i am trying to get data out of a databse using vba and i am getting a runtime error '94' - invlaid use of null.

i am trying to access the value in the database in the contact column using the below code

contact = rsData1.Fields("contact").value
and it is this line that is causing the problems. There is no value stored in the database for this field when returned for the specific row and unfortunately the nature of the project is such that i cannot always guarantee an entry in that field. how can i extract the value for the contract field (even when it is empty) so that i dont get this runtime error?

any help much appreciated.

mxp