Organization of the Data Bases

ARCA assumed the job of creating a special data base for the different types of documents it holds following the International Guidelines for Archival Description ISAD(G) to allow the exchange of information as a member of ICAM and ICASAR.
The program runs under File Maker pro 5.
The data base in the related records: Authors, Works and Documents that correspond to the levels of description of the guidelines: collection, series and documental unit.
The Author record describes the profile of the author and a complete listing of his works.
The works record describes each individually and contains also generic information and spans different disciplines: architecture, urbanism, furniture, graphic design and textile design. The specific details of each work are produced according to de structure of each discipline.
The Documents record contains generic data of each type of the five kinds of documents in the collection: Written Work, Graphic Document, Photograph, Recording, Scale Model that in turn specifies the particulars of each recorded piece.
Special emphasis was placed on the testimonial character of the data, product of a careful analysis and research that guaranties the credibility of the information.
Each record is a selection of fields corresponding to the numeric order of the ISAD(G) guidelines. Some fields repeat themselves in all three records: Authors, WOrks and Documents. The objective is to describe the same topics in different degrees of approximation so that the content of each field is divided in three levels without repeating the information.
A basic premise of the data base is the visual synthesis, proprietary condition to simplify the comprehension and search. So the group of indicators selected --which characterize an Author, a Work or a Document-- try to achieve the technical description necessary for a homogeneous, fast and all encompassing reading of each topic in a single record. To reinforce this concept the screens are coded with three colors.
Navigation is free, it can be accessed though any record and all the fields can be searched.
Where the data base structure allows it option menus are used to simplify data entry and reduce errors.
A glossary of the terms used belongs to the Red Vitrubio.