Last year, the North Grenville Historical Society (NGHS) purchased PastPerfect 5.0, the “world’s leader in collections and contact management software,” for use in the NGHS Archives. PastPerfect Museum Software has a proven track record and is used by collecting institutions such as museums, libraries and archives worldwide, including the Merrickville and District Historical Society. The software, and the hardware on which it’s installed, was purchased through generous donations made to the NGHS during its fundraising Harvest Dinners in 2017 and 2018. The NGHS is happy to announce that it is now in production.
PastPerfect provides tools to streamline and automate the acquisition process, cataloguing, exhibits, loans, condition reports, and other common museum practices. The application includes the ability to load images of the items in the collection, and numerous list management, research and report features that provide full data access to the general public.
Johanna Jansen, a volunteer with the NGHS, provided her expertise as a business analyst to implement the computer system, setting up process flow, personalized letters, etc. to facilitate the recording of the society’s collection. Other project team members included Al Parsons and Doug Hendry for additional IT support and Amanda Gould, Director of Archives. Many thanks are also owed to the Merrickville and District Historical Society for their recommendation and initial hands-on training.
As part of phasing in the system, the loading of data files from the previous system into PastPerfect has also begun. The procedure manuals have been written to provide volunteers with easy steps to follow. The schedule for training volunteers will begin in April and information for new donations will now be entered into PastPerfect. Additional volunteers are needed to enter acquisitions and complete cataloguing in the system.
Anyone who is interested in joining the Archives Documentation team for this purpose would be welcomed. Individuals are encouraged to contact the nghsociety@gmail.com prior to the training sessions beginning in April.
