Collections Management Systems
Collections Management Systems
This wiki provides an update to iDigBio's 2012 resource, Biological Collections Databases, Tools, and Data Publication Portals.
iDigBio gathers information about collections management system (CMS) options to share with the natural history collections community, both as an online resource available to anyone, and as a reference specifically for participants in our Digitization Academy courses. We have asked representatives of each CMS to respond to a survey containing a standard set of questions, which we believe can be helpful for potential new users comparing CMS options. These surveys, as well as additional resources, are organized by CMS option (alphabetically) below.
If you are a CMS representative and wish to be added to this list, or to update the information here, please contact Erica Krimmel (ekrimmel@fsu.edu).
Arctos
Axiell EMu
Axiell presentation for iDigBio (video, 2021)
BRAHMS
CollectionSpace
Overview of CollectionSpace (video, 2021)
Collective Access
EarthCape
Specify
Extending Specify for a New Biological Collections Computing Paradigm (video, 2021)
Symbiota
Symbiota is an adaptable, customizable software that enables self-defined and self-governed communities of practice to form, collaborate, and produce globally integrated, high- quality biodiversity data resources. Symbiota is ideal for small- to medium-sized collections that lack IT support and resources. Symbiota has also been used to create location-based data portals (e.g., http://www.cal-ibis.org/) and institutional management systems across collections (e.g. https://bellatlas.umn.edu). Data in web-based Symbiota portals can be instantly searchable via public search features, and there are many tools to connect these data to other collections and to aggregators (e.g., iDigBio, GBIF).
Introduction to Symbiota (video, 2021)