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Collections Management Systems

Maximize the power of your collection data with a CMS that's right for you.

Choosing the right Collections Management System (CMS) is the first step toward sharing the stories at the heart of your collection. But, how do you know which CMS option is right for you? And, when you do choose a system, how can you prepare for a stress-free data migration? Moving into a new CMS is a multi-part project that requires knowledge and skills in the system infrastructure, data cleanup, data migration, system configuration, and management. It's a big job that can be difficult no matter how large your team is. We get it. The Relicura team can support you through the entire process, from selecting a new CMS all the way through migration. And, if needed, continued management support.

With more than two decades of experience specializing in museum and archival collections management systems, we can lead you through the overwhelming process of selecting, implementing, migrating into, and managing your CMS.

Work with Relicura

Rachael proved to be extremely adept in refining and updating the existing digital archive plan, supporting development of the data entry provess and providing training to our volunteer staff in general archival practices and specific data entry procedures.

– Private Client

Rachael's vast knowledge of current digital collection tools meant we were able to immediately identify the right CMS tools to consider for our consortia portal.

– Private Client

Knowledgable and personable Rachael is a pleasure to work with. She maintains a balanced approach, addressing both the requirements of archival cataloging, and the knowledge and vocabulary of the user population. While keeping a broad archival perspective, she happily gets down into the details of a specific application, acting as a ready reference in resolving specific catalog implementation issues. Her expertise repeatedly helped us to avoid errors and subsequent rework.

– Private Client

How we can help

A collections management system is the gateway to improved collections management and exciting collection discovery. No one system is the same and we can help you shop for, choose, and use your new CMS. Whether it's an open-source option or provided by a CMS vendor, we can offer "translation" services to ensure you get the system of your dreams. CMS vendors are limited to delivering a system. We're available to support you throughout the process, be your biggest advocate, and are by your side for ongoing support needs that don't fall under a CMS support contract.

How it works:

Relicura can help with one aspect of CMS selection and management, or support you from the very beginning of the process.

  1. Gather | Specifications for a new CMS

  2. Search | Search for the most competitive CMS options 

  3. Select | Select the CMS that's right for you  

  4. Configure | Configure the CMS for desired use

  5. Cleanup | Prepare the data for entering a new system 

  6. Migrate | Extract, repackage, and import the data into the new CMS

  7. Manage | Provide regular management support for optimized use

Partner with Relicura

What about shared systems or a consortia approach?

Our founder is an expert in complex CMS implementations and has specialized in shared CMS instances as well as consortia approaches across one or more systems. In addition to needing the right tools, we can guide you through aligning shared best practices, implementing consortia processes, and adjusting data to support cross-collection discovery.

What's Included?

 Relicura’s signature Digital Collection Management service is personalized to the contours of your organization. Here are some of the key ways we can collaborate with your team:

 

360-Assessment: Specification gathering require stakeholder conversations, use case building, and expansive data review. Our team will assess the overall shape of the data, articulate and prioritize system requirements, and generate a CMS specifications document. 

A Supportive Shopping Experience: Shopping for the right system can feel overwhelming. We can make the process easier with short listing the systems that are right for you, arrange and lead vendor discussions, as well as support you through the selection process.

Implementation Support: Implementation looks different dependent upon which system you choose. We partner with the CMS vendor to help translate your needs and ensure you can make configuration decisions with confidence.

Data Cleanup: When you enter a new CMS, you want your data to match the new look and hit the ground running. We do the heavy lifting of data review, cleanup, and preparation to make sure your data can enter the new system exactly as it should.

Migration Support: One of the last aspects of implementing a new CMS is the final migration of data and assets. We partner with both your old and new CMS vendors to ensure data extraction occurs correctly and that all files are prepared properly for the new CMS. This can be especially helpful if neither of the vendors offer data extraction or ingest support.

Ongoing Management: Having a dedicated database manage can be difficult to achieve with finite resources. We can help fill the gap by offering monthly maintenance and support for any system updates, report creation, or major data updates. We can also offer as-needed training, process flow improvements, and system documentation that identifies exactly how *you* use the system.

Get Started

Frequently Asked Questions

See Us in Action

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