University Archivist Appointed to ArchivesSpace User Advisory Council

Mary Manning (’98), university archivist, has been appointed by the ArchivesSpace Board of Trustees to its User Advisory Council for a two-year term.

ArchivesSpace

ArchivesSpace, a new open source archives information management application, was developed by archivists for describing, managing, and providing access to archives, manuscripts, and digital objects.

ArchivesSpace, a new open source archives information management application, was developed by archivists for describing, managing, and providing access to archives, manuscripts, and digital objects. ArchivesSpace will soon be widely adopted for use by archives across the country, replacing Archon and Archivists’ Toolkit as the leading application.

Manning serves as one of 10 new appointees who will shape software functionality enhancements and ensure that ongoing development represents the needs of the ArchivesSpace community. “It will be the Council’s job to make sure that the voice of all the ArchivesSpace members are heard when making decisions to improve the application,” she said.

As a proud charter member of ArchivesSpace, UH Special Collections joins a group of over 50 institutions which will spearhead the Governance Board, User Advisory Council and Technical Advisory Council. Charter members are granted primary access to early releases of migration tools, and will participate in the initial phases of development.

Julie Grob, coordinator for digital projects and instruction, served on the Special Nominating Committee for the ArchivesSpace Board of Trustees. “The web-based aspect of ArchivesSpace makes it easy for us to deliver finding aids quickly to our users,” Grob said.

An internal group is working to plan the timeline and migration, which is tentatively set for the spring semester. Patrons will be kept apprised of changes, and a seamless transition is anticipated.

Matt Richardson, a new program manager in Special Collections, will be responsible for checking finding aids to ensure that records have migrated successfully, and will work with curators, UH Libraries Web Services, and the ArchivesSpace user community to promote a positive user experience. After the transition is complete, Richardson will manage finding aids and explore the ArchivesSpace accessioning tool as a potential method to record incoming collections.

The mission of UH Special Collections is to preserve, safeguard, organize, and describe materials in our collecting areas, making them available for current and future generations. Special Collections supports the teaching and research activities of the University of Houston, and serves as a resource for the scholarly community and the general public. Services include reference, instruction, archival collections processing, book processing, digitization, collection development, exhibits, marketing, and outreach.

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Posted on February 11th, 2014 by Esmeralda Fisher and filed under Announcements | Comments Off on University Archivist Appointed to ArchivesSpace User Advisory Council