Specimen Databases for PC

[Nancy Hensold]

I have just finished a manual entitled "Specimen Databases in Research and
Collection Management: A Practical Guide for dBase and WordPerfect Users." This
was originally prepared for a Symposium workshop held in Trujillo Peru last
summer and will imminently be published in Spanish in the Symposium Proceedings.
        The manual is quite friendly to anyone who knows as little as I did
about dBase and WordPerfect (nothing) when I began work with specimen
databases 5 years ago. It gives procedures for everything from efficient
data entry protocol, to queries, using indexes, global editting, generating
reports, specimen labels, annotation labels, det. lists, etc. Also warnings
on what we've
found to be dBase glitches and weirdness and how to avoid them. I'm particularly
proud of the specimen labels which come out like real herbarium labels, no
sign they were ever in a database, but not at all hard to do.
        I'm thinking of putting it up on the Net somehow if there is
interest, but I don't know a) how widespread use of dBase is; b) how
adaptable dBase & WP
protocol might be to other software app's; and c) whether anyone cares.
        Please let me know if you're interested.
Nancy Hensold
Department of Botany
Field Museum
Chicago, IL 60605
hensold at abis.fmnh.org