Reference enquiries databases

Hi all,

I'm looking into implementing a better system for lodging and tracking reference inquiries. We have two staff members who do the bulk of the reference inquiries, and we don't really have a means to track them at the moment. We are using a basic excel spreadsheet, but I'd like to see what other systems are out there.

We keep statistics, of course, but this only covers higher-level information (eg how many inquired about labour, business or University records, etc). What I'm looking for is a database to retain the researchers' details, the specifics of the inquiry, the period it took to respond, etc.

If anyone can provide me with information on what they use to track reference inquiries, I'd be grateful.

Thanks,

 

Katie Wood

kathrynw@unimelb.edu.au

University of Melbourne Archives

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Replies

  • Hi Katie,

    At UNSW Archives we use a fairly simple MS Access database that was just created by a staff member and includes fields like the researchers' details, their question, the date etc.  The advantages are that you're able to choose all the fields that you need, while the disadvantages are the usual Access issues relating to searching. It depends on your number of research enquiries as to how much of an issue the searching may be for you.

    Cheers,


    Katie Bird

    • Thanks for the speedy replies! To clarify, we get about 1000 inquiries a year, mostly distributed between a couple of staff. I'd also like to know if organisations don't have a system.

      I'd like to use the database to keep track of inquiries as they are being completed, and to be able to get information such as exact collections inquired about, time and days it takes to respond and complete inquiries etc.

       

  • Hi Katie

    At the National Archives surprisingly we only use Filemaker Pro although we may one day be upgrading to a national database to track reference cases. Although this has its limitations in being a localised database we can index the name and contact details of the researcher, the enquiry topic and use macros to calculate dates. You could use any off the shelf product to do this including Microsoft Access or an open source database as long as you create a relational structure for it.

     

    Cheers

     

    Melanie Grogan

    National Archives of Australia

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