the archivists’ toolkit lee mandell kelcy shepherd brad westbrook mcn presentation nov. 3, 2005
TRANSCRIPT
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
Overview• Project Summary and Update
– Project Objective and Staff– First year efforts– Goals for second year– Prospects beyond the grant period
• AT Software Specification– Overview of features– Functional modules– Application architecture and technology
• Demonstration example
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
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
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
Project Team• Brian Schottlaender, UCSD, Co-Principal Investigator
• Carol Mandel, NYU, Co-Principal Investigator
• Brad Westbrook, Proj. Mgr & Spec Team Leader
• Lee Mandell, NYU, Design Team Mgr
• Jason Varghese, NYU, Programmer
• Kelcy Shepherd, Analyst
• Brian Stevens, Analyst
• Luc Declerck, UCSD, and David Ackerman, NYU, Administrative Oversight
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
Project Advisory Board
• Robin Chandler, CDL
• Michael Fox, MHS
• Merrilee Proffitt, RLG
• Richard Szary, Yale
• Guenter Waibel, RLG
• Beth Yakel, U Mich
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
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
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
Prospects Beyond the Grant Period
• Modular Design Architecture in Open Source Software
• Possible Extensions include
– More Robust Collection Management Module– Additional Tools to Support Ingest of Local Data– Extended Digital Object Module– User Registration / Resource Use Module
• Shared Development
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
Application Features• Output neutral data• Modular• Customizable• Easy to use• Secure • Stand-alone or multi-user network• Context-sensitive help• Open source
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
Design Overview• Administration/Project Management• Ingest• Accession• Description• Location• Names• Subjects• Search• Audit Tracking
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
• Establish repository record
• Manage users
• Customize default fields, required fields, input forms
• Create project definitions
Application/Project Management
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
Ingest Module• EAD version 1.0 and
2002 (XML)
• MARC XML
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
Accession Module• Preliminary descriptive information
• Some collection management fields
• Descriptive and administrative outputs:– Accession record– Accession receipt– Acquisitions report– Processing reports– More…
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
Description Module• Archival resources and digital objects• Inputs based on DACS, ISAD(G)• Outputs:
•EAD•METS•MARC XML•MODS•Dublin Core•PREMIS
•Collections guide•Printed finding aids•Administrative reports•More…
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
Location Module
• For tracking “permanent” locations
• Accommodate a range of practice
• Outputs:– Location record– Shelf list– List of all locations for a resource
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
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
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
Subject Module
• Basic authority control for subjects
• Can create records in advance or on an as-needed basis
• Outputs:– Repository subject guide
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
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
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
• Uniquely identifies each record
• Allows repository to track creation and editing of records
Record Tracking
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
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.
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
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
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
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
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
The Great Divideor in technical terms
The Paradigm Mismatch
JavaObject Oriented
Programming Language
SQLRelational Database
Archivists' Toolkit - MCN Presentation, November 3, 2005
HibernateA persistence layer
• An open source project to bridge the differences between Java and relational databases
• Saves us from rolling our own• Allows easy swapping of back end
databases