GBV network headquarters: kuniweb

kuniweb – for digital collections

Inventory and management of collection objects in conjunction with easydb

“With kuniweb we have found a great solution, not only to manage our exhibits and all digital formats at any time and anywhere, but also to access other databases in a contemporary form via interfaces. I am thrilled with the clarity and flexibility that easydb offers. The software has made a significant contribution to improving cooperation between museums and collections.”

Dr. Sebastian Möllers MA Museum Director Museums Stade

Digitization project of the GBV network headquarters

The Common Library Association (GBV) is the largest of the six library associations in Germany. The headquarters of the GBV (VZG) is located in Göttingen. The core tasks of the VZG include, among other things, the provision of the Common Association Catalog (GVK), the operation of the technical infrastructure for joint cataloging and the provision of materials for research and teaching.

As part of the establishment of the German Digital Library (DDB), which goes back to the federal government's decision in 2009, the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK) initiated extensive digitization and inventory projects. In this context, the VZG was commissioned to provide the technical infrastructure for the state portal “Cultural Heritage of Lower Saxony” and, with kuniweb, provides a central web entry for museum collections.

The challenge of a comprehensive centralized solution

The kuniweb project started on December 1st, 2012 with six museums (Oberharzer Mining museum Clausthal-Zellerfeld, museum Obernfeld, Keramik.um Fredelsloh, Königshütte Bad Lauterberg,

Herzberg Castle Museum , Einbeck City museum ) and currently counts over 30 institutions among its participants. These include small private collections as well as large institutional institutions.

The technical requirements for software for a common network solution were correspondingly high. The biggest challenges included the heterogeneous requirements of the participating users, the connection to various existing services and the consideration of numerous interfaces and various standard data. The project was developed to reconcile web-based object recording of Museum holdings and growing regional cooperation between preserving institutions. kuniweb was implemented with easydb from Programmfabrik , as its high flexibility and adaptability made it the only possible software for implementing the project.

Web-based, flexible and compatible through easydb

This made it possible to define an input mask for all participating collections and map the data model in a user-friendly way. The institutions' data sets were newly recorded as part of the digitalization process and entered into easydb . Existing data sets from some institutions could be migrated to easydb . Thanks to rights management all participating institutions have their own data pool. The museums decide individually about the access and editing rights of collection employees. The VZG then assigns these according to your wishes via easydb rights management .

The special features of kuniweb also include the integration of numerous authority data standards, which enable easy exchange of data sets with nationwide portals such as the German Digital Library as well as across Europe, for example. B. enable with Europeana. By connecting existing services, such as the live Search in the GBV network catalog, Info sources are networked and comprehensive research is possible. Conversely, there is also the option of cataloging from easydb into the association catalog. In addition, kuniweb was provided with the mapping of workflows for Museum documentation. These are strongly based on the SPECTRUM standards for Museum management systems.

With the realization of kuniweb, a milestone was set for the cooperative recording, management and presentation of cultural heritage. The project is already a representative example of a successful central solution. The number of participating collections is constantly growing. Other collections are invited to register.

Info and access to kuniweb:

http s://kuniweb.gbv.de

Case study as PDF