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From 1989 to 1999 the DAC collection catalog was maintained in HyperCard, an authoring application. In 1994 we began evaluating strategies for migration to a more powerful database management system. Due to certain functional needs, legacy data issues, and the cost and specific feature sets of off-the-shelf museum software then available, in the late 1990s we developed an interim collections database management system in-house. Since migrating to that system and bringing it live as our operational database in 2000, it has provided a reliable, secure, and flexible environment for ongoing standardization of the information it contains, while supporting collections-related museum work on the premises.
This current system is accessible only at the DAC, where it supports museum staff, faculty, and student access for teaching, research, exhibitions, collections management, and other museum operations. As cleanup of legacy data is nearing a point at which migration to a more powerful successor system will be both feasible and useful, we are now assessing our future path in that regard. One key aspect of any successor system will be an underlying data model that can be mapped to such museum metadata standards as CDWA and CDWA Lite. Another core requirement will be the ability to export selected data subsets to a separate server for 24/7 public access via this website.
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