Just in time for Christmas…

The long anticipated Archivists’ Toolkit has just been released. This open source project offers several useful tools to archivists. Below is a list of key features:

Key Features:

* Integrated support for managing archival materials from acquisition through processing:
o Recording repository information
o Tracking sources / donors
o Recording accessions
o Basic authority control for names and topical subjects
o Describing archival resources and digital objects
o Managing location information
* Customizable interface:
o Modify field labels
o Establish default values for fields and notes where boilerplate text is used
o Customize searchable fields and record browse lists
* Ingest of legacy data in multiple formats: EAD 2002, MARC XML, and tab delimited accession data
* Rapid data entry interface for creating container lists quickly
* Management of user accounts, with a range of permission levels to control access to data
* Tracking of database records, including username and date of record creation and most recent edit
* Generation of over 30 different administrative and descriptive reports, such as acquisition statistics, accession records, shelf lists, subject guides, etc.
* Export EAD 2002, MARC XML, METS, MODS, and Dublin Core
* Support for desktop or networked, single- or multi-repository installations

I really can’t wait to try to install this project when I get back to the office. Those interested in the project may also find the Archon Project of interest.