With the boundaries of what’s possible rapidly expanding, people have become empowered to try new things. Organisations in the cultural sector are no different to many others in respect of their willingness to push technology, and as it permits, museums, libraries, galleries etc. look to develop digital experiences to help them better connect with their audiences and offer them a better service. But the benefits aren’t just experiential, for cultural institutions there are operational efficiencies, cost savings and practical benefits to being ‘more connected’ and more open with knowledge, data and resources.
We decided to partner with Axiell due to the breadth of the Axiell offer
At Axiell we have been particularly cognisant of the change in technology and how it impacts the cultural sector, and therefore our own shift in strategy – the deliberate steps taken to integrate our library, archive, museum and education systems – was born out of a desire to meet the changing needs of our customers. And so, when the USAHEC selected Axiell to provide a solution spanning their archive, library, museum and digital assets the project stood out from many others because of its holistic nature.
Joel Sommerfeldt, CEO & President of Axiell, said that history is often told through the conflicts that define each generation and Axiell is ‘proud to be able to help USAHEC tell a story of such prestige.’ He said this project stands out to us in particular because ‘it affirms our position as provider of integrated and holistic solutions to the cultural sector, capable of supporting the full range of collections management needs. It is also great to be able to announce our first Quria customer in North America!’
The benefits of Axiell’s solution here are equally broad and will support USAHEC’s digital preservation strategy, improve accessibility (locally and globally), support learning and improve access to resources through a single discovery interface.
15 million items
From tanks to typewriters, there is a combined total of around 15 million items within the USAHEC’s collection, including books, archival materials, digital materials, and artefacts relating to conflict throughout US history – with items dating back from pre-Revolutionary War, up to recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Geoff Mangelsdorf, Director, USAHEC, said the digitisation project was its ‘number one priority right now and we were extremely impressed by Axiell’s offer and knowledge in this space, being one of the only providers that could bring all these products together in one place. We decided to partner with Axiell due to the breadth of the Axiell offer. Axiell Quria is very intuitive and meets the demands of our library staff. Likewise, our collections staff are genuinely excited to start using EMu, which they feel will really suit the way they work, whilst being robust enough to handle the scale and complexities of our collection.’
The suite of cultural products will support The US Army in a project to digitise millions of items, as well as in their core mission of preserving and sharing the story of the US Army.
Axiell Products used at USAHEC
Quria®, Axiell’s cloud-based, digital-first Library Services Platform will help USAHEC staff manage the library in a more modern and efficient way, making daily work routines more efficient, dramatically reducing the number of systems that staff need access to, and providing a complete overview of what is happening in the library.
Axiell’s EMu collections management solution has been selected for its ability to manage the complex archive and museum collections and support the center’s digitisation efforts, while Axiell DAMS will play a vital role in organising and preserving the digital assets in the collections, while making digital assets more accessible within the institution.
Axiell Arena is the discovery layer, enabling users to search all of USAHEC’s collections using a single, simple interface that works across all devices.
