What is Axiell Collections?

Download or view a PDF listing the main features of Axiell Collections:

Axiell Collections overview

Axiell Collections is a web-based Collections Management System (CMS) designed to manage the digital and physical collections of Archives, Libraries (special libraries) and Museums. An Axiell Collections implementation comprises two main components: a Model Application and the Axiell Collections software. It is worth understanding the difference between the two.

The Model Application is the data management heart of Axiell Collections and it is available in a range of configurations to meet the needs of different types of organization:

  • Archive
  • Library
  • Museum

Our CMS is also intended for multidiscipline collections, and various combinations are available:

  • Archive+Library
  • Archive+Museum
  • Library+Museum

The XPlus model is intended for organizations with all three types of collection:

  • Archive+Library+Museum

What distinguishes these configurations of the Model Application is the set of data sourcesClosed The management of a collection can involve a vast amount of information about objects / items / books, people and organizations, events, administration and more. This information is stored as records in data sources. Each data source stores a specific type of information: details about collection items, people, events, loans, and so on. available in each. The data management needs of museums differ from those of film institutes, which differ again from archives and libraries, and different sets of data sources are provided for these different types of collection (starting with specialized catalogues: Moving image catalogue, Object catalogue, Archives catalogue, Library catalogue, and so on). In short, the data sources (notably, the screens / tabs and fields) available to you for recording the data about your collection will depend on both the version and the configuration of the Model Application implemented for your organization.

The easiest way to identify which version and configuration of the Model Application is running in your Axiell Collections system is to check the browser tab in which Axiell Collections is running. In this example, the XPlus configuration of Model Application version 5.0 is used by Axiell Collections:

Tip: There is more to the Model Application than data sources and details about the current and earlier versions can be found here.

While this documentation describes each of the data sources available (here) its main focus is not the Model Application itself but the Axiell Collections software. Broadly speaking, the Axiell Collections software is the user interface to your collections data; it is the tool you use to manage your collections data and our primary aim with this Help is to document the functionality available and to demonstrate how to use it.

This documentation is written for the latest version of the Axiell Collections software and for the most part assumes an implementation based on Model Application version 5. The most obvious difference between version 5 and earlier versions is found in the Select data source box; in most other ways, the functionality described in this documentation is relevant for all recent versions of the Model Application.

The Select database box was renamed Select data source box with version 5.0. Here we see the Select database box from a Model Application 4.5.2 system (with archive, library and museum collections):

And here we see the Select data source box from a Model Application 5.0 system:

An important change is the inclusion of a top level Catalogue data source (see Data sources for details about the organization of data sources into top and sub levels). Amongst other changes:

  • The Internal object catalogue and External object catalogue have been replaced by the Object catalogue and we now document these different object types by selecting internal or in loan (for an external object) from the Management status drop list:

  • The Library catalogue is now a sub level data source below the Catalogue, and instead of documenting a book, serial or article by selecting the Book, Serial or Article data sources, we document these different library items by selecting a value from the Document type drop list in the Library catalogue:

Standards

Built on a foundation of international standards, Axiell Collections supports the full range of business processes followed by museums, archives, film institutes, galleries, heritage sites, corporate archives, universities, religious institutions schools, as well as private collectors. With support for acquisition / accession, transfer, assessments and treatments, requests / reading room, loans, digitization, location management / track & trace, and more, anyone who is managing a collection of historical, cultural or scientific significance can benefit from Axiell Collections.

Scalable and flexible, Axiell Collections can accommodate growth in your collection and organization. Features and benefits of our CMS include:

  • Support for multiple user groups / roles with easy to use, intuitive, customizable interfaces.
  • Scalable security that can be implemented at the database, role, panel, or field level.
  • A fully documented API to integrate with other system platforms.
  • Authority data sources to manage terminology and control data entry.
  • Ability to adapt and customize the application with Axiell Designer.
  • Audit logging to track inserts, edits, and deletions.