Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we're opening the vault on something that's
just
foundational for anyone in cultural heritage. It really is. We're taking a look at
ArchiveSpace,
that specialized application that, well, thousands of places use to manage
everything from archives
to manuscripts and now more and more digital collections. Right. And if you've ever
wondered
how, you know, a big university or historical society keeps track of literally
everything,
like a box of 19th century letters and a terabyte of photos. ArchiveSpace is
probably the answer.
Exactly. So, our mission today is pretty simple. We just want to give you a clear,
beginner-friendly way into this tool to understand what it does, why it even needs
to exist,
and how this really unique community model keeps it all going. Okay, let's unpack
this.
Sounds good. But first, a quick thank you to the supporter of this Deep Dive, Safe
Server.
Safe Server commits to hosting this software and supports you in your digital
transformation. You
can find more info at www.safeserver.de. Their support really does help us bring
you these kinds
of explorations. So, when we start talking about ArchiveSpace, I think the first
thing to get is
its origin. It really is the leading open-source tool for this, but it wasn't
designed in a
corporate boardroom somewhere. Right. It was literally built for archives by archivists.
Which feels important. It's everything. This tool exists because the off-the-shelf
stuff
for libraries or museums, it just couldn't handle the complexity of archives, the
way things are
arranged, the hierarchy. It's just different. So, it was a necessity. A total
necessity.
The first version, ArchiveSpace 1.0, came out in 2013, and it was this huge
collaboration with
places like NYU Libraries, UC San Diego, University of Illinois, all backed by the
Mellon Foundation,
and with organizational help from Lyracis. It was built to be stable from day one.
That phrase, built by archivists, that really sticks with me. Because you're right,
a library
might have thousands of individual books, one barcode each, but an archive, that's
a whole
different beast. It's millions of unique, connected things in one collection. So,
why does that need
its own software? What can ArchiveSpace do that, say, a really good database couldn't?
It really boils down to two things. Maintaining what we call intellectual control
and physical
control, and doing both at the same time. It's a single system that supports the
entire life cycle
of archival work. Everything from the moment an item arrives to the moment a
researcher finds it.
So, let's walk through that life cycle. For someone new to this, the terms can be a
bit
technical. Sure. So, there are five essential stages.
What's the first one? The first is accessioning.
That's just the intake. The moment a collection comes through the door,
you're recording what you got, who you got it from, the basic legal and procedural
stuff.
So, it's official record of arrival. Got it. What's next?
Second is arrangement. And this is critical. Archives aren't just random piles of
stuff.
They have an original order, the way the creator kept them.
Right. And that order has meaning. Exactly. So, the system lets you map out
that hierarchy digitally so the original context isn't lost.
Okay. That makes perfect sense. What's number three?
Third is description. This is where you create all that crucial metadata.
Basically, you're writing the finding aids. The roadmap for researchers.
Precisely. The guide that tells someone what's in box three, folder six.
An archive space helps generate those in standard formats, like EAD, so they work
everywhere.
So, it does the heavy lifting on those really complex documents.
It does. Then fourth, you have preservation. This part tracks the physical side of
things.
Where is it located? What are the environmental conditions? Does it need
conservation?
All to ensure its long-term health. And the last one.
And finally, number five is access. This is the payoff. It's the public interface
that lets people actually search and discover all this amazing material,
connecting all that backend work to the researcher.
Wow. Okay. When you lay it out like that, yeah, spreadsheet just isn't going to cut
it.
Not even close. It really is an essential piece of
digital infrastructure. And on the technical side, it feels just as solid. You can
tell it's built
to last. Yeah. I mean, we don't have to get lost in the code, but the fact that it's
built on a
mature language, like Ruby says a lot, this isn't some quick web app. It's a
serious platform meant
for the long haul. Which is what you need when you're managing history. And you see
that reflected
in the development activity. You can look at GitHub and see the numbers. 385 stars,
238 forks.
Which shows people are paying attention. Right. But the number that really tells
the story
is the 96 contributors. That's not just a couple of developers. That's a dedicated
community of
professionals putting in their own time and expertise. 96 people. That's a lot of
brain
power. And that kind of active dedication, that really brings us to the most
fascinating part of
this whole story. It really is. Because what's so interesting here is that Archive
Space isn't just
software you download. It's a community. In what way? I mean, it's an organized
body of archivists,
librarians, developers, administrators, all working together. It's community-supported
software.
The users aren't just customers. They're the owners. They decide where the software
goes next.
They fund it. They manage it. They implement it. That sounds amazing in theory, but
how does that work in practice? I mean, are archivists expected to learn how to
code in Ruby?
Where does that technical skill come from? That's a great question. No, it's not
all on the
archivists. The development work tends to come from three main places. You have
developers at member institutions, developers from vendor partners who host it,
like Safe Server,
and then the core program team, which the community's membership fees actually fund.
So there's a professional core. A professional core guided by the community. And
you see that
commitment all the time. Like they just announced Martha Tenney is joining as the
new standards and
testing archivist. They're making sure everything stays up to professional
standards. They're even
planning their 2026 virtual member forum already. This is a very active, very
organized ecosystem.
That active engagement must be what makes it work so well in the real world. And
here's where it gets
really interesting when you hear from the people actually using it every day. Like
the testimonials
tell the whole story. I was reading what Tessa Wakefield from the University of
Northern Iowa
said. She mentioned that it gives her staff more autonomy. They can manage things
more effectively
because they aren't waiting on some outside company. They have a say in the tools
they use.
Exactly. They can help build the solution they need. And it's not just the archivists.
What about
the IT staff? Right. They're off of the forgotten piece of the puzzle. Totally. But
Tom McNeely,
he's IT at Western Washington University, he said it was pretty easy to install and
upgrade. And he
praised the technical documentation. When the IT team is happy, that saves everyone
time and money.
That's a huge win. Good documentation is priceless. It really is. But let's bring
it
back to the public, to the researchers. The impact on discovery is just massive.
Heidi Pettit at
Lawrence College talked about going from over a hundred separate finding aids to a
single
searchable collection in archive space. Can you imagine trying to do research by
searching a
hundred different PDFs one by one? That sounds like a nightmare. A unified system
is a complete
game changer for research. It's a revolutionary leap. And that all comes back to
that community
governance. I think Bre McLaughlin at Indiana University put it perfectly. She said
she
appreciates that feedback and concerns are actually heard. That feeling of having a
real voice is so
rare with enterprise software. Usually you just pay your fee and hope for the best.
That's right.
You're a customer, not a partner. Which brings us to the question that can be a
little confusing
for newcomers. If the software is open source, you know, free to download and use,
then why is
there a membership model? It feels like a paradox. It's a great point and it's the
absolute key to
its survival. The code is free, yes, but running a program team, offering
professional support,
coordinating all that development, that takes real money. So the membership model
is for
sustainability. Exactly. It's a collective fund to ensure the tool not only
survives
but continues to evolve for the good of the whole field. So it's less like buying a
product and more
like, I don't know, supporting public radio. You're funding a shared resource. That's
a
perfect analogy. And members get concrete benefits for it. Like what? Well, there
are tangible
things like getting technical support directly from the program team and access to
the user manual.
But the intangible benefit is the big one. Having a real voice in the future of the
software.
And a seat at the table. A seat at the table. Plus, by investing in this shared
infrastructure,
institutions protect themselves from being locked in by a single commercial vendor
who could suddenly change the rules or raise prices. It keeps the power in the
hands of the
users. It's like an insurance policy and a way to drive standardization all at once.
I also noticed
how they structured the fees. Yeah, the tiered levels are important. Very. They
have five
different membership levels, so a huge university and a small local museum can both
participate
and have their voices heard. It spreads the cost fairly across everyone who
benefits. It makes it
accessible for everyone. It really does. So what we have is this hyper specialized
tool that thrives
on shared investment and, well, dagnetic governance. And it's clearly working. The
latest release,
V4.1.1, just came out on July 1st, 2025. It's just a fantastic model for building
critical
infrastructure. It really is a key example of how open source, when you back it
with a smart funding
and community model, can lead to real innovation and standardization. Without being
driven by profit.
Exactly. And think of the efficiency. Tom Adams from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
pointed out
that because so many institutions use it, they can leverage plugins and tools
others have built.
They don't have to spend a ton of money on in-house development.
That shared effort saves everyone time and money. It lifts the whole sector.
It really does.
That is just a tremendously powerful model. So as we wrap up this deep dive, here's
a final
thought for you to consider. How does this model-free software sustain by a
professional
membership compared to the other essential digital tools you use every day, the
ones built by massive
companies? Does the archive space model maybe ensure a better, more focused
response to the
actual needs of its users, the archivists? It's something to mull over.
Definitely something to think about.
And that wraps up our deep dive. Thank you again to Safe Server for supporting this
exploration.
Remember, Safe Server takes care of the hosting of this software and supports you
in your digital
transformation. You can find out more at www.safeserver.de. We'll catch you next
time for the next deep dive.