Condition surveys

I'm interested in hand-held technology others have used for
condition surveys in their collections. We are currently planning a
100% condition survey (vs. random sampling) of a large collection,
the majority of which has a cataloging backlog (40,000+ objects,
over 1 million archival documents and books, over 4,000 pieces of
fine art). This is in preparation for planning a new museum to be
built in 2008 or 2009 focusing on the stories of individual
soldiers, from the Gettysburg era to modern times. In addition, we
have just acquired a large collection of over 40,000 objects.

The aim of our large-scale project is to quickly assess the
condition of each object while entering basic registration and
cataloging data simultaneously. We have a very short time frame to
perform this task in, as there are government regulations and
priorities relating to the proper time frame for cataloging items
like firearms and other factors that are affecting our schedule. The
situation is a bit unusual, and we need tools to expedite the
process.

We already have custom software designed for our collection that
does interface with Excel. Does anyone have experience using
advanced-model palm pilots with Excel software they would like to
share? I'm interested in the performance of particular models, user
suggestions, and tips.

Amber Tarnowski
Objects Conservator
US Army Heritage and Education Center
950 Soldiers Drive
Carlisle Barracks PA 17013-5021
717-245-4930


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:54
                   Distributed: Friday, May 20, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-18-54-035
                                  ***