BETHEL — A financial gift from Bethel Historical Society members Ned and Susan Robertson of Solon, Ohio, has allowed the organization to purchase more than $1,000 in computer software and hardware to enhance its ability to catalogue collections and share them online.

Recognizing that the Bethel society owns or has access to a wealth of historical artifacts, photographs, archives and books, the Robertsons offered to fund a major upgrade to the “PastPerfect” software already in use by staff and volunteers.

“As the world’s most popular museum software, PastPerfect has made it possible for us to automate many of the time-consuming tasks associated with collections and contacts management,” said Randall Bennett, BHS executive director and curator of collections.

“Besides providing us with the latest version of the PastPerfect program, the Robertsons’ extraordinary gift has encouraged us to buy software that will enable the society to post online exhibits and individual collection records on the Internet,” he added.

Under the direction of Society Registrar Jacalyn Bell, the organization’s collection records continue to be transferred from paper to digital form. “With the upgraded software, we’ll be able to expand our descriptions of items in the collection,” said Bennett.

“For the first time, we’ll also be adding photographs of individual objects and scans of old photographs to our computer records, and the process of posting them online will begin as soon as possible,” he added.

One of the program’s new features will allow old photographs of the same or similar subjects to be retrieved and viewed together as a slide program — giving anyone with computer access the ability to compare locations, buildings and people over time.

Founded in 1966, the Bethel Historical Society has more than 1,000 members. Collections focus on western Maine and the White Mountain region of Maine and New Hampshire.

For more information, call 824-2908 or 800-824-2910 for email [email protected].