406 Clerkenwell Workshops,
27-31 Clerkenwell Close,
London.
EC1R 0AT
27-31 Clerkenwell Close,
London.
EC1R 0AT
Collections Management Consultants,Collections Management Systems,Digital Asset Management
YOUR INDEPENDENT GUIDE TO THE SECTOR
Subscribe for free to get the latest thinking, features and news
About
System Simulation
Based in Clerkenwell, London, System Simulation has over 30 years experience in providing collections management systems for leading heritage institutions.
Collections Management
CollectionsIndex+ is designed for use with different types of collections, each compliant with relevant professional standards:
- Archives (ISAD(G) and ISAAR(CPF))
- Books (MARC21)
- Museum Objects (Spectrum)
System Simulation is a founding member of the Collections Trust’s Spectrum Partners scheme. CollectionsIndex+ includes a full set of procedure records, based on the Spectrum procedures, which enable users to record and manage tasks carried out with collections, such as acquisition, loans and conservation.
Digital Asset Management
CollectionsIndex+ includes image support, as standard. We also offer options for managing other digital assets.
AssetIndex+, our Digital Assets Management System, facilitates professional digital asset cataloguing, management and digital preservation. This integrates seamlessly with CollectionsIndex+.
Access
We understand the importance of making collections and their stories accessible online. Our CollectionsOnline sites are configured to match your branding and existing web-presence.
Alternatively, if you choose to use your in-house team or a third party web design agency we can supply an API to make your CollectionsIndex+ records available online, through in-gallery kiosks or on platforms for users’ own devices.
With the option of a web-based interface your teams can access CollectionsIndex+ remotely from anywhere with an internet connection. If internet connections are an issue in your buildings we can provided a desktop interface.
Support
Our professional support and training ensures that you get the most out of your system.
We provide training while setting up your system, as well as giving access to user manuals, video tutorials and support from our team. Additional or refresher training sessions can be booked at any time.
We can also provide hosting on our managed hosting platform.
Security
Permissions groups, assigned to password protected user accounts control what users are able to do in the system. Single Sign-On (SSO), content based security and additional permissions configurations can be added if required.
Clients include:
- The Victoria & Albert Museum
- The British Museum
- Government Art Collection
- The London Transport Museum
- The Garrick Club
- Dr Williams’s Library
- The Royal Academy
- The Royal Society
- Eton College
- Sir John Soane’s Museum
- The Dickens Museum
- Salisbury Cathedral
Get in touch
To find out more or arrange a demo please get in touch.
Showreel
Testimonials
“Having a professional Collections Management System in CollectionsIndex+ has been of huge benefit, not only to our work in caring for and managing diverse collections but in facilitating public access to those collections both physically and online.
Strong location controls help us to locate objects for use in public programmes. We are able to export object lists, including images, from CollectionsIndex+ for researchers to make selections prior to their visit. Importantly, we are able to record these activities in CollectionsIndex+ and further improve the knowledge of the collections to share with the public.
The CollectionsOnline site allows us to highlight the collections and their stories in a layered and accessible way. The public are able to search the collections if they are interested in a specific topic or object. Alternatively, great use has already been made of the “Themes” and “Collections” pages that are easily created and managed within CollectionsIndex+ and allow our public to browse the collections even if they are not sure what to search for or where to start, allowing them to explore and develop interests in different parts of the collection.
The team has control over which records, including images, are accessible. Making records available on the website is straightforward and quick, which means the collections records that the public can search and access are updated regularly. There is always something new to see.”
Sarah McHugh, Museum & Heritage Manager
Fermanagh & Omagh District Council
“We have been impressed with CollectionsIndex+ since our first demonstration and continue to be very pleased with our decision to move forward with the system.
Having a professional Collections Management System in CollectionsIndex+ that can support both our archive and object collection has been a game changer for us in terms of how we document and manage the collection.
Starting with an empty system was a choice we took as we felt our small number of existing digital records did not hold sufficient detail to warrant a migration. While this necessitated spending some time after the system went live populating core terminologies and authorities adding these terms to CollectionsIndex+ is a straightforward process. We were able to create initial terms quickly and then start adding the first set of collections records. We will continue to develop and grow these term lists as we go.
Choosing to take the system out-of-the-box to begin with enabled us to work to our project timescales and budgets and to work out how the collections fit into existing standards.
The System Simulation team have been supportive throughout and we look forward to continuing this relationship as we develop our system further.”
Philip Boot FRSA, Archivist
Glyndebourne
“We recently migrated all of our records from several different spreadsheets as well as a legacy CMS to CollectionsIndex+. System Simulation have been amazing at offering advice and creatively coming up with solutions to ensure that CollectionsIndex+ was set up in a coherent way for us.
They have been very responsive to all of our queries and we have felt extremely well supported.
From a practical point of view, CollectionsIndex+ has transformed the way we’re able to manage and use our collections.
We are still in the early stages of completing our cataloguing but highlights of the system so far have been:
- Being able to quickly search for a group records according to key terms, such as date, production person, subject, object type etc.
- Location and movement control is much more efficiently managed than previously.
- Managing our image files simultaneously with the records is very advantageous, as is the option of including different media types.
- Cataloguing is very user friendly and intuitive.”
