Archivists' Toolkit - ECURE Presentation, 28 Feb. 2006 1

The Archivists’ Toolkit

ECURE Presentation28 Feb. 2006

Bradley Westbrook & Lee Mandell

Archivists' Toolkit - ECURE Presentation, 28 Feb. 2006 2

Overview• Project objectives and overview

• Summary of application features

• Description of functional modules

• Application architecture and technology

• Demonstration example

Archivists' Toolkit - ECURE Presentation, 28 Feb. 2006 3

Project ObjectivesTo build digital tools that will:• Support archival processing in a manner that promotes

efficiency and standardization• Integrate key functions in the archival lifecycle:

– Accessioning– Description– Subjects and name management – Location management

• Produce outputs such as EAD, EAC, METS, MARCXML and various administrative outputs

• Be deployable in a range of archival settings

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Project Team• Brian Schottlaender, UCSD, Co-Principal Investigator

• Carol Mandel, NYU, Co-Principal Investigator

• Brad Westbrook, UCSD, Proj. Mgr & Spec Team Leader

• Lee Mandell, NYU, Design Team Mgr

• Jason Varghese, NYU, Programmer

• Kelcy Shepherd, FC, Analyst

• Brian Stevens, NYU, Analyst

• Luc Declerck, UCSD, and David Ackerman, NYU, Administrative Oversight

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Project Advisory Board

• Robin Chandler, CDL

• Michael Fox, MHS

• Merrilee Proffitt, RLG

• Richard Szary, Yale

• Guenter Waibel, RLG

• Beth Yakel, U Mich

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Project Partners• Bates College

• Five Colleges: Amherst College Archives and Special Collections, Hampshire College Archives, Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections, Smith College Archives & Sophia Smith Collection, & UMass-Amherst, Special Collections and Archives

• NYC: The American Museum of Natural History, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall, The Center for Jewish History, & Manhattan College

• NYU: Fales Library, Tamiment Library, University Archives

• UCSD: Mandeville Special Collections & SIO Archives

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First Year Accomplishments

• Functional Requirements Identified

• Application Specification Composed (http://archiviststoolkit.org/ATspecification/index.html)

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Goals for Second Year

• Build Prototype from AT Specification– Interface Design

• Compose User Documentation– User Manual– Application Help Module– Installation Scripts

• Test Application and Documentation– Functional Testing– Usability Testing

• Formulate Business Plan• Release Tested Application (est. Nov. 2006)

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Application Features• Output neutral data• Modular• Customizable• Easy to use• Secure • Stand-alone or network• Context-sensitive help• Open source

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Design Overview•Administration/Project Management

•Ingest

•Accession

•Description (Resources, Surrogates)

•Names

•Subjects

•Location

•Search

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• Establish repository record

• Manage users

• Customize default fields, required fields, input forms

• Create project definitions

• Record Management / Tracking

Application/Project Management

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Ingest Module• EAD version 2002

• MARC XML parent records

• MARC XML controlled headings

• Accession data in delimited format

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Accession Module• Preliminary descriptive information

• Some collection management fields

• Descriptive and administrative outputs:– Accession record– Accession receipt– Acquisitions report– Processing reports– More…

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Description Module

• Archival resources and surrogates

• Inputs based on DA:CS, ISAD(G)

• Outputs:•EAD•METS•Dublin Core•Collections guide

•MARC XML•MODS•Printed finding aids•More…

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Location Module

• For tracking “permanent” locations

• Accommodate a range of practice

• Outputs:– Location record– Shelf list– List of all locations for a resource

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Names Module• Authority control for names (personal,

family, and corporate/conference)• Includes fields for contact information,

biographical/historical note• Supports see also and see references• Outputs:

– Source record– Sources list– EAC record

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Subject Module

• Basic authority control for subjects

• Can create records in advance or on an as-needed basis

• Outputs:– Repository subject guide

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Search Module• For moderated use in reference setting

• Features:– Search for resource by resource ID, title,

creator, or subject– Search for resources, resource components,

surrogates, and surrogate components by keywords in title

– Search for locations by resource ID

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Back End (database)

• Developed with mySQL• Will work with many SQL databases both open

source and commercial– Partial list: DB2, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, Sybase,

Microsoft SQL Server, Informix, Ingres ...

• Why SQL and not other technologies like xml and object databases?– Maturity of SQL databases– Likelihood of local IT departments having SQL expertise– Many existing open source projects to integrate into the

projects.

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Front End (Client)

• Needs: Cross platform (Mac OSX, Windows 98+, Linux), open source, sophisticated user interface capabilities

• Solution: Java desktop client– Many more user interface options than a web based client– Will run on any computer with Java 5 (1.5) installed

• Client and database can be installed on the same computer or on different computers.– Single machine configuration– Local network configuration– Wide area network configuration

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Open Source

• SourceForge– Project will be listed by the end of the year.– Source code will be available in an early alpha version

early next year for viewing only– When we enter beta testing we will be open to other

developers joining the effort

• Anyone will be able to download the source code and use it as they wish.

• We hope a developer community will grow out of the project

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A Live Demonstration

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http://archiviststoolkit.org/