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Diving In: Testing the Archivists’ Toolkit

Diving In: Testing the Archivists’ Toolkit. Presenters. Bradley D. Westbrook, UC San Diego Katherine Stefko, Bates College Lee Mandell, Archivists’ Toolkit TM. Overview. Project Update Accomplishments Since SAA ‘06 Functional testing of beta prototype Demonstration of beta prototype

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Diving In: Testing the Archivists’ Toolkit

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  1. Diving In: Testing the Archivists’ Toolkit

  2. Presenters Bradley D. Westbrook, UC San Diego Katherine Stefko, Bates College Lee Mandell, Archivists’ ToolkitTM Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  3. Overview • Project Update • Accomplishments • Since SAA ‘06 • Functional testing of beta prototype • Demonstration of beta prototype • Questions Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  4. Accomplishments • Specification • Build • Documentation • No cost extension • Functional testing / performance metrics • SPOT meeting • Release of Version 1.0 Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  5. Product Description-Features • Recording accessions and deaccessions • Tracking sources / donors • Basic authority control for names and topical subjects • Describing archival resources and digital objects • Permanent location management • Ingesting legacy data in standardized formats (EAD, MARC XML) and non-standard formats (accessions data in delimited form) • User and project management functions for configuring the application • Tracking of record creation and editing • Searching for use in reference settings • Context-sensitive help Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  6. Product Description-Features Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  7. Since SAA ‘06 • AT2 Proposal • Staff & Partners • Primary objectives • Timeline • Releases • Functional testing of beta prototype Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  8. American Museum of Natural History* Arizona State University Bates College* Brooklyn Museum of Art* Center for Jewish History* Das Bundesarchiv Georgia Tech Getty Research Institute Harvard University Mount Holyoke College* Nationaal Archief New York University* Northern Arizona University Princeton University Scripps Institution of Oceanography* University of California San Diego* University of Massachusetts Amherst* University of Michigan University of Texas AT Beta Testers Archivists' Toolkit at NEA * = partnering repository

  9. Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  10. Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  11. AT Info Exchange • Weekly/biweekly individual repository reports • Compiled reports distributed by AT team • Bug reports • Online bug log • Discussion List • AT Team distributed email account Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  12. Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library, Bates College • Founded in the 1960s, existing as combined unit since 2000 • 14,000 volumes of rare books • 1,000 linear feet of College records • 4,000 linear feet of manuscripts, 3,000 of which is Muskie-related • 3 FTE + 2 grant-funded FTE Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  13. Why Test? • Contribute to a long-needed application built by and for archivists • Become part of a community of users to share knowledge and experience • Test drive the application, consider its implementation • Voice institution’s needs and concerns Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  14. Starting out • Installation • Not configured to work behind a firewall or with a proxy server • Identified as P2P file traffic on my network Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  15. Life of a beta tester • Time commitment • Unfiltered information in a variety of places Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  16. Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  17. Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  18. Life of a beta tester • Time commitment • Unfiltered information in a variety of places—where to look for what? • Need to reinstall application often • No onsite technical support • Typos, omissions and bugs are the norm • Neither the application nor the manual are complete • The manual and application don’t always match • Not everything is predictable Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  19. The good • Intuitive interface with hierarchical display and helpful pop-ups with field definitions Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  20. Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  21. The good • Intuitive interface with hierarchical display and helpful pop-ups with field definitions • Filtering and searching • Supports authority work Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  22. Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  23. The good • Intuitive interface with hierarchical display and helpful pop-ups with field definitions • Filtering and searching • Supports authority work • Track description, accessions, deaccessions, donor info • Very detailed and helpful user manual Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  24. Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  25. The good • Intuitive interface with hierarchical display and helpful pop-ups with field definitions • Filtering and searching • Supports authority work • Track description, accessions, deaccessions, donor info • Very detailed and helpful user manual • Encourages consistency within and between repositories • Automation of encoding Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  26. The bad • Data entry is labor intensive, and some aspects are not intuitive Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  27. Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  28. The bad • Data entry is labor intensive, and some aspects are not intuitive • Lose flexibility to gain functionality • Raises the bar in terms of time, training and expertise by mandating data elements and standards • Ingest of legacy data is limited Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  29. Conclusion • Who will adopt the Toolkit? • What will be needed for their success? Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  30. AT Demonstration Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  31. Questions? Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

  32. www.archiviststoolkit.org Archivists' Toolkit at NEA

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