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A short overview of Archon and the Archivists' Toolkit, two open source archives administration systems. Presented at ALABI 2008.

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Opening Your Collections An Overview of Two Open-Source Descriptive Tools ALABI 2008 Jason Fowler, CA Archives and Special Collections Librarian The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
What Are the Descriptive Tools? A descriptive tool is an instrument to help describe your collections Could be a form, template, software package Archon and the Archivists' Toolkit are software packages
Why Should I Use Them? They create consistency for your descriptions and make it easier to share your data and conform to standards They lessen the number of your decisions They ease training and speed up data entry They make it easier to create access to collection descriptions These tools are free
What is Open Source?
What is Open-Source? Often synonymous with “free software” Software with an OSI recognized software license Free to redistribute Source Code is available Derived works allowed Both Archon and Archivists' Toolkit are licensed as Open Source
So What? Both Archon and Archivists' Toolkit are free (as in lunch) to download Both Archon and Archivists' Toolkit are free (as in speech) to use Both Archon and Archivists' Toolkit are free (as in speech) to study and tweak Both Archon and Archivists' Toolkit are free (as in speech) to change and redistribute
Disclaimer: Free Ain't Cheap Open source software may have tangible costs Open source often has intangible costs More time and money devoted to staff training Can have a steep learning curve May have very little support or documentation May undergo obsolescence
What is Archon? Web-based tool for description and access Designed by the staff at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and funded internally Can be downloaded at http://archon.org/ Designed with both end-users (researchers) and archivists in mind Modular – only install what you need
What does Archon do? For archivists... Allows archivists to manage accessions Allows archivists to manage creators and subjects Assists archivists in managing and describing collections Allows archivists to upload digital objects Allows archivists to import and export EAD and MARC Allows archivists to keep track of researcher appointments
What does Archon do? For researchers... Allows researchers to find collections more easily Allows researchers to see collection relationships Allows researchers to access digital images Allows researchers to set up accounts Allows researchers to request appointments
What is the Archivists' Toolkit? GUI-based tool for management and description of archives Cooperative project of UCSD Libraries, NYU Libraries, and the Five College Libraries Initially funded by an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Grant Can be downloaded at http://archiviststoolkit.org/ Designed with archivists in mind
What does AT do? For archivists... Allows archivists to manage the full life cycle of records Allows archivists to manage creators and subjects Assists archivists in managing and describing collections Allows archivists to import and export EAD , MARC , and HTML
What does AT do? For archivists... Allows archivists to manage metadata for digital objects Allows archivists to export METS , MODS , and Dublin Core Allows archivists to generate really nice reports
Which System is for Me? Not necessarily a choice. Things common to both systems Platform independent Fairly intuitive Granular permissions Manage accessions, collections, subjects, creators, locations, and digital objects Negligible system requirements Multiple repositories
Which System is for Me If making a choice, you must assess your needs Do you need a fully developed reporting suite? Do you want a nice public interface for your users? Do you hate dealing with software issues? Do you have lots of minutiae to track (rights management, donor details, etc.) ? Do you want to access easily from any location? Do you want to be able to customize the software?

More Related Content

Alabi2008presentation

  • 1. Opening Your Collections An Overview of Two Open-Source Descriptive Tools ALABI 2008 Jason Fowler, CA Archives and Special Collections Librarian The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
  • 2. What Are the Descriptive Tools? A descriptive tool is an instrument to help describe your collections Could be a form, template, software package Archon and the Archivists' Toolkit are software packages
  • 3. Why Should I Use Them? They create consistency for your descriptions and make it easier to share your data and conform to standards They lessen the number of your decisions They ease training and speed up data entry They make it easier to create access to collection descriptions These tools are free
  • 4. What is Open Source?
  • 5. What is Open-Source? Often synonymous with “free software” Software with an OSI recognized software license Free to redistribute Source Code is available Derived works allowed Both Archon and Archivists' Toolkit are licensed as Open Source
  • 6. So What? Both Archon and Archivists' Toolkit are free (as in lunch) to download Both Archon and Archivists' Toolkit are free (as in speech) to use Both Archon and Archivists' Toolkit are free (as in speech) to study and tweak Both Archon and Archivists' Toolkit are free (as in speech) to change and redistribute
  • 7. Disclaimer: Free Ain't Cheap Open source software may have tangible costs Open source often has intangible costs More time and money devoted to staff training Can have a steep learning curve May have very little support or documentation May undergo obsolescence
  • 8. What is Archon? Web-based tool for description and access Designed by the staff at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and funded internally Can be downloaded at http://archon.org/ Designed with both end-users (researchers) and archivists in mind Modular – only install what you need
  • 9. What does Archon do? For archivists... Allows archivists to manage accessions Allows archivists to manage creators and subjects Assists archivists in managing and describing collections Allows archivists to upload digital objects Allows archivists to import and export EAD and MARC Allows archivists to keep track of researcher appointments
  • 10. What does Archon do? For researchers... Allows researchers to find collections more easily Allows researchers to see collection relationships Allows researchers to access digital images Allows researchers to set up accounts Allows researchers to request appointments
  • 11. What is the Archivists' Toolkit? GUI-based tool for management and description of archives Cooperative project of UCSD Libraries, NYU Libraries, and the Five College Libraries Initially funded by an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Grant Can be downloaded at http://archiviststoolkit.org/ Designed with archivists in mind
  • 12. What does AT do? For archivists... Allows archivists to manage the full life cycle of records Allows archivists to manage creators and subjects Assists archivists in managing and describing collections Allows archivists to import and export EAD , MARC , and HTML
  • 13. What does AT do? For archivists... Allows archivists to manage metadata for digital objects Allows archivists to export METS , MODS , and Dublin Core Allows archivists to generate really nice reports
  • 14. Which System is for Me? Not necessarily a choice. Things common to both systems Platform independent Fairly intuitive Granular permissions Manage accessions, collections, subjects, creators, locations, and digital objects Negligible system requirements Multiple repositories
  • 15. Which System is for Me If making a choice, you must assess your needs Do you need a fully developed reporting suite? Do you want a nice public interface for your users? Do you hate dealing with software issues? Do you have lots of minutiae to track (rights management, donor details, etc.) ? Do you want to access easily from any location? Do you want to be able to customize the software?