From: "Seymour, Janet I - WHS" <Janet.Seymour@wisconsinhistory.org> Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:32:29 -0600 Subject: List Serve - FW: February 2009 PastPerfect Newsletter Message-ID: <488E289A5C909049B0E55F6B651B5B35F90D47BBDB@MEWMAD0PC01G02.accounts.wistate.us>
Newsletter for those of you working with Past Perfect Software
Janet Seymour
Field Services Representative - Northern Region
Wisconsin Historical Society
Voice: 715-836-2250
Collecting, Preserving, and Sharing Stories Since 1846
Review past messages at: http://listserve.uwec.edu/localhistory/
________________________________
<http://www.museumsoftware.com/index.shtml>
PastPerfect Newsletter: February/March 2009
1. NEW! Collections Management Training CD
2. Upcoming training opportunities for PastPerfect 4.0
3. PastPerfect Featured User: Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, Oak Pa
rk, IL
4. Free Update for PastPerfect 4.0
5. Grants & Resources
6. Tech Tip: Keyword Search
7. Contact Information
________________________________
1. NEW! Collections Management Training CD: A New Way to Learn PastPerfect!
Have you ever wanted to bring a PastPerfect trainer into the comfort of you
r living room? Do you want to start volunteers on the right foot by sending
them to training, but your organization does not have the funds to send ev
eryone? PastPerfect Software now has the solution.
PastPerfect Software introduces its first training CD, "Cataloging Your Col
lection with PastPerfect 4.0." This CD teaches basic navigation as well as
processing collections from the moment a "man walks in with a box." Lessons
include basic and advanced cataloging, attaching digital images/multi-medi
a files to records, research methods, and tips for keeping your data safe.
The CD gives you the opportunity to learn at your own pace, anywhere you wa
nt.
The training CD costs just $39.00 total (shipping is included), and is avai
lable for purchase at our secure online store. Please visit our website at
www.MuseumSoftware.com<http://www.museumsoftware.com/> and click on "Online
Store" from our navigation menu. Or you can order by calling our toll free
number 1-800-562-6080.
________________________________
2. Upcoming training opportunities for PastPerfect 4.0
Plans for our 2009 Training schedule are under way! Currently scheduled tra
ining dates are listed below for our online and regional training classes.
Online Training Classes:
PastPerfect Software is proud to introduce web based training. Classes are
taught real-time and are broadcast live to your computer. Using the interne
t and a telephone based conference call, our experienced trainer walks you
through cataloging collections using PastPerfect. All training materials ar
e provided online. All you need is a phone, the ability to call a long dist
ance number and internet access that is at least DSL speed.
Online Training: Cataloging your Collection with PastPerfect 4.0
$69.00 for AASLH Members ($86.25 for non-members) and includes a FREE copy
of the "Cataloging Your Collection with PastPerfect 4.0." training CD. Call
to reserve your space today, seats are limited!
February 25-27 9:30-12:00 EST.
Regional Training Classes:
Denver, CO - March 9-10
Hosted by the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum
March 9 - Cataloging Collections; March 10 - Managing Collections
Buffalo, NY - April 14-16
Hosted by the Buffalo Museum of Science
April 14 - Cataloging Collections; April 15 - Managing Collections; April 1
6 - Managing Membership and Fundraising Activities
For more information about scheduled training classes, please visit our web
site at www.museumsoftware.com/training.shtml<http://www.museumsoftware.com
/training.shtml> or contact our Training Coordinator, Jennessa Reed, by ema
iling training@museumsoftware.com<mailto:training@museumsoftware.com> or ca
lling 1-800-562-6080.
________________________________
3. PastPerfect Featured User: Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, Oak Pa
rk, IL
Special thanks to Tiffany Charles, Collection Manager, for contributing thi
s article!
The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, established in 1974, operates tw
o architecturally significant National Historic Landmark sites designed by
the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The first site is in Oak Park, I
L and consists of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home (1889), which is the first re
sidence that the architect designed for himself, and the attached Studio (1
898), where Wright launched an architectural revolution in residential desi
gn. The Home and Studio’s exterior and interior graphically demonstrate t
he formation and evolution of Wright’s ideas for a new American architect
ure, the Prairie style. The second site is located in Chicago. The Wright-d
esigned Robie House, completed in 1910, is one of the most important buildi
ngs in the history of American architecture. The building was a catalyst fo
r a revolution in domestic architecture, presaging many of the developments
that would arise throughout the twentieth century.
Both sites are National Historic Landmarks, managed by the Frank Lloyd Wrig
ht Preservation Trust as accredited museums and serve over 100,000 visitors
from around the world each year. Visitors to the two museum sites experien
ce the buildings and collections through docent led tours.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust has been using PastPerfect since
2003. Currently, the collections department is working on cataloging the en
tire collection on exhibit in the Home & Studio. This cataloging project in
cludes detailed descriptions and condition reports, updates of all location
s and attachment of new object images. The Scatter/Gather feature makes it
easy to export the pertinent data and images to a remote computer, allowing
for a great deal of mobility and versatility as catalogers move from room
to room.
Although PastPerfect is very adaptable and can be navigated almost effortle
ssly, there are times when technical or trouble-shooting support is necessa
ry. For the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, the support provided by
the PastPerfect team has proved indispensable. The staff is always so frien
dly, knowledgeable and eager to do whatever is necessary to answer a questi
on or solve a problem.
There are many innovative features and applications to recommend PastPerfec
t, but it is the support staff that makes it the number one choice for muse
um software at the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust.
For more information on the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, tours, t
he Robie House restoration or our programs, please visit www.gowright.org<h
ttp://www.gowright.org>.
________________________________
4. Free Update for PastPerfect 4.0
The Version 4.0E2 update has some great new features for contacts managemen
t.
Are you tracking donations, dues and in-kind gifts for grant proposals, the
Cultural Data Project*, or financial statements? PastPerfect Version 4.0E2
now has fields to help you specify revenue sources and restrictions.
The new Revenue Source field helps you distinguish whether donations come f
rom board members, individuals, corporations, foundations, government entit
ies, parent organizations, or any source you set up in the field's Combo Bo
x Pull-Down List. You can also mark dues payments with "Membership Dues/Fee
s" and in-kind gifts with "In-Kind Contributions" or any other source you s
pecify. The Revenue Restriction field enables you to easily identify unrest
ricted, temporarily or permanently restricted funds. You can then create yo
ur own detailed reports on these payments using Report Maker. With Report M
aker you can build reports with multiple output options, including printed
column and form layouts, Excel and other worksheets. You can also create MS
-Word, PDF or HTML files from your report, making it easy to find useful fo
rmats for board meetings and grant applications.
This update adds "Paypal" as a payment option, brings your ten year summari
es to 2009, and makes the 2009 payment fields available for your mail merge
letters.
E2 also has new features that enhance managing your collections.
Add multiple prefix and suffix options to Dublin Core XML output
Add Outgoing Loan # to catalog table so it can be used for searches, report
s and included in browse screens
Find by "Dataset" added to Deaccession screen
Outgoing Loan "Items on Loan" report, add the ability to have the location
and other catalog fields on the report
When changing the full name on the People Biography screen, give user optio
n to update first and last name with changes
To download your free PastPerfect 4.0 update, please visit the Software Upd
ates section of our website at www.museumsoftware.com/softwareupdates.shtml
<http://www.museumsoftware.com/softwareupdates.shtml>. Detailed instruction
s are located on the Update Version 4.0 web page. Please be sure to back up
your data first and close PastPerfect (including PastPerfect on all networ
k workstations) before running the update.
If you have any questions, please contact our Support Office at 1-800-562-6
080 or email support@museumsoftware.com<mailto:support@museumsoftware.com>.
Thank you for using PastPerfect!
*Pennsylvania, Maryland and California currently have Cultural Data Project
s that help standardize how organizations report financial information to f
unders. Participants only need to complete the CDP form once annually, and
submit its data with grant proposals to partnering funders. The Pennsylvani
a Cultural Data Project administers all three programs, although each proje
ct has its website with state specific information.
________________________________
5. Grants & Resources
Although finding support for collections care can be challenging, it is sti
ll possible to find funding. State museum associations, historical societie
s, humanities councils, historical commissions, The Foundation Center, and
the US federal government’s grants website (www.grants.gov) have resource
s to which you can turn. Some states like Louisiana are developing tools to
help organizations find and successfully compete for grants. Other states
are making reporting your organization’s financial information to multipl
e foundation funders easier through Cultural Data Projects. The Institute o
f Museum and Library Services offers Statewide Planning Grants to encourage
cooperation between multiple organizations throughout states and territori
es. AASLH and other organizations are spearheading initiatives to increase
federal funding for museums. Funding is available. It just may take a bit o
f leg work to find it.
Louisiana
The State of Louisiana is developing online resources to help Louisiana mus
eums find and successfully apply for grants. The website at www.doa.louisia
na.gov/cdbg/SGMSabout.htm<http://www.doa.louisiana.gov/cdbg/SGMSabout.htm>
contains the State Grants Management Section mission and contact informatio
n. It also will have the Louisiana Assistance Resource Center, a research p
ortal for grants.
Kansas
The Kansas Humanities Council offers Heritage Grants, which are “intended
to encourage the preservation and study of local and regional cultural res
ources and to assist cultural agencies to develop stronger practices in mai
ntaining and managing local heritage resources.”
Matching grants of up to $3500 are awarded for collections care projects. T
he funds may not be used for software purchases; however participants are o
ften able to find funding from donations to purchase software, then use tha
t as the match. Successful proposals should include the use of a project co
nsultant, schedule for completion, detailed budget, and plan for sharing pr
oject outcomes with the general public. With the exception of colleges and
universities, any not-for-profit organization in Kansas may apply for a Her
itage Program grant.
In 2009, grant applications will be reviewed in the Summer and Fall. The up
coming deadlines for Project Outlines are May 8 and September 18, 2009.
The Humanities Council website has more information, including detailed gui
delines, past recipients, etc. at www.kansashumanities.org/grants/heritage/
heritage.html<http://www.kansashumanities.org/grants/heritage/heritage.html
> or for more information, please contact:
Dan Carey-Whalen
785-357-0359
Email: dan@kansashumanities.org<mailto:dan@kansashumanities.org>
The Kansas Museums Association offers grants to its member organizations. G
rants of about $400 are awarded on a competitive basis. Applicants may appl
y for funds for any project expenditure, except routine operating expenses.
For more information, please visit the Association’s website at www.ksmu
seums.org/grants.html<http://www.ksmuseums.org/grants.html> or for more inf
ormation, contact the Institutional Project Grant chair:
Deborah Barker
Old Depot Museum / Franklin County Historical Society
785-242-1232
Email: Email: history@old.depot.museum<mailto:Email: history@old.depot.museum<mailto:history@old.depot.museum>
IMLS
As part of its Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action Initiative, IMLS
offers a number of grants for collections care. American Heritage Preserva
tion Grants are geared to small museums, libraries and archives to preserve
specific items. IMLS is also distributing 1000 copies of its Bookshelf, a
compilation of collections care resources including books, DVDs, online res
ources, and an annotated bibliography. Applications may be submitted to AAS
LH between January 5, 2009, and March 9, 2009, at www.aaslh.org/Bookshelf<h
ttp://www.aaslh.org/Bookshelf>.
________________________________
6. Tech Tip: Keyword Search
The PastPerfect Keyword Search function provides a way of finding the infor
mation you need quickly. Keyword Search is an indexed search, meaning that
a word list is created from the data entered into your catalog records. Whe
n someone performs a keyword search for a word, the search tool runs throug
h the list, finds the word and displays the entries that contain that word.
It is important to rebuild your keyword search index after you have entere
d data, so that the Keyword Search list has the most up-to-date list of wor
ds and count of entries that contain that word. You can rebuild the index r
ight from the Keyword Search screen.
To check the words that are listed in your search index, click on the "Setu
p" button at the Main Menu, then click on the "Keyword Search" button. At t
he bottom of the Keyword Search Setup screen, there is a "View Word List" b
utton, click this to view your word list. This list contains words from you
r data and the number of times those words appear in the fields you have se
lected for keyword searching.
To optimize the Keyword Search for your institution, you may choose which f
ields you want to include in the Keyword Search from the Keyword Setup scre
en. To do this, click on the tab for each catalog and place a check next to
the fields you want to include in the Keyword Search.
If you want to be able to search for dates using Keyword Search, you must a
dd numbers to the "Valid characters to include..." field. You can do this o
n the Keyword Setup Screen by typing "-1234567890" in the "Valid characters
to include in keywords in addition to a-z" field. From time to time, you m
ay get a message indicating that there are words that appear more than 1000
times, and you may want to add these words to the excluded words list. For
a list of these words, press the "View Word List" button and click on the
"Count" column to sort by count. After checking your word list, if you want
to add these words to the excluded words list, click into the "Do not incl
ude these words in keyword list" field, and type in the word followed by a
comma (do not add any spaces).
When you are finished making changes to Keyword Setup, click the "Rebuild I
ndexes Now" button. If you have not done this for a while, it may take seve
ral minutes. Please keep in mind that no other PastPerfect user on your net
work may be in the Keyword Setup screen when using this button.
If you have any questions about this Tech Tip, please contact our Support O
ffice at 1-800-562-6080 or email support@museumsoftware.com<mailto:support@
museumsoftware.com>.
In addition to newsletter Technical Tips, we also provide other online reso
urces like Video Tech Tips and Frequently Asked Questions. Both resources a
re available at any time from our website www.MuseumSoftware.com<http://www
.museumsoftware.com/> under the "Support" heading.
________________________________
7. Contact Information
Address: 300 North Pottstown Pike, Suite 200, Exton, PA 19341
Website: www.MuseumSoftware.com<http://www.museumsoftware.com/>
Sales & Product Information: 1-800-562-6080 or sales@museumsoftware.com<mai
lto:sales@museumsoftware.com>
Support: 1-800-562-6080 or support@museumsoftware.com<mailto:<mailto:support@museum
software.com>
Training: 1-800-562-6080 or training@museumsoftware.com<mailto:<mailto:training@mus
eumsoftware.com>
Data Conversions: 1-800-562-6080 or conversions@museumsoftware.com<mailto:c
onversions@museumsoftware.com>
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