Discussion notes from breakout session on Developing a Collections Assessment Plug-In/Module in ArchivesSpace

Attending: Martha Conway (University of Michigan), Rachel Searcy (New York University), Portia Vescio (Michigan State University), and [briefly] Christian Dupont (Boston College)

Most of our discussion revolved around the following:

1. The need for something “more and better” (more robust, better integrated) than what is currently in Archivists’ Toolkit. We now as a community have lots of experience doing archival collections assessment; that experience should guide and inform the design, functionality, etc. of the “next generation” tool/system.
2. Many of us are currently engaged in some type of collections assessment activity. For some of us, the fact that there isn’t a “home” in ArchivesSpace for the data we have collected/are collecting is an obstacle to migrating to ArchivesSpace.
3. The “User Requirements for an ArchivesSpace Assessment Module” document needs to be revised (see #1 above) and readied for handing off to a developer. It is not clear how that work should proceed, who will take it on, etc.
4. Also unclear is what we are requesting/should pursue -- a plug-in or a module? What are the factors (cost, feasibility, etc.) that can or should determine that? Is there a need to better understand the community’s interest (how much? how strong?) in a collections assessment plug-in/module in ArchivesSpace?