5 Focus Area 5: Share
This section of the Toolkit is all about access. Who will access the digital content you’re creating or acquiring? Where and how will they access it, and for what purpose? The appropriate level of access may vary depending on the content. You might share some items openly online with no restrictions. Other materials might be made available to certain researchers on-site only, due to copyright considerations, cultural protocols, or other factors.
SHARE: BRONZE LEVEL
| Key Activities |
|---|
| - Review options for providing access to digital content. |
| - Choose access options that meet your needs and goals. |
Choosing a Collection Management System
There is an ever-growing number of options for providing online public access to digital collections. Sharing items on Facebook or Instagram, adding them to a blog or webpage, or loading them to the Internet Archive are all ways to get your digital materials in front of more people. But adopting a Collection Management System (CMS) — a software program to organize, manage, and share your digital files and metadata — will give you the most control, flexibility, and reliability into the future.
Some questions to consider when choosing a CMS[1]:
- How long has the system been around? Is it used by other organizations similar to yours?
- Is there a trial or demo version available for you to try out?
- What infrastructure is needed to install and run the system? For instance, will you need a local server or a cloud hosting provider?
- Will the system work on your computer stations? Some programs don’t run well on computers with little working memory.
- Will the system support your chosen metadata standard? Can the metadata fields be customized?
- Can you import existing files and metadata into the system?
- Can you perform batch edits across multiple metadata records?
- Can you export files and metadata if you choose to migrate to a different system?
- What kind of support is available? Can you ask or pay an organization to fix things for you? Is there a large community using it, and support potentially found there, such as through a user forum or email list?
- What are the costs for the system, both up front and ongoing?
See Appendix E: Choosing An Online Platform for Audiovisual Materials for more A/V-specific information.
| Bronze Level: Resources and Tools |
|---|
| The Collection Management System Collection. Crowd-sourced list of digital repository options; created in 2017 and regularly updated. |
| “Deciding on Digital Tools for Collection Management.” Te Papa National Services (New Zealand), 2003. |
| Choosing Content Management System Technologies. Digital Repository of Ireland, 2014. |
| Spiro, Lisa. Archival Management Software: A Report for the Council on Library and Information Resources, 2009. |
SHARE: SILVER LEVEL
| Key Activities |
|---|
| - Add digital collection items and related metadata to your CMS or other identified access option(s). |
| - Identify partnership opp