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Collection Management Software: Catalog like a Pro
by Missy Sullivan, The Forbes Collector ~ June 2003
Ask people their favorite aspect of collecting, and most will wax on about the discovery, the chase, the experience of living with an artwork or artifact, or researching its maker and history.Not as many will say they get their kicks from cataloguing, appraising, insuring or shipping.
Collecting comes with a significant “back end” component.
Stuff needs to be managed.Do you still keep salient collection data on index cards? Not sure of the name of that appraiser or framer you used a few years back? Ever lent or stored a work and not remembered where? If you answered yes to one of those questions, you may be a candidate for a collection management database.
Whether you’ve got 50 movie posters, 500 pieces of Steuben glass or 5,000 art photographs, there are programs to help manage your collection. I test drove several and have chosen the four best.
When it comes to the basic features—cataloguing, imaging, managing contacts, generating reports to share with your accountant or insurer, and tracking of location, condition, expenses and valuations—the programs all deliver well.The main differences come in price and programming power.
The good news: these aren’t just boring tools.They can enhance the fun of collecting, too—from sorting to your heart’s delight (by artist, date, medium, color, etc.) to giving you a place to organize your research (like articles or video clips of the artist) to making slide shows to share with friends.
The bottom line: all the packages here are brimming with features, more than most collectors will ever use.All let you customize your data fields to better fit your collection’s needs. And while all but one seem complex on first blush, computer novices should not be put off. Many users I spoke with praised the modest learning curve and responsive technical support.
With the exception of Collectify, each company offers even more robust programs aimed at large-scale private collections, galleries and museums that employ curators or registrars. For our purposes here, I focus on their basic collector offerings (all are more than adequate), but note where more powerful sibling programs are available.
COLLECTIFY/ My Stuff www.collectify.com Software Price: $99.95 Support/Updates: free Enables different levels of security access? Yes. Web-based? No, requires software to be loaded onto your computer. Mac compatible? Not currently. Networkable between multiple users? Yes. Web Services: No. Neat Features: Most friendly in design and usage.Helpful pop-up wizards counsel you on how to fill out data fields. Lets you sort and scroll thumbnails, great for untitled works like glass or ceramics. You can also create slideshows and convert them to PDFs. Comments: Less technically robust and not as fully relational as the other databases listed here. But don’t let the name or price fool you; there’s plenty to work with here for most collectors.
ARTSYSTEMS/ Collections www.artsystems.com Software Price: $895 Support/Updates: $300 Enables different levels of security access? Yes. Web-based? No. Mac compatible? Nor currently. Company spokesperson says “later this summer.” Networkable between multiple users? Yes. Additional licenses $400 each. Web Services: Artsystems will design a website that will allow you to upload select data and images to the web. Neat Features: Tracks cost details in multiple currencies. Can create “DataKits” of information and images to share with other Artsystems users. Comments: Elegant database design uses less of your computer’s disk space for image files.
ARTBASE/ Collector www.artbaseinc.com Software Price: $2,500 Support/Updates: $150 per year; full software upgrades: $1,500 Enables different levels of security access? Yes. Web-based? No. Coming in the next version. Mac compatible? Yes. Networkable between multiple users? No, but sibling program ArtBase LE supports up to 3 users. Web Services: With ArtBase LE, can publish your data to the Web. Upload data to create private viewing rooms, even online auctions. Neat Features: International versions support multiple currencies and languages. Lets you create bar-code labels to monitor inventory. Offers a Palm solution with images, handy when you’re attending art fairs.
GALLERY SYSTEMS/ EmbARK Collections Manager www.gallerysystems.com Software Price: $1,995 for one user, includes 60 days unlimited tech support Support/Updates: $1,000 per user annually Enables different levels of security access? Yes. Web-based? No. Mac compatible? Yes. Networkable between multiple users? Yes.Additional licenses start at $3,600 and go down in price as you add more users. Web Services: Web Kiosk module ($4,995) lets you publish select data online. New eMuseum feature works with sibling program TMSLight. Neat Features: Elegant design. High level of customization. Handy online user manual. Special thesaurus for managing art lingo.
