CDL hosts instances of ArchivesSpace for use by the UC Libraries and UC campus department libraries, archives, and museums. ArchivesSpace is an archival collection management system, which can be used to maintain and publish information about archival holdings.
CDL Service Provision
The CDL provides the following support services related to ArchivesSpace:
- Hosting and maintenance of ArchivesSpace technical infrastructure.
- Coordination of software upgrades. Upgrades are always scheduled and communicated in advance, and may involve a brief service downtime to conduct the upgrade.
- Management of backup/data recovery services.
- Technical consultation. We work closely with campus library ArchivesSpace Administrators, who in turn provide additional technical and user support to staff within the library.
- Hosting and maintenance of CDL-created technical and user support documentation/tutorials; these support articles are supplementary to user documentation maintained by ArchivesSpace.
- Install ArchivesSpace plug-ins on a request basis, once fully evaluated and tested by campus library or department staff. (CDL will provide a hosted testing environment, to assess the plug-ins). Implementing plug-ins generally involve a high-degree of testing and iteration.
- Enable customizations, which are subsequently maintained by campus library or department staff. Support for customizations is currently limited to modifying labels, messages and tooltips, which are specified in multiple “locales” files; for more information, see Managing Local ArchivesSpace Custom Labels. Customizations generally require maintenance during each ArchivesSpace version upgrade, in which new labels or features may be introduced in the ArchivesSpace application.
There is currently no direct cost to the UC Libraries or UC departments for utilizing the service.
Eligibility
- CDL-hosted ArchivesSpace is a service available to the UC Libraries, and UC campus department libraries, archives, and museums. The CDL supports individual ArchivesSpace instances (one instance per campus library or department).
- UC campus libraries (and campus departments) may also use the service to steward archival collection information on behalf of other organizations that they are partnering with. In such cases, the UC campus library (or campus department) assumes responsibility for maintaining the content, and serves as the key service contact point for partner organizations.
UC Campus Library/Department Responsibilities
- Maintain a current key contact (ArchivesSpace Administrator) on file with the CDL; notify the CDL if there is a staffing change in the role of ArchivesSpace Administrator. Specific responsibilities of this role include:
- Authorizing users of ArchivesSpace affiliated with their respective campus library or department.
- Setting the appropriate permissions for ArchivesSpace users.
- Restricting access to their campuses’ resources in ArchivesSpace (as necessary).
- Serving as first point of contact for CDL on issues and questions related to an individual institutions’ collection.
- Evaluate and test requested ArchivesSpace plug-ins; maintain local workflows in consultation with documentation provided by the plug-in developer.
- Maintain files that enable customization of the ArchivesSpace instance, such as displaying custom labels and messages in the staff interface; coordinate with CDL to install updated files in the hosting environment.
- Securely maintain ArchivesSpace accounts, and do not provide logins and passwords to any third party. If an account holder's password has been compromised for any reason, it should be changed immediately.
- When utilizing the ArchivesSpace service to publish content to OAC, abide by the terms of participation for OAC.
This policy was last updated November 2021 and is subject to periodic revision. Any material changes to our policies will be communicated and shared with CDL-hosted ArchivesSpace users.