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Ink Projects
FileMaker Helps Authors Track Details of 3,000 Museums
Drive along any of the old US highways – get away from the
sterility of the Interstates – and chances are you won't go far
before you happen upon a Little Museum. They're hard to miss – just
look for a giant elephant, an enormous totem pole, a mounted knight
in armor, the world's largest display of wooden nickels, the
benificient gaze of Elvis. The Museum of Non Primate Art. The
Muscle Car Ranch. The First National Church Of The Exquisite Panic.
These are the classic roadside "little museums” – honest tributes
to honest eccentricity – and you'll find them in all fifty states.
Others aren't quite so offbeat – you'll also find serious-minded
little museums run by serious-minded people – but still treating
subjects that are just a little bit off the beaten track. The
National Cryptologic Museum. The New Orleans Historic Voodoo
Museum. The Museum of American Financial History. No matter how
unusual the subject, no matter how obscure the celebrity –
somewhere in America, someone has built a museum.
Lynne and her co-author Archie Hobson – both longtime devotees of
roadside Americana – have tracked down over three thousand of these
unique establishments, and have boiled down the list to over a
thousand of the best in their book "Little Museums,” published by
Henry Holt in 1998. It's a lighthearted, joyous book that makes you
want to jump in your convertible and head down the highway – but
putting it together was a lot more involved than just taking a road
trip. After all, a list of three thousand museums means three
thousand addresses to check, three thousand contacts to confirm –
three thousand chances for confusion. That's why Lynne and Archie
turned to FileMaker Pro!
Working with the eager authors, consultant Debbra Lupien of Lupien
Ltd. constructed a comprehensive FileMaker tracking system that
allows Lynne and Archie to keep on top of their list – a database
which takes advantage of FileMaker Pro's scripting features and
flexible layout to give the authors complete control – from
preparing the text to compiling the book's extensive, detailed
index. And best of all, they don't have to be computer wizards to
navigate it!
"Setting up this project into FileMaker was easy and reassuring,”
says Lynne. "We were able to easily check contact information,
compile travel directions, share files, update data, and export
data by categories that allowed us to do targeted mailings for the
successful promotion of the finished book. We saved tons of time
and money due to the automated scripts, and FileMaker allowed us to
deliver an enormously complicated book manuscript in a very clean
and complete form – which also saved time and money on the
typesetting and publishing end!”
The book may be finished, but the world of Little Museums continues
to grow – with a website up and running, and prepared from data
exported from the original FileMaker database. Lynne and Archie
have big plans for the site – www.littlemuseums.com – hoping to see
it evolve into a valuble resource for those who share their love
for the unique and the irreplaceable fun to be found on the
road.
Contact information
Contact Info for Customer:Lynne Arany
Author
Ink Projects
(212) 979-6212
inkprojx@interport.net
Debbra Lupien
Lupien Limited Consulting
(718) 693-0584
lupien@databasediva.com
http://www.littlemuseums.com
Filemaker Contact:
Kevin Mallon
Public Relations Manager
FileMaker Inc.
408-987-7227
kevin_mallon@filemaker.com
http://www.filemaker.com
- "Little Museums" is the definitive guide book to unforgettable attractions such as the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum and The Muscle Car Ranch. Authors Lynn Arany and Archie Hobson relied on FileMaker Pro to track the details of 3,000 museums -- museums most road-trippers would drive right past if not for "Little Museums".
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