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Re: database systems for archives



One comment only, Kristin (and others)  - I won't go into my support for
Inmagic's DB/Textworks - an archive search of the list will bring up the
posts I've written on it in the past.

I would, however, ring one note of caution about sending out RFIs to
companies randomly.  Be careful about buying a specially designed product
from a company for your archives.  You are ALWAYS better off buying an off
the shelf product or from a company that has a long reputation in the
business (perhaps even doing both of those) than getting a specially
designed, your-organization-only database.

If you do the latter, the chances of the company going out of business are
as good as for any other company, and then you're left with a database that
nobody knows how to support.  The benefit of a standard product (Access,
Inmagic, etc.) is that you're working with a product that everybody else
uses, and support is very widespread (they may not be helpful, but they
exist).  If somebody goes out of business and your DB breaks three years
down the line, you're up a creek.  Nobody knows how the DB was created, they
don't know if they used proprietary software, and then you've gotta find
somebody (at VERY high cost) to figure out how to make your DB work again.

DS

______________________________________
Daniel Sokolow, Archives Coordinator
David Taylor Archives
North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System
155 Community Drive
Great Neck, NY 11021
mailto:dsokolow@nshs.edu

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