$$. .:
Chemical Stockroom Robert Suder Portage Northern High School, 1000 Idaho, Portage, MI 49081
In the high school where I teach chemistry, we have a rather extensive chemical stockroom. Keeping track of the kinds and amounts of chemicals proved to he very difficult. Also, when reordering chemicals we would usually neglect to order a few needed items. A well organized stockroo& would he much safer because many unneeded chemicals would not be accumulated. We found substances such as picric and perchloric acids that were never used and should have been discarded. Therefore. we realized that a comnrehensive inventorv " svstem " was necessary. Certainlv the sirnolest filing svstem would use index cards. However, since we cad easy a&& to Apple microcomputers, comouterization of the inventorv seemed even better. ~ i main e problem was finding a suitable inventory program. Since our school is faced with declining revenue, the price of the program was critical. After checking the local comuuter stores we learned that the uroaam costs range from $500 to free. Naturally, we first tried the free one fr'bm the Aude Software Bank called the File Cabinet. I t is a d i s k - a d information storage and retrieval system. At first, i$>ppeaied to fit our needs perfectly. However, as we used the program, its limitations became evident. The program cannot handle large amounts of data. Sometimes it was difficult to get the information from the disk. Other times the Drozram rearranged the information in unusual ways. ~ i d a l l iboth , the search and sort features were SLOW. Sorting three hundred chemicals would require about an hour. Therefore, a better database program was clearly needed. The one we selected was the Modifiable Database from Synergistic Software, priced at about $80.00. The program, as is most data base programs, is similar to the File Cabinet, but without its urohlems. The Modifiable Database, as the name implies, allows the user to design it to fit one's requirements. Many other database programs would serve as well, hut this one appeared to offer d l the features we required at the lowest price. Another important consideration was that the program is not write orotected. That is. one is able to make back-UD copies. With this database program, it is possible to have numerous information columns. We used columns for the name, class, shelf location, amount on hand. and reorder information. More columns of information are possible, such as physical state, grade, etc. However, once the data base is set-up for a particular application, more columns cannot be added at a later time. One must start over completely in order to do this. Since retyping all the chemicals is quite a task, it may be advisable to include one or two extra blank columns when setting up the database program. Once the program is set up and ail the chemicals are entered, the program allows for easy changing or updating of the information, such as adding a new chemical or altering the amounts.
344
Journal of Chemical Education
The data can also be searched. If we need to have infornistiun t;>ra specific compuund. .such as tht amount
