[Archivesspace_Users_Group] ArchivesSpace Update - May 2017

Wed May 10 10:14:18 EDT 2017

[ASpaceOrgHome.jpg]

May 2017 Update

Development

The ArchivesSpace team was pleased to announce the release of v2.0.0 (https://github.com/archivesspace/archivesspace/releases/tag/v2.0.0) on April 19 . The release includes many changes to the underlying technologies of the application as well as improved functionality in some key areas. Summary information about these changes is available in the release notes. The changes include upgrading to Rails 5, better performance for background jobs and larger databases, a new way to reorder components in resources and digital objects, and remediation of some issues with reports. We have also made available a separate release file for those wanting to try out the beta of the new public user interface (https://github.com/archivesspace/archivesspace/releases/tag/PUBLIC-BETA). Thanks to all who provided feature specifications, code, testing feedback, and other support for all the work that went into this release.

We subsequently released a small patch release, v2.0.1 (https://github.com/archivesspace/archivesspace/releases/tag/v2.0.1), on May 3. This remedies an issue where the resource tree appears to become unresponsive after saving a record. Those using previous versions of ArchivesSpace who have not yet upgraded to 2.0.0 can upgrade directly to 2.0.1 when they are ready.

We are in the process of circulating an updated Technology and Development Roadmap for comment within the ArchivesSpace community. For those looking ahead to the next major release of ArchivesSpace, due in June, there are several large pieces of new or improved functionality scheduled for inclusion, including the production-ready version of the new public user interface (https://archivesspace.atlassian.net/wiki/display/ADC/Public+Interface+Enhancement+Project), an OAI-PMH responder (https://archivesspace.atlassian.net/browse/ANW-49) and enhanced rights management functionality (https://archivesspace.atlassian.net/browse/ANW-123). All of these improvements represent very substantial member involvement, including leading and participating in member working groups to develop recommendations for changes, writing feature specifications, providing feedback on recommendations and specifications, and testing improvements. We are grateful for our members' active participation in improving the application for the ArchivesSpace community as a whole.

Tufts University Subsidizing Development of Assessment Module

Over the years, a number of community members, both inside and outside the ArchivesSpace membership community, have participated in efforts to develop a specification for assessment functionality in ArchivesSpace. Thanks to archivists and other staff at New York University, the Smithsonian, the University of Michigan, Harvard University, Yale University, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Tufts University, and others for their efforts toward this goal.

We are pleased to announce that Tufts University's Digital Collections and Archives has decided to subsidize the development of the assessment functionality and contracted with Hudson Molonglo to work on it over the summer. The aim is for the module to be available beginning in the fall.

As work proceeds, you will be able to comment on and track progress in the JIRA issue https://archivesspace.atlassian.net/browse/AR-819. The specifications being used for the project, which reflect much of the previous collaborative work of the community, are attached to the issue.

Tufts has reviewed the previously developed specification drafts for an assessment module and intends to closely mirror functionality that was available in the Archivists' Toolkit assessment module, with additional reporting and importing capabilities.  Their primary aim at this time is to have the functionality that they need to do their work built into the application, and they are using the community-developed model that most meets that need. Because they are contributing the result back to the community, this will assure that a baseline of assessment functionality will soon be available in the application for everyone. For individual institutions or user communities that have additional needs, this functionality could be extended through the creation of plugins or additional development work - efforts that would very much welcome, either concurrent with or after this first phase.

For questions about the Assessment module project, please contact Dan Santamaria, Director of Tufts Digital Collections and Archives, at Daniel.Santamaria at tufts.edu<mailto:Daniel.Santamaria at tufts.edu>.

Thanks to Tufts for their generosity in taking on this project. If your institution is interested in getting more involved in development for ArchivesSpace, and either has projects in mind or wants to know about projects already prioritized by the community, please get in touch with Laney (laney.mcglohon at lyrasis.org<mailto:laney.mcglohon at lyrasis.org>) or Christine (christine.dibella at lyrasis.org<mailto:christine.dibella at lyrasis.org>).

New Suggested Mappings for ArchivesSpace Digital Object Exports Available for Comment

Thanks to the hard work of the Digital Objects Exports working group<https://archivesspace.atlassian.net/wiki/display/ADC/Digital+Objects+Exports+Working+Group>, new suggested mappings for two of the exports currently offered by the ArchivesSpace digital objects module (Dublin Core, MODS) have been drafted and are ready to be shared for wider comment. A suggested mapping for the METS export will be available soon. . You can access the mappings by visiting the working group's web page or the links in comments on the relevant JIRA issues.

Of note for those interested in the METS mapping: while ArchivesSpace currently provides for MODS descriptive metadata only within METS records, with the change in mapping we would also aim to provide the option to select either Dublin Core or MODS in the export in the application. Either of these options would reflect the mapping of the standalone export.

Dublin Core: https://archivesspace.atlassian.net/browse/AR-921

MODS: https://archivesspace.atlassian.net/browse/AR-920

METS: https://archivesspace.atlassian.net/browse/AR-919, https://archivesspace.atlassian.net/browse/AR-788, and https://archivesspace.atlassian.net/browse/AR-781

You may comment on any or all of the mappings. Please consider them both in terms of your current (or anticipated workflow) and your preferred workflow for the future and let us know if there is anything missing or anything that would negatively impact what you need to do. (And, of course, we're also very happy to hear confirmation if the proposed mappings suit your purposes as is.)

Please submit your feedback by commenting in the mapping files, commenting on the JIRA issues or emailing Christine (christine.dibella at lyrasis.org<mailto:christine.dibella at lyrasis.org>) directly. As much as possible, we'd like to receive feedback by May 19. Once the mappings have been finalized, we can schedule the revisions, as well as the additional choice for descriptive metadata included with the METS export, for inclusion in the application.

ArchivesSpace Participating in Multiple Grant Projects

The ArchivesSpace recently received word that two grant proposals in which it is named as a participant have been funded by the IMLS.

The Educopia Institute<https://educopia.org/> and the UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS)<https://sils.unc.edu/> have been awarded a grant worth over $681,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)<https://www.imls.gov/> for OSSArcFlow<https://educopia.org/research/ossarcflow>, a project to investigate and support the adoption of open source tools for libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs). The research team will engage with 12 partner institutions to research, devise, and test various strategies for implementing three open source software (OSS) technologies, the BitCurator<https://www.bitcurator.net/> environment, ArchivesSpace<http://archivesspace.org/>, and Archivematica<https://www.archivematica.org/en/>.  Laney McGlohon serves as the ArchivesSpace representative to the project.
LYRASIS has been awarded a $100,000 National Leadership Grant for Libraries award for the project "It Takes a Village: Open Source Software Models of Collaboration and Sustainability." The one year grant will allow for a convening of stakeholders from open source software initiatives, including ArchivesSpace, that serve cultural heritage organizations to elucidate characteristics and forms of sustainability models as well as factors affecting sustainability. The forum will contribute to the creation of a roadmap and resource allocation guidelines for new and existing open source initiatives to strengthen planning for and promote ongoing assessment of sustainability. The forum will have lasting impact by raising awareness of the requirements for open source sustainability, the variety of potential models, and factors that influence sustainability at different stages of a software's lifecycle. This sustainability forum will be held in the fall of 2017, with event location and details to follow. Laurie Gemmill Arp, Director of Collections Services & Community Supported Software at LYRASIS, will be leading this effort.

The ArchivesSpace program looks forward to collaborating with our colleagues through these projects to improve both the ArchivesSpace application and coordination between open source initiatives that serve cultural heritage organizations.

Membership Update

Our new members since April 10 include:

*         Architect of the Capitol

As of May 10, we have 331 General members, 12 Educational Program members, and 3 Registered Service Providers. If you are interested in your institution becoming a member of ArchivesSpace, please email us at ArchivesSpaceHome at lyrasis.org<mailto:ArchivesSpaceHome at lyrasis.org> for more information.

Membership renewals for the 2017-2018 membership term will be prepared in June and all current members will receive an invoice for next year at that time. Invoices will be sent to the billing contact we have on file, with a copy to Member Representatives as well. If you have any questions about your membership, or if you'd prefer to be invoiced earlier than June, please let us know at ArchivesSpaceHome at lyrasis.org<mailto:ArchivesSpaceHome at lyrasis.org>.

ArchivesSpace monthly updates provide news about ArchivesSpace community and program activities and are sent to our member listservs, the ArchivesSpace Google Group, and SAA's Collection Management Tools roundtable listserv, as well as being posted on the ArchivesSpace website. Please feel free to share this update with people you know who have an interest in ArchivesSpace but may not be on one of these lists.

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