Join NUMU for a free virtual program as we spotlight our collections database partners, CatalogIt! We just made our collections database available to the public in December, and to celebrate, we’ve invited CatalogIt’s co-founder, Dan Rael, to speak about the platform, its impressive functionality, and how you can use it to manage your personal collections at home.
CatalogIt is not only an amazing resource for museums, it’s a cloud-based software program available to anyone who wants to organize their own collections. Whether you collect art, historical artifacts, coins, stamps, or anything else that brings you joy, join us to learn how to use it at home. Have precious family heirlooms? Record the stories and histories of those pieces and the people who have owned and cared for them that will be available to your children, grandchildren, and generations to come!
Also joining us for this program will be Daniel Keough, Librarian from the Los Gatos Library, who will share the many resources that are available at the Library for researchers who are looking into their family history, or seeking more information on items in their personal collections.
About our Speaker:
Hi! I'm Dan Rael, one of the Founders of CatalogIt, and currently the guy responsible for our sales and client services teams. My background is in Anthropology and Archaeology. My first job in the museum field was when I was in college at the University of New Mexico, where I worked at the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology. Later on, I worked as an archaeologist for the US Forest Service in California, on the Eldorado and Stanislaus National Forests. I also served two years in the Peace Corps, working with farmers in eastern Paraguay. I've been a collector of things pretty much my whole life - from seashells to stamps and coins, and later, of ethnographic art.
Needless to say, I love using CatalogIt to document my own collections - in fact, my own collection was the catalyst for CatalogIt. Perhaps my favorite feature is the ability to have my entire with me - on my phone - at all times. When I'm visiting a museum far from home and come across something that is very similar to an item in my collection, I can open up my record and add notes or even an image! I can show items to my collector friends or to experts in the field and add details or make corrections to my data on the fly. I've also documented most of my library of reference books - this has proven handy in that I no longer buy copies of books that I already have!
CatalogIt: How to Manage and Enjoy Your Collections
The Los Gatos History Project is made possible in part by a grant from the County of Santa Clara’s Historic Grant Program, Leonard Pacheco and Diane Roberts, the Town of Los Gatos, and the Los Gatos Community Foundation.
