URGENT! Freelancers - Project has come my way

[Haze]

HI All

I have had a call from a local charity and they'd like to have a database incorporated into their existing site. The details they have supplied are:

An online collections database with search facility consisting of (roughly!)

o    a system displaying items in categories e.g. photos, books etc
o    a search facility
o    Items have a name, short description, full description and one or more images
o    items can be imported from Adlib lite collections management system
o    items and categories can be edited after they are imported

A couple of online search facilities for organisations like us (but some more simple and some more advanced) are:
http://www.nms.ac.uk/collections/
http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/search/
http://inverness.highland.museum/archive.php
The collections management system we are using can be viewed at http://www.adlibsoft.com/products/adlib-museum-lite
The search facility and database would fit into our existing website

Initially they would like a quot for the work. I can send the domain to anyone interested. I am flexible on finders fee.

Cheers
Andy

[Haze]

I sent them information about the Adlib software as they offer an application to do exactly what they require. However they replied to say the add on is too expensive at around £2k, so what they would like is a database so that they can add their own catalogue items. Anyone interested in quoting for this? If so please feel free to pm.

[suedenem]

TBH they'd be looking at anything between of £4-25K for a custom DB from scratch, with an admin interface, search & browse facilities and so on.

£2K is pretty reasonable for an off-the-shelf solution.  There might be an open source solution which would do the job, but even then the level of customization required and data export would push it into several thousands.

[Haze]

That's what I was thinking too... and what's more they would get software which interacts with their pre-existing catalogue and no need to re-index all their items. They did tell me they have "hunners", so as far as I was concerned then it's a no-brainer to go with the Adlibsoft option. They've decided they just "want a database" to allow web access, but it exists alread and they can get if from Adlibsoft... I think it is a "quotations exercise" and they'll probably go to the Trust, get funding and go to Adlib anyway....

I've only played with building wee inhouse "databases", in the loosest definition of the word, and not on any client sites. Thus my post on here. I was looking at dbQwick and PHPMagicPlus to use for the purpose, but not sure how reliable they actually are for this purpose.

[Steve Lampkins]

They've decided they just "want a database"

Shove an MS Access db on the root of their site, and say you'll only charge them a grand for it.

[suedenem]

Nah. OpenOfficeBase FTW.

[Haze]

Where is the "like" button lol.... Damn that Facebook...

[familychoice]

Where is the "like" button lol.... Damn that Facebook...

I keep wanting to do that on forums, and Twitter.

[Haze]

The latest info I received was

The items we have are:

·         Photographs

·         Maps

·         Architectural Drawings

·         Documents

·         Books

·         Slides

·         Objects

A gallery page would probably work with these listed in their own category (although we would definitely still need the search function in each category as e.g. there are thousands of photographs.

We would want to list information along the lines of (and this is not set in stone but should hopefully give you a rough idea):

 

Item: Photograph

Reference Number: xxxx

Description: Image of New Lanark in Winter showing millworkers in the foreground

Date: 1954

Location: On display in saving New Lanark Gallery

Image

 

I won’t know how many items we have until we start cataloguing I’m afraid, and we will collect many more items over the years so the database should be able to be added to indefinitely by our staff.

It does look like a big job,although I suspect they just want nuts and bolts and to rebuild the database contents themselves, but logically surely it is wiser to go with the software comercially availabel for theis existing catalogued database. However if anyone cares to quote for this type of thing, feel free to message me with details before I turn it down.

[Haze]

Guess there are no takers. I'll close this then.