ConservationSpace update

ConservationSpace is a digital documentation tool being developed
specifically for the needs of conservators that marries the
flexibility and formatting of word processor documents with the
structure and organization of a database.  It will offer such
features as embedded images in reports, image annotation, and
management of reports, images, and all manner of associated
documents in one location.  For those with complex project
management needs, it also offers task and workflow management tools.
The system will be highly configurable and designed to interface
with collection management systems.  ConservationSpace is designed
by conservators, for conservators.

The development of ConservationSpace Release 1.0 was completed in
July 2014 and represents a major step toward developing a software
application for creating and managing conservation documentation as
well as supporting conservation business processes.  Release 1.0
yielded a functional beta system that the project partners used in a
test environment. Conservators at each participating institution
were able to create projects and reports; add and annotate images;
send email notifications and requests; and relate reports and data
to cultural objects all within a single software application.  The
creation of the report document by a conservator/user is facilitated
by a word processor like interface to the database called an iDoc.

On December 10, 2015 the project team, led by the National Gallery
of Art in Washington D.C., held a workshop to kick off the
development of Release 2.0 of ConservationSpace.  The overarching
goal of this next phase, which runs through July 2016, is to produce
a fully functional second release that would be ready for
integration with Collection Management Systems (CMS) and Digital
Asset Management (DAM) Systems. The specific goals of the Release
2.0 work are to:

    Build mechanisms to import data from existing collection and
    digital asset management systems while maintaining the ability
    for manual data input for conservators without such systems

    Improve the user experience by enhancing the interface and
    interaction design as well as the ability to customize some
    aspects of the individual user's interface

    Make it possible to print and export iDoc-based system reports

    Support the use of locally preferred terminology by institutions
    and conservators in private practice

    Refine and expand the search/retrieval capabilities

    Expand the image annotation features and adopt image annotation
    standards in conformance with established protocols such as the
    International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF)

    Create two versions of ConservationSpace; one that would be
    hosted remotely and serve multiple customers in different
    institutions or conservation practices with a private version of
    the software and a second version that could be installed on an
    institutional or hosted server to be used by a single customer
    with multiple users

    Allow for role-based (conservator, curator, registrar, etc.)
    customizable permission controls, specific to each institution's
    or private conservator's needs

    Facilitate both enterprise-level and user-level customization of
    system templates and code lists

    Generate reports on system status and activity

    Offer workflow management capabilities to support the unique
    business processes of each institution or conservation practice

    Provide version management and rollback capabilities for key
    system objects

The ConservationSpace project is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation and managed by the National Gallery of Art in Washington,
DC.  Conservators and scientists from the National Gallery of Art in
Washington, the National Gallery of Art in London, the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, Yale University, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the
Denver Art Museum, the Statens Museum for Kunst in Denmark, and the
Courtauld Institute in London have been closely involved with the
development of the software.  More information is also available on
the project websites

    <URL:http://www.conservationspace.org>

and

    <URL:https://sites.google.com/site/conservationspace>

Christine E McCarthy
Chief Conservator, Conservation and Exhibition Services
Preservation Department
Yale University Library
130 Wall St.
PO Box 208240
New Haven CT 06520
203-432-1710
Fax: 203-432-9900
Emergencies: 203-530-5414


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 28:38
                   Distributed: Monday, March 9, 2015
                       Message Id: cdl-28-38-002
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