Under Tools>Start-Up on the main toolbar you can customize hidding the Database Window, what form you want to start when Access opens, and which toolbars you want to hide and show (including customized ones).
I would like the database window (i.e. tables, forms, reports, queries) minimized (not hidden). I have a switchboard that appears upon startup, and I just want the database to be minimized so that the users can still get to it without having to remember to hold down the shift key, but I don't want it to be maximized upon startup!