technical

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applying argus

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The Questor Strategy

Automating collections with Questor Questor offers a flexible approach to collection automation. Experience of more than 200 installations and nearly as many data conversions has given our staff valuable insight into the practical problems faced by large and small collections. Through consultation and discussion, we strive to find the best automation solution for our clients' needs. Within the diverse community of organizations that manage collections with databases there is a growing tendency toward standardization, but great discrepancies between the types of data to be managed. Depending on their goals and resources, collecting organizations have either pursued standardization at the cost of suppressing diverse needs, or created custom systems at great expense. Generic systems rarely allow institutions to realize their goal of complete data integration, whereas custom-made systems can isolate organizations and impose long-term responsibility for maintenance and upgrading as technology develops. Questor has adopted a design approach that avoids the pitfalls of both the generic and the custom approaches. Our design provides a system that is both compliant with industry standards, and allows clients to configure their systems to address unique needs. Argus is so flexible that all modifications made by clients are insulated from changes in the underlying programming code. Therefore, while most installations have some unique qualities, all systems have the same underlying program. This allows the client to configure and maintain Questor products without programmer intervention or customization fees, while still allowing system upgrades. Leaders in Collection Management During the past ten years the collecting community has embraced computer technology and placed higher demands upon it. Questor has remained at the forefront of developments in collection management automation, contributing some significant improvements to the field with Classic Argus (our earliest product), in digital imaging, terminology control, and now with the 1998 release of the new generation of Argus software, which meets new industry standards for open systems and client/server architecture. Current Technology - The technical base of Argus has long been viewed as a standard in the collection management field, and other companies have often used technical strategies that Questor pioneered. We continue to pursue our corporate goal of technical leadership in our market so that we can continue to offer the collecting community a product that incorporates the most useful proven benefits of new technology. Our clients can be assured that whenever we introduce technical solutions, they are soundly tested, represent the best solution available, and incorporate a migration path that adapts when technology advances. This commitment led to the development of an entirely new version of Argus between 1996 and 1998. In revising our product, we considered a number of factors critical to success. Expanded use of academic and museum-based specialists. Compliance with the highest level of open system standards. Incorporation of the latest technical and museum standards. Continued use of technical innovations pioneered by Questor. Development of software that can integrate multiple forms of information. Questor has actively sought out partnerships and collaborative efforts that will enhance our product offerings and provide better services and solutions to our clients. Advanced Argus features - Questor introduced many innovations now considered standard in collections management software. These include multiple hierarchies in a Lexicon, SuperFields (client-defined fields) and client-defined processing for such transactions as loans or exhibitions. The continued implementation of new features keeps Argus powerful and flexible, positioned at the forefront of collection management applications. Open Systems The choice of PowerBuilder as an application development tool allows Argus to be a cross-database application that will run on Sybase, Oracle, or Microsoft SQL Server (RDBMS). This design provides Argus users with the highest level of network flexibility. While other collection management products are advertised as open systems, the use of PowerBuilder has ensured that Argus will be the only truly open system on the market. This is because other products are developed with tools that work with only one relational database manager (i.e. Oracle development tools for the Oracle Database). While the relational databases themselves may indeed be open systems, the application development tools are specifically designed for those databases. Freedom to choose a different database manager, or introduce emerging technology, is therefore limited in other systems. Besides being able to run on several different database managers, Argus is fully ODBC-compliant, and therefore capable of sharing its data with other applications. This allows the Argus Web Access Module to make collection information accessible to a Web browser. The organization staff can now browse and research collection information without actually logging onto the Argus application. The same technology can be used to run on-line exhibits on the Internet, or give the general public access to collection images or labels. ODBC compliance brings other advantages as well: collection management information no longer has to live in isolation from other aspects of the organization's life and work. Object information and label copy can be exported to desktop publishing software in the publications office; names and addresses can be used by the membership office; and financial information is accessible to accounting software. Collection management standards Argus also observes museum collecting standards proposed by the major professional European, American, and Canadian professional associations. These can be roughly divided into three categories: Data Standards - Unlike the library and archive communities, which established field standards many years ago, the museum community lacks universally accepted guidelines for cataloging. Variety of collections has prevented adoption of cross-content standards, and specific disciplines have variant needs for which no standards have gained acceptance. This is increasingly true as one looks beyond art collections to more diverse material culture in historical and ethnographic collections, and in natural science repositories. Three field-level standards museums consider are Spectrum, CIDOC, and the Dublin Core (a fourth is under development through the REACH project). These standards attempt to identify a common "core" of fields to serve as "universals" for most collections. Because record types and fields are so flexible in Argus, the software can readily comply with these basic guidelines while also accommodating local preferences. Cataloging Standards - Cataloging standards are broadly defined as the selection of words and concepts to be entered in given fields to ensure consistency between collections. A well-designed system should allow the user to implement standards within any field. Argus's flexible data model and data control features allow users to comply with standard cataloging criteria by implementing a variety of database controls and on-line help prompts. The flexible data model of Argus allows the software to respond, for example, to the criteria established by the Categories for the Description of Works of Art, or to fulfill the requirements of Object ID. The Categories outline an intellectual structure for the content of object and image descriptions. They were developed by the Art Information Task Force, an initiative sponsored by the Getty Information Institute and the College Art Association. Object ID is a project designed to form an international consensus on what constitutes essential core descriptors for cultural artifacts. Authority Standards - Authority control standards are a conceptual extension of cataloging standards because they provide authorities for a specific field or set of fields. These authorities exist as flat tables (a list of acceptable condition codes) or as a hierarchical structures (e.g., lexicon schemas such as Art & Architecture Thesaurus [AAT], Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names, Chenhall's Revised Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging, and Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). Authorities may be locally written, or integrated within a database as pre-structured tables. Using the examples above, an institution could create their own condition codes and require that one of those codes to be used (locally created authority) or use a predefined set of codes for the same purpose. The same holds true for lexicons, often called controlled (or structured) vocabularies. In addition, Argus users may create their own lexicon to enhance searching on local collections. Local terms may also be added to a lexicon to augment standard authorities with local variants. By providing guidelines for describing content, independent from software and hardware, authority control standards can serve as a model to which existing information can be mapped, and as a basis on which new collection data can be developed. Such guidelines contribute to the integrity and longevity of information because compatible structures provide researchers access to information stored in a variety of systems in geographically dispersed places. Web access Argus compliance with open-systems technical standards opens Web access to collection data. Staff can browse and retrieve information on an Intranet; the visiting public can be introduced to the collection at a kiosk; or an international public can see exhibits or explore the collection on the Internet. Like Argus itself, the Web Access Module is configured by the user to suit organization needs. Intranet or Internet browsers see only those aspects of the collection selected for display, and those displays can be adapted to conform with the style of existing Web pages. Support We support every aspect of your collection's automation project by helping you use your system to best advantage. Training is part of every installation, and new releases and phone support are a standard part of software maintenance. Also provided are context-specific on-line help messages. Our software has been extensively tested and enhanced through use in a number of settings. We are also dedicated to refining our software in response to our users. One result is a dedicated users' group which meets at several of the annual museum conferences to discuss issues such as networking, imaging, and lexicon sharing. We offer technical support as part of software maintenance. This support system enables the user to call Questor for advice on problem solving, trouble shooting, and suggestions on how to take full advantage of Argus's capabilities. We are also able to connect directly to the user's network and see exactly what is being entered and displayed on a system. The support line is staffed from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 pm, Pacific Standard Time. Technical support comes from staff who have museum experience at the registration or curatorial levels. In addition, programmers and technical specialists are permanently on staff and directly available if necessary. Documentation and Training Every Argus system purchase includes on-line documentation, which provides basic instruction and covers advanced topics for the experienced user. Questor also provides extensive training by museum professionals. Training includes setting-up lookup windows and other configurations to make the system ready to use in each client's environment. We believe training is essential to your system's success. Optimal usage cannot be taught by on-line help, or even a couple of days of training. Maintenance Questor's maintenance program includes new releases of Argus software. We regularly interview users about features they might find desirable, then undertake new programming and evaluation. After testing, these enhancements are incorporated into new releases of the software. New releases are produced regularly. There is no charge for new releases if you have purchased software maintenance. Release notes describing new and updated features are sent with each upgrade. Maintenance-paying clients also receive discounts on new products. Typically we can upgrade current clients to new products without additional software costs. Upgrades to underlying third-party software are purchased directly by the client from the vendor. Questor understands that changing technology is expensive, and we make every effort to minimize the costs. Data conversion and migration Questor programmers specialize in migrating data from other systems to the Argus database, and in the more complex process of converting data to make it conform to new specifications. We migrate and convert data from older versions of Argus to the current software; from other systems to Argus; and from database applications such as Access, Fox-Pro, dBase. Both migration and conversion can be intricate or relatively simple processes, depending on the nature of the source files and the client's specifications for handling the data in the new systems. Costs are based on the number of fields to be managed, and the amount of conversion work that needs to be performed. Because all cases are different and numerous factors must be taken into account when estimating cost, we ask to see a sample of the data and consult with the client before making a commitment. Please call us for further information. We have worksheets available that assist prospective clients in defining their aims. technical requirements