PastPerfect Museum Software is an
application
Application may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks
** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...
for collections archiving. It is designed for museums, but may be used by various institutions including libraries, archives, and natural history collections. PastPerfect allows for the database storage of artifacts, documents, photographs, and library books.
History
PastPerfect was introduced in 1998 as the primary product of the then Pastime Software Company Inc. It was released in version two later the same year, updated to version three in 2001, and then to version four in 2004. It updated to version five in 2010, which remains the most current edition of the program. Pastime Software Company eventually changed its name to PastPerfect Software Inc. after 2007.
Functionality
PastPerfect operates with four basic
catalogs for sorting collections material. There is the ''archive'' catalog for storing documents, the ''photograph'' catalog for storing photos, tintypes, paintings, etc.; the ''objects'' catalog for storing three-dimensional artifacts, and the ''library'' catalog for storing books that would be included in the institution's library. Images can be uploaded into the catalog, with multiple photos per record. It also stores donor information, and automatically generates
Deed of Gift
A deed of gift is a signed legal document that voluntarily and without recompense transfers ownership of real, personal, or intellectual property – such as a gift of materials – from one person or institution to another. It should include a ...
forms and thank you letters upon completing certain steps of the accessioning process. Certain extensions allow for the inclusion of Oral History records and transcripts and there is an additional online function that allows institutions to digitize their collections and make them free to browse on the internet.
PastPerfect also contains a contact list function, for storing donors, members, and employee contact information in a similar catalog format as the rest of the program.
PastPerfect Online
''PastPerfect Online'' is a third-party
online service for organizing
digitized content for museums, libraries,
and archives,
with 602 current clients.
''PastPerfect Museum Software'' has in-house and hosted solutions.
Other museum software vendors
* Altru by Blackbaud
* Modes
* My Tours
* Vernon Systems
* Museum Anywhere
* Explorer Systems
* Artifax Software
* Gatemaster
References
{{reflist
External links
FAQ: PastPerfect Museum SoftwareOffline Museum Management
''PastPerfect Online'' Main site''PastPerfect Online''Client Data
Databases
Museum companies
Archival science