Sep 212011
 

Over the upcoming weeks, the ArchivesSpace Technical Review Team will be leading a collaborative process to review and finalize requirements documents and functional specifications for the ArchivesSpace tool.

Led by Technical Architect Mark Matienzo and Project Manager Katherine Kott, team members Joe Pawletko, Chris Prom, Scott Schwartz, Brian Tingle, Adrian Turner, and Brad Westbrook will exhaustively review the existing specification documents, seeking to rationalize inconsistent language, identify potential development barriers, and develop a more detailed and concise data model. In addition, the team will be developing more detailed functional requirements for the Administrative Interface and System Configuration Panel. The team will be completing this work in their project workspace and in a two day meeting, scheduled for October 5th and 6th.

During this process, the team seeks feedback and suggestions from the archival community, from potential bidders on the RFP, and from other interested parties. Comments and feedback can be provided in the comments section of pages linked under the specifications section of the ArchivesSpace website at http://www.archivesspace.org/documents/specifications/.

All feedback will be reviewed by team members. Where appropriate, we will incorporate suggestions into the final versions of the specification documents, which will be updated as they are completed, according to the timeframe below.

We are particularly seeking analysis of the specs completeness and discussion of whether they describe the required functionality consistently and clearly. Community members should also note gaps in functionality between the specifications and existing functionality of the Archivists’ Toolkit or Archon. They should also identify recommendations of potential integration points or scalability and performance concerns, noting potential gaps in the proposed system design/data model.

If possible, please submit your feedback by the following dates:

  • September 26: repository records, staff user records, location records
  • October 3: subject records, name records
  • October 10: accession records, de-accession sub-records
  • October 17: digital object records
  • October 24: resource records
  • October 31: All sub-records specifications (date statement, extent statement, external document, rights management); public interface design principles, and system configuration panel.

As previously announced, the request for proposals has been released. ArchivesSpace is accepting proposals from any interested party. More information, including the full text of the RFP, is available at http://archivesspace.org/rfp. Proposals are due no later than 5 PM EDT on October 14, 2011.

Sep 062011
 

The ArchivesSpace project is pleased to announce a Request For Proposals for individuals or firms for the development of ArchivesSpace, an open source software application that combines the functional strengths of the two leading American archival collection management systems: Archon and the Archivists’ Toolkit. The successful Respondent will work with the ArchivesSpace project’s technical review team, comprised of a technical architect, professional archivists, advising developers, and build and release managers. The full text of the RFP can be found by following the link at the end of this announcement. Potential respondents are encouraged to join the ArchivesSpace discussion list.

Questions must be received by 5:00PM EDT, Friday, September 16, 2011 and should be sent via email to Mark Matienzo, ArchivesSpace Technical Architect (mark.matienzo@yale.edu), and Katherine Kott, ArchivesSpace Development Manager (katherine.kott@gmail.com). Please format the subject line with the phrase “Question re: ArchivesSpace RFP – [overview of question]“. An email response or status of response will be provided by 5:00PM EDT, Friday September 23, 2011. Questions and answers will be sent to all known participants in the RFP.

Proposals are due by 5:00PM EDT, Friday, October 14, 2011. Proposals should be sent via email to Mark Matienzo, ArchivesSpace Technical Architect (mark.matienzo@yale.edu), and Katherine Kott, ArchivesSpace Development Manager (katherine.kott@gmail.com). Please format the subject line with the phrase “ArchivesSpace Proposal – [Business/firm name of respondent]“.

ArchivesSpace is supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and is a partnership between the New York University Libraries, the UC San Diego Libraries, and the University Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Jul 262011
 
New York University has been awarded a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to lead a partnership in developing the software that integrates Archon and the Archivists’ Toolkit (AT) into an open-source, next-generation archives management system. The integrated product, known by the working title ArchivesSpace, will incorporate the best features and functions of Archon and the AT.
For more information, see this press release.