You may not have caught up with this recently coined term GLAM which is used to describe the phenomenon of the increasing convergence of the collections of the Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museum (including Historical Societies) sectors.  This trend is leading to increasing collaboration and activities to make their combined collections accessible to the world via the internet.

Over many years, Maxus Australia has assisted a significant number of users in the GLAM sectors to catalogue and increase access to the valuable knowledge and resources available using Inmagic software over many years.

They range in size from non-profit local collections mainly run by volunteers to installations supported by, for example, local councils or other better funded bodies, which enable their collection/s to be published and easily searchable using Inmagic’s internet-enabled software such as Web Publisher Pro or Presto.

We have experienced the trend in the merging of these sectors as many grapple with how to manage collections comprising objects, book collection/s, artworks and archives.  In addition, Maxus has been involved in the linking of data where metadata and images are harvested into larger systems such as Trove which “brings together content from libraries, museums, archives, repositories and other research and collecting organisations big and small“.  Many of Maxus’ Inmagic users in the GLAM sector are becoming part of this national resource.  Maxus has been instrumental in assisting this move by supplying a web interface that enables the Trove Harvester to upload new resources catalogued locally using DB/TextWorks into Trove’s online collection.

Some examples of Maxus clients in the GLAM sectors include:

• Italian Historical Society/Museo Italiano photograph records and associated images harvested (automatically using an API developed by Maxus) into Trove
• Yarra Ranges Regional Museum collection records (also uses an API developed by Maxus to harvest selected records from their Presto for DB/TextWorks (PDT) into Trove)
• Jewish Holocaust Centre has taken advantage of the ability of PDT to have a single search portal for a range of different Content Types. PDT provides the ability to design the experience and the amount and type of information available to the searcher based on their access privileges (See also JHC Collections Online launch).
• Other collections publicly searchable via the internet using Inmagic software include: The Town Hall Gallery, Boroondara (art), WHV Clearinghouse (libraries) and Move (libraries).
• Organisations are also using Inmagic DB/TextWorks to catalogue and manage collections.  TextWorks is used locally, maintaining control and backup of the content while providing selected records for inclusion in other systems to increase visibility and access to notable resources.  Some examples include: Latrobe Art Gallery (art), Ballarat Tramway Musuem (museum), ANZCA (libraries), and Archdiocese of Hobart (archives).

For more information about the options available and to find out if you are eligible for a free hour of consultancy or audit of your system, please contact Maxus.