using ehive to catalogue and share collection information

Paul Rowe

CEO, Vernon Systems

Regional Stakeholder Forum

Sydney

14th Nov 2014

Using eHive to catalogue and share collections information

South Auckland c. 1870http://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7268/south-auckland-landscape

Paul Rowe

CEO, Vernon Systems

Regional Stakeholder Forum

Sydney

14th Nov 2014

Using eHive to catalogue and share collections information

South Auckland c. 1870http://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7268/south-auckland-landscape

My office

Dedicated to Collections Management Software development

Vernon CMS: Catalogue in rich detail

eHive is a Software as a Service CMS800 museums worldwide

Collections management plus instant online access to collections

0.5 million records in eHive

Based in a professional data centre

Backed up daily in multiple cities

Escrow agreement puts the service in the hands of the users should it cease to operate

Limited IT resources & budget

Publishing to the web too hard

Run by volunteers who may want to contribute from home

Existing software too complex

IT infrastructure too complex

Each eHive account holder has their own login to create and edit object records

Screens tailored to common collection types:

Art

Archives

Archaeology

History

Library

Photography and Multimedia

Natural Science

Object cataloguing

Acquisition tracking

Maintain lists of terms to standardise your cataloguing

Upload object and account (organisation) images, create square cropped images

User forums, eHive workshops, online help and videos

Bulk import via XML or spreadsheet

Export in text, Excel, PDF and XML formats

Getting data in and out

Public demand and expectations for online access is high

Pressure for heritage organisations to engage further with their communities

To simplify traditional web publishing from a CMS, we created a the eHive online CMS and securely fenced it off.

Simply choose what to reveal, and what to keep private.

All of the Hall of Fame’s records are available to the public via eHive

Collection records in eHive are fed directly into a WordPress site

Simply log into your eHive account to instantly update records

Link to other eHive account holders to form a community; no IT set up required.

Communities can span a geographical region....

...or bring together collection items relating to a certain theme

Wow, the lady in the back row in the middle is my great, great, great grandma!! This is Jeremiah Callaghan from Boherbue,

Cork, Ireland. Buried in the Southern Cemetery, Dunedin (Callahan). Married to Jemima McLeod from Wick, Scotland. Lived 4km south of Owaka on the lake with his son John and Jeremiah. 

Striatic on Flickr

Engagement

Re-use the information in many wayseHive provides tools to build custom applications

Clearly mark the copyright licence that applies to each record

Pages include data to support easy sharing via social media

Data harvesting in eHive

http://www.flickr.com/photos/matze_ott/1841491996/

Integration with the National Library’s Trove website

Transparency: Share what you have

Let your community know what you’re working on

Metrics: Full access to Google Analytics statistics for your own public content

Future Plans

- Select specific object images to publish

- Organise and save lists of records

- Advanced Search features on multiple fields

- Redesign for mobile and tablet access

- Catalogue from anywhere with an Internet Connection

- Support from collections management software specialists

- Share content, build branded sites

- Develop custom applications

Paul Rowe

Vernon Systems

@armchair_caver

www.vernonsystems.com

www.ehive.com

Thank you

Royal Australian Navy epaulettesTweed Regional Museum