Shareware database management software: an assessment of its usefulness to information officers in small voluntary sector organisations in the UK

Abstract

Small voluntary sector organisations with limited budgets often cannot afford expensive commercial software and may not need all the facilities such software provides. A large quantity of cheap software is distributed in the form of shareware but, for a number of reasons, is not widely used in the UK. This article describes the findings of a postgraduate project which aimed to assess the usefulness of shareware to information officers in small, voluntary sector organisations. A specific objective was to identify reliable shareware packages that could be used to manage reading lists, mailing lists, and other inhouse databases. The packages evaluated were 3by5, Business Librarian, File Express, Freefile, Instant Recall and PC‐File 5. The use of four of the packages was tested in two voluntary organisations (the National Self‐Help Support Centre and the Women's Nutritional Advisory Service) and is described.