online version of this useful
cataloguing tool</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<o:p><a href="http://www.mavic.asn.au/resources" target="_blank">http://www.mavic.asn.au/resources</a></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Care of digital
collections</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Electronic media collections care for small museums &
archives – a Canadian website (Canadian Conservation Institute) providing
guidelines on storage, reformatting and correct documentation of digital media
in collections</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<o:p><a href="http://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/caringfor-prendresoindes/articles/elecmediacare/step1-etape1-eng.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/caringfor-prendresoindes/articles/elecmediacare/step1-etape1-eng.aspx</a></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Designing and
maintaining websites</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<o:p><a href="http://vcourt.teesee.net/webworkshop/wsindex.html" target="_blank">http://vcourt.teesee.net/webworkshop/wsindex.html</a></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>Thesaurus</em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Australian pictorial thesaurus</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><a href="http://www.picturethesaurus.gov.au/" target="_blank">http://www.picturethesaurus.gov.au/ </a></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Victorian local history thesaurus</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<o:p><a href="http://collections.historyvictoria.com.au/rhsvdatabases/ThesApr11/index.htm" target="_blank">http://collections.historyvictoria.com.au/rhsvdatabases/ThesApr11/index.htm</a></o:p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-79396594463915828412012-05-03T20:05:00.000+10:002012-05-03T20:05:10.122+10:00Notes from mc2 - introductionIn September 2003 a Computers & Cataloguing My Connected Community Group was formed to provide a forum for those undertaking cataloguing and computer based projects in historical societies and small museums. The mc2 group also provided the opportunity to link to relevant sites on the Internet, publicise events and share documents containing information about cataloguing and other procedures. On the 30th June 2012 Vicnet is closing the My Connected Community site so in the next few weeks relevant information from the mc2 site will be copied to this blog.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-79146496781367735982011-03-21T20:30:00.000+11:002013-04-11T17:07:59.575+10:00DB/TextWorks manualsWhile looking for something else on the andornot blog I also found the following information on manual for those with recent copies of DB/TextWorks - <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.andornot.com/blog/post/DBTextWorks-Manuals.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.andornot.com/blog/post/DBTextWorks-Manuals.aspx</a><br />
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The andornot website and blog - <a href="http://www.andornot.com/" target="_blank">http://www.andornot.com</a> - is a useful resource to bookmark if using DB/TextWorks software.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-20813584773115234722009-12-30T14:49:00.002+11:002009-12-30T15:08:51.718+11:00RestrictionsThe Restrictions field will only be used occasionally.<br /><br />The Restrictions field is used if the copyright for a photograph, for example, belongs to another organisation or person or if there is a restriction placed by the donor regarding access to or copying of an item.<br /><br />If a photograph has been purchased from another organisation, a person requiring a copy of the photograph will need to contact the organisation from which the photographed was purchased.<br /><br />Some local history collections contain photographs donated by local newspapers. The copyright of the photograph belongs with the local newspaper.<br /><br />The local history collection might contain information that is restricted as it contains details that should not be in the public domain at this time but may be a valuable resource in the future, especially for family history researchers. For example lists of names of boys who spent time at a Youth Training Centre.<br /><br />When acquiring items for the collection it is important that the relevant documentation including sections about copyright and reproduction items is completed and signed by the donor.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-88840864407560872862009-12-30T14:34:00.003+11:002009-12-30T14:49:30.636+11:00AddressIn the <em>Victorian Local History Database</em> the Address field is used to record the full address of a building when this information is available.<br /><br />A frequently asked question in historical societies is, "Do you have any information about my house?" or information about another building.<br /><br />Photographs, real estate leaflets, land brochures, articles from newspapers, pamphlets and books are just some of the items which may provide information about buildings and blocks of land.<br /><br />Only use the Address field if the full address is known.<br /><br />The address is written in the form of Suburb or town, Street, Number<br />For example:<br />Nunawading, Whitehorse Road, 279<br /><br />If using the Address field in a database it may be a good idea to change the label of the field to Address of building in order to make it clear that it is the address of a building that is required and not the address of the publisher if the item is a book.<br /><br />The Address field can be a useful field for researchers using local history catalogues.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-52499274794630986042009-12-30T14:11:00.003+11:002009-12-30T14:33:53.658+11:00SourceIn the <em>Victorian Local History Database</em> the Source field is used to record information relating to a publication from which an article has been taken. The publication may be a newspaper or magazine or a book.<br /><br />The Source field allows you to record all the details about the publication - title, date, pages etc - in one place.<br /><br />For example if the article was from Nunawading Gazette the information in the Source field might be:<br />Nunawading Gazette, 6 May 1982, p5<br /><br />For example if the article was from a book the information in the Source field might be:<br />Alves, Lesley. Suburban Voices, 2001, pp9-12<br /><br />For example if the article was from an encyclopaedia the information in the Source field might be:<br />Encyclopaedia Britannica , 1889, vol 3, p53<br /><br />When using the Source field there is no need to include information in the Date field, Place field or Publisher field.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-62792670564909873012009-12-30T13:43:00.002+11:002009-12-30T14:05:35.381+11:00Publication details<strong>Date</strong><br /><br />The Date field, also called Date Made field in some databases or When Made, is the field where the date that an item was made is recorded.<br /><br />For books it is the publication date of the book.<br /><br />The date of publication is normally found on the title page of the book or the verso of the title page.<br /><br />For photographs it is the date the photograph was taken.<br /><br />For other items it is the date they were published or made.<br /><br />In the Date field only record the year - 1947, 2003 etc.<br /><br />If only an approximate date is known use the letter c for circa in front of the date - c1947, c2003 etc.<br /><br />If it is necessary to use a date referring to a decade (not recommended) do not use an apostrophe (it is plural, not possessive) - 1920s, 1960s.<br /><br /><strong>Place</strong><br />The Place field, also called Place Made field in some databases or Where Made, is the field where the place that an item was made is recorded.<br /><br />For books it is the place where the book was published.<br /><br />The place of publication is normally found on the title page of the book or the verso of the title page.<br /><br />For photographs it is the place the photograph was taken.<br /><br />For other items it is the place they were published or made, if known.<br /><br />The term used in the Place field is the name of a city or town - Melbourne, Ballarat.<br /><br /><strong>Publisher</strong><br />This field is used when cataloguing books to record the name of the publisher of the book.<br /><br />The name of the publisher is normally found on the title page of the book or the verso of the title page.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-10763065444377419372009-12-30T12:52:00.002+11:002009-12-30T13:16:25.960+11:00Subjects (4)<strong>Organisations as Subject headings - some guidelines</strong><br /><br />1. Be consistent when using the names of organisations as terms in the Subject field.<br /><br />2. It is best to use only one form of the Company name as a Subject.<br /><br />3. Use an Authority File for names of organisations / or companies to be used as a term in the Subject field.<br /><br />4. Names of organisations change - generally use the latest names<br />For example:<br />Bayswater Primary School<br />Rather than<br />Bayswater State School<br /><br />5. As churches often have common names, the place name is usually included when used as a term in the Subject field.<br />For example:<br />St Stephens Anglican Church, Bayswater<br />St Stephens Anglican Church, Richmond<br /><br />6. Do not use apostrophes in names of organisations when used as terms in the Subject field.<br /><br /><strong>Place names as Subject headings - some guidelines</strong><br /><br />1. Be consistent when using the names of places as terms in the Subject field.<br /><br />2. Use only one form of the place name.<br /><br />3.Use an Authority File for names of places when used as terms in the Subject field.<br /><br />4. Do not use apostrophes in names of places when used as terms in the Subject field.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-56664604304460962542009-12-29T21:49:00.003+11:002009-12-29T22:14:11.661+11:00Subjects (3)<strong>People as Subject headings - some guidelines</strong><br /><br />1. Enter Surname first followed by Given Name(s) <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">eg</span>. Brown, Susan<br /><br />2. Only use titles such as Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms if given names, including initials are not available <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">eg</span>. Brown, Mr<br />An exception is when the given name or initial provided for the name of a woman is that of her husband and is not her given name <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">eg</span>. Smith, George (Mrs)<br /><br />3. Use titles sparingly. Permanent titles such as Dr or Rev are OK <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">eg</span>. Jones, Brian (Dr) but do not use temporary titles such as Cr as part of the Subject term<br /><br />4. Occupations and / or dates are generally not necessary as part of the Subject term. In some case qualifiers such as dates may be needed to distinguish a number of people with identical names but if this is done be consistent and use the same form of the name for one person <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">every time</span>.<br /><br />5. When two people from the same family have the same name, identifiers such as (senior) or (junior) after the name may need to be used.<br /><br />6. Be consistent. Choose one form of a person's name to use in the catalogue.<br />For example: Smith, Susan<br />Not Smith, S; Smith, Suzie; Smith, Sue; Smith, Susan Mary; Smith, S M; Smith, Susan, M<br /><br />7. Use the form of the person's name by which the person is generally known for the Subject term. In the catalogue entry other forms of the name, if necessary, can be referred to in the Brief Description.<br /><br />8. If a woman is known by both her maiden name and married name, entries for both names can be used. (Do not use <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">eg</span>. Brown, Susan (nee) Smith<br />Instead use the two names as separate Subject terms:<br />Smith, Susan<br />Brown, Susan<br /><br />9. Create an Authority file for namesUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-89729545847193021022009-12-29T20:40:00.004+11:002009-12-29T22:29:58.857+11:00Subjects (2)<strong>Subject Terms - some guidelines</strong><br /><br />1. Use a thesaurus when choosing indexing terms for Subjects.<br /><br />2. Keep Subject terms simple and direct.<br />There is no need in a computer catalogue to include qualifying terms<br />For example: Hospitals – Sandringham – History<br />Instead use separate terms for Hospitals and Sandringham.<br />If the catalogue is primarily on the history of the area the term History can be taken as a given and there would normally be no need to use it.<br /><br />3. When cataloguing get to know the searching power / capabilities of the database and decide how best to use the features to help the users of the catalogue locate the required items.<br /><br />4. If the database allows for Boolean searching, select terms that will allow a researcher to use this feature.<br />For example terms for a photograph of Bayswater West Primary School would include:<br />Schools<br />Bayswater<br />Bayswater West Primary School<br /><br />Using the above Subject terms a researcher would be able to locate items in the catalogue<br />(a) Specifically on Bayswater West Primary School<br />(b) Relating to Schools in general<br />(c) Relating to Bayswater in general<br />(d)On Schools in Bayswater by combining the terms Schools and Bayswater in a search<br />(e)On Schools from different areas excluding Bayswater<br /><br />5. Know the collection and the terms that will help researchers access the items in the collection.<br />Determine the main themes and when items catalogued relate to one of those themes ensure that the term for that theme is included in the Subjects field for that item.<br />For example:<br />Schools<br />Churches<br />Hotels<br />Hospitals<br />Bridges<br /><br />6. When cataloguing always try to think of terms that a researcher may need to find an item. Try and think from the viewpoint of the user.<br /><br />7. Card catalogues, due to the size of cards, inhibited the number of Subjects used. Computer catalogues allow for more extensive use of Subjects, if required. However keep the Subjects relevant to the item being catalogued and remember that in cataloguing Subject terms are used to help locate an item, not necessarily to index the item.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-84256904680267698982009-12-28T20:46:00.009+11:002009-12-30T13:20:20.569+11:00Subjects (1)<strong>General guidelines for using Subjects when cataloguing information collections</strong><br /><br />Subjects are terms used to help researchers locate information in a collection. Some databases call this field Keywords while Key Associations was used in earlier versions of the Museums Data Structure.<br /><br />Databases can be set up allowing the creation of a field (Broad Search) where multiple fields from the database can be searched at once. This can be a useful way to locate information. However a search in such a field can produce a large number of records which need to be sifted through to locate relevant items. A selection of the items will often be false hits.<br /><br />Using the Subject field allows researchers to undertake a structured search.<br /><br />In computer databases terms can often be combined using Boolean search logic providing additional search possibilities. This needs to be kept in mind when selecting subject terms. There is therefore no need to add qualifiers to terms in computer databases - instead use specific terms that can be combined in a search if required.<br /><br />Subjects can be names of people, places, organisations, buildings, objects and concepts.<br /><br />A thesaurus should be used to ensure consistency in the use of terms for objects and concepts.<br /><a href="http://210.15.209.254/thesaurus/index.htm" target="_blank">Victorian Local History Thesaurus</a> is available online in the Local History Online section of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria website. Copies on cd-rom are available for purchase from the RHSV for $10.<br />Another online thesaurus is the <a href="http://www.picturethesaurus.gov.au/" target="_blank">Australian Pictorial Thesaurus</a>.<br /><br />A thesaurus provides a list of preferred terms to be used as subjects. Terms not to be used refer the user to the preferred term. Broader terms, narrower terms and related terms can also be provided.<br /><br />See <a href="http://hscatguide.blogspot.com/2009/12/subjects-2.html" target="_blank">Subjects (2)</a> for additional information on using terms for Subjects.<br /><br />For consistency Authority Files should be used for names of people, organisations and places.<br />An Authority File for People is an alphabetical list of the form of the person's name to be used in the database.<br /><br />See <a href="http://hscatguide.blogspot.com/2009/12/subjects-3.html" target="_blank">Subjects (3)</a> for additional information on using names of people as terms in the Subjects field.<br /><br />Determine the style to be used for the terms. Do not use block letters. Sentence case should be used unless the term is the name of a person, organisation or place when capital letters are used at the beginning of each word in the term.<br />For example:<br />Avenues of honour<br />Lysterfield Avenue of Honour<br /><br />Do not use apostrophes in the Subject field. Using apostrophes in other database fields such as Title or Brief Description is fine but using apostrophes in Subject terms can lead to inconsistency.<br /><br />See <a href="http://hscatguide.blogspot.com/2009/12/subjects-4.html" target="_blank">Subjects (4)</a> for additional information on using names of organisations and places as terms in the Subjects field.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2855872844726099090.post-15937835884806162322009-12-28T20:33:00.002+11:002009-12-28T20:41:46.708+11:00Author, Photographer, IllustratorIn the data structure for the <em>Victorian Local History Database</em> separate fields are provided for recording the name of the Author, Photographer and / or Illustrator. Some databases have one field - Maker Details - to record this information.<br /><br />When recording the names of authors, photographers or illustrators follow library practice with Surname followed by Given name(s). - eg Colulson, Helen<br /><br />If there are a number of items in the collection created by the same person, be consistent and use the same form of the name each time.<br /><br />When cataloguing books only use the name of the photographer or illustrator if the person has contributed all the photographs or illustrations in the book.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0