Fall 2024

Happy Fall! In this issue of the PPO Newsletter, we're here to answer your burning questions:

What does all the information on your PPO Welcome Letter mean?

What do each of the settings in IMS change?

And what is IMS, anyway?

Lunchtime Lecture Training Series

Are you using your PastPerfect Online site to its full potential? Brush up on your PastPerfect Online knowledge by joining Allison and Demi for our free Lunchtime Lectures. Watch, listen, and learn as they review some PastPerfect Online basics and demonstrate ways to improve your PastPerfect Online site. Each lecture ends with a Q&A session. We hope to see you there!

Registration is now open for our last training session of the year! It's taking place later this month and is all about the Interface Management Site. We will send a video link to all registrants after the session, so we invite you to sign up even if you are unable to attend live.

Customizing Your Site with IMS: September 30, 2024 @ 12pm Eastern

Join us for an in-depth exploration of the Interface Management Site (IMS), the website where you can make design and functionality changes to your PPO site. We will cover each of the options available in IMS to help you change the look and feel of your PPO site. Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/778090735703782489.

Did you miss any of our sessions earlier this year? We covered everything you need to know (and more!) about searching in PPO, as well as instructions on how to share media files on your PPO site. Links to these videos and other previously covered topics can be found on our PPO Training page.

Understanding Your Welcome Letter

A Welcome Letter is emailed to the person designated as your primary PPO contact, or PPO Admin, when your site is set up and anytime this contact changes. In addition to a general introduction, your Welcome Letter includes hosting details, important URLs, and your login credentials for the Interface Management Site (IMS). Here's a closer look at the information you will find:

• Renewal Date: The date your hosting is paid through
• Record Limit: The number of catalog records included in your hosting
• PPO Site Address: The URL for / link to your site's Landing Page
• Installation Keycode: A seven-digit number specific to your organization that is used during installation
• Client Number: A five-digit number assigned to your organization that is displayed during file creation
• PPO Admin Contact: The primary person we will reach out to regarding your site 
• PPO Admin Phone Number: The phone number provided as a secondary method for reaching your PPO Admin Contact if we cannot get in touch by email
• PPO Admin Email / IMS Login: The email address for your PPO Admin Contact, which is also used to access IMS
• IMS Password: Your password for logging into IMS
• IMS Site Address: The URL for / link to a webpage where you can customize your site
• Statistics Report: The URL for / link to your site’s search statistics
• PPO User Guide: The URL for / link to the PastPerfect Online User Guide

The person you designate as your PPO Admin Contact should be someone who works closely with PastPerfect Online. We will reach out to this person to communicate important information about your site, including confirmations for data uploads, maintenance notifications, or alerts if more records are uploaded than your hosting allows. To change this contact or email address, please have the current PPO Admin send an email to pposupport@museumsoftware.com with the updated information.

PPO In The News

The Fairhope Single Tax Corporation Archives, in Fairhope, Alabama, recently had their online collections featured in an article by Gulf Coast Media. Read the article at https://gulfcoastmedia.com/stories/hermit-hut-builders-journals-donated-to-fairhope-museum,226303.

Staff Pick

We are asking each of our staff to choose a favorite item from one of the many online collections. This artifact was selected from the online collection of Historic Richmond Town by Sara because:

"Having grown up in Chicago, I have always had an affinity for the history and architecture of the city. One of the things I wish I could have experienced was the World's Columbian Exposition. I love viewing photographs like this one since it gives me a small sense of the grandeur of the buildings and what an experience it must have been to see in 1893."

Applications for the Publishing Historical Records in Collaborative Digital Editions grant, offered by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), are open. The application is due by November 7, 2024.

The NHPRC seeks proposals to publish online editions of historical records. All types of historical records are eligible, including documents, photographs, born-digital records, and analog audio. The goal of this program is to provide access to, and editorial context for, the historical documents and records that tell the American story.

Guidelines for this grant are available at https://www.archives.gov/nhprc/announcement/editions.html.

Applications for the Archival Projects grant, offered by the NHPRC, are open. The application is due by November 7, 2024.

The NHPRC seeks archival projects that will significantly improve online public discovery and use of historical records collections.

Guidelines for this grant are available at https://www.archives.gov/nhprc/announcement/archival.html.

National Building Museum

Argus Museum

Clark County Museum