Yellow - Adventures in Bulk Updating

Purple - Shared Governance and Community of Practice

Green - Small Changes Big Impact

Red - Show Off Your Instance

White - non-track agenda items

March 25, 2026

ArchivesSpace Virtual Member Forum - Session A

Session A

1pm-3pm UTC (6-8am PT, 9-11am ET, 1-3pm GMT) - Find your local time

Register for Session A: https://lyrasis.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_V5WJp1FsQa-I3Wx16okRTw

1:00pm - 1:05pm UTC

Welcome and Announcements

1:05pm - 1:30pm UTC

Better in bulk: Bulk update spreadsheet for data clean-up after a physical relocation
Victoria Fernandez, The New School Archives and Special Collections

Presentation:
In 2025, after decades in its current office, the staff of The New School Archives and Special Collections learned that the department needed to relocate to a new space within the short span of eight months. Our repository needed to prepare 80% of collections stored onsite for transfer to an offsite depository. The presentation explains how our staff utilized the bulk update spreadsheet to clean up resource records throughout the move. It will address topics such as how we organized workflows and used the bulk update functionality for three distinct reasons: keeping track of previous top container and child instances, creating temporary instances for newly consolidated collections, and revising instances after the physical move. I’ll also briefly reflect upon my experience on how our move impacted time and labor constraints to reduce processing backlog. This presentation is geared toward those who are new to using the bulk update spreadsheet. References and demonstrations will be done in V3.3.1 (bulk updater as a plugin and not as part of the core code, as it is in V4.0 and beyond).

1:30pm - 1:55pm UTC

Three’s Company (3 years later): navigating a shared ArchivesSpace instance
Elizabeth Parker, Katerina Dimitriadou Shuster, Chiyong (Tali) Han, Cornell University Library

Cornell University Library (CUL) contains three separate archival repositories: the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections (RMC) and the Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives, located in Ithaca, NY, and the Medical Center Archives of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine (MCA), located in New York City. In January 2019, RMC implemented ArchivesSpace as their content management system; the Kheel Center and MCA have partially migrated into CUL’s ArchivesSpace instance. In 2023, archivists from CUL presented at this forum to discuss the migrations, three years later we have returned. This presentation will address the challenges and opportunities of sharing an ArchivesSpace instance, the lessons learned during the migration and after, and future plans. Topics covered will focus on shared governance, the importance of community support, the creation of a community of practice, the diversity of technical challenges based on the systems migrated out of and the quality of data in them, advocacy and how having many voices has elevated awareness of archival needs.

Break
1:55pm - 2:05pm UTC

10 minute break

2:05pm - 2:30pm UTC

Bats for GBAT: API Scripts for Bulk migration and Discovery
Anton Sherin, Guggenheim New York

Presentation recording

Presenter slides

Resources from presentation

The presentation will provide an overview of several API scripts being developed for workflows such as bulk container migration, reference and discovery. The scripts are designed for fast, iterative execution with comprehensive logging. The presentation will first discuss the problem statement that inspired each script, then weigh the pros and cons of the current version and speak to future plans for improvement.

2:30pm - 2:55pm UTC

Understanding ArchivesSpace Governance: Engagement is Impactful
Maggie Hughes (she/her/hers), Getty | Matthew Neely | Bridget Almas, Lyrasis | Linda Hocking | Weatherly Stephan | Erik Mitchell | Kate Crowe | Michelle Paquette | Nadia Nasr | Katerina Dimitriadou Shuster, Cornell University

Presentation recording

This session is a collaborative presentation of the branches of the ArchivesSpace Governance structure. As a member-driven organization, ArchivesSpace relies on the insight and contributions of users from member institutions to drive the nation's leading Archival Information System platform forward. The presentation will include an overview of governance structure: the roles and responsibilities of the Board, introductions to member representatives, an overview of the council structure, introductions of council chairs, a review of recent governance initiatives and discussions, and a brief open Q&A period. The goals of the session are to increase knowledge of the governance structure, give the wider ArchivesSpace community a chance to get to know what the Board and Councils do, connect with their representatives, and (possibly) inspire members to become more active in ArchivesSpace governance.

2:55pm - 3:00pm UTC

Closing Remarks

5:00 - 5:05pm UTC

Welcome and Announcements

5:05 - 6:15pm UTC

Lightning Talks

5:05 - 5:12 UTC

Mapping ISAD(G) and other ICA standards to ArchivesSpace
Martha Tenney, ArchivesSpace

Presentation recording

Bio:
Since November 2025, Martha has been ArchivesSpace’s Standards and Testing Archivist; Martha focuses on maintaining and extending the metadata standards that ArchivesSpace supports as well as manual and automated software testing.  Prior to this job Martha was the Director of Barnard College’s Archives and Special Collections.

Presentation:

The ArchivesSpace program team is working on a project to enhance the application's support for ISAD(G), ISAAR (CPF), ISDF, and ISDIAH-compliant archival description. The goals are to produce mappings, tooltips with ISAD/ISAAR guidance in the application (similar to current DACS guidance), and other user documentation as needed. This project also aligns with ArchivesSpace roadmap goals of better understanding the needs of users outside the U.S. and increasing international adoption of ArchivesSpace. In this lightning talk, I'll discuss the proposed ICA standards mappings (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1limTJPoYFId_RmMfdEQT6jTDZZZqVevcYTS58N-RLCE/edit?gid=2105569798#gid=2105569798 ), talk about how they will be added to tooltips and user documentation, and share my approach to soliciting feedback on the mappings. I'll also invite members to share their thoughts in more in-depth feedback sessions in April and/or via this form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc5-VJTuSG41tXiEMYYZ3dX00X7mIzOuxb1FNJy0u64zey2PA/viewform).

5:15 - 5:22pm UTC

asp - A Command Line Interface for the ArchivesSpace API
Michael Andrec, Ukrainian History and Education Center

`asp` is a subcommand-style command line interface (along the lines of the `git`, `npm`, or `apt-get` CLIs) for the interactive creation and management of ArchivesSpace data records via the API. I began this project as a way to systematize my confusing menagerie of ad hoc python scripts into something that might be more generally useful. I have so far focused on my particular pain points in working with ArchivesSpace, such as the creation/editing of containers, creation of container instances, and adding notes to resources. It is still very much a work in progress, though I have been using it “in production”. I will give a demo/screencast, and I would love to get feedback on the usefulness of such a tool, what additional features would be of interest, and to see if anybody would like to join me as a co-developer. The code is available at https://github.com/NumerousHats/asp-ArchivesSpaceCLI . This talk is aimed at intermediate to advanced ArchivesSpace users who are comfortable with the Linux terminal. You do not need any ArchivesSpace API knowledge or experience.

5:25 - 5:32pm UTC

Integrating finding aids into a universal discovery layer
Katy Rawdon & Michelle MacInsky, Temple University

After implementing ArchivesSpace at Temple University Libraries beginning in 2020, we found that the path from our primary discovery layer, Library Search, to archival content was cumbersome. Finding aids were represented in Library Search as collection-level MARC records only, so searches matched collection-level descriptions rather than the full finding aid in ArchivesSpace This meant materials described at deeper levels of the finding aid (e.g., series or folder) were not surfaced to patrons. Library Search is built on Blacklight, and we already had a framework in place to pull in multiple data sources through a bento-style “Everything” page. We launched a project to leverage this existing architecture to surface matches directly from the ArchivesSpace API. This allowed us to display results from deeper levels of the finding aid and integrate archival materials alongside books, articles, and digitized content in a more unified search experience. This lightning talk will describe our process, lessons learned, and early impact.

5:35 - 5:42pm UTC

Humans required: manual labor behind metadata remediation
Bri McLaughlin & Callie Martindale, Indiana University
Presentation recording

Bios:

Bri is the Digital Collections Librarian at Indiana University. Bri goes by Bri McLaughlin and her pronouns are she/her.

Callie is a second year MLS student and a Digital Collections Services Assistant at Indiana University. Callie goes by Callie Martindale, and her pronouns are she/her.

Indiana University has 32 ArchivesSpace repositories, and our collections are likely to include problematic and/or inaccurate metadata. The initial priority of this project was reparative metadata. However, after analyzing 40,000+ agent and subject records, it became clear that the records required significant de-duplication before moving forward. This presentation will briefly touch on data analysis tools, including OpenRefine and Microsoft Excel, used to identify duplicates and curate lists to review for each collection manager to review at a very large institution. Starting in 2025 and continuing into early 2026, a graduate student employee began the work of merging extents, agents and subjects across repositories into unified records. This lightning talk will discuss the challenges encountered and successes achieved during a full year of merging, including workflows, communications between departments, maintaining records of changes, and more. We will conclude with a forecast for the next year of this project, including an exploration of the Marriot Reparative Metadata Assessment Tool (MaRMAT).

5:45 - 5:52pm UTC

Work in progress: bulk note and agent relationship transformations
Mary Mellon & Stewart Engart, Duke University Libraries
Presentation recording

Duke University Libraries is embarking on a local development sprint to improve the Rubenstein Library's finding aids PUI (Arclight), including adding facets for our Research Centers (sub-repositories), and tweaking how access restrictions display. To take advantage of these updates, we are also performing bulk updates to agent-resource links and migrating a portion of our Conditions Governing Access notes to Physical Characteristics and Technical requirements notes. This presentation includes an brief overview of project goals, reporting methodology/tools for identifying records to update, completed and planned updates via the API, challenges encountered, and outcomes to date.

5:55 - 6:02pm UTC

Bulk Clean-up for the People: using lightly modified API scripts to meet access needs
Elizabeth Peters & Lynn Moulton, Boston College

Presentation recording

Presenter slides

Bio:
Lynn Moulton (she/her) is a Senior Processing Archivist at Boston College. She has worked in government, contract, and academic archives, with a focus on metadata.

Elizabeth M. Peters is currently a Senior Processing Archivist at Boston College, and has previously worked at Willamette University and the Yale Divinity Library. Elizabeth's interests include the intersections between archival theory, practice, and user experience, particularly in religious and artistic communities.

Presentation:
We will share two recent bulk enhancement projects, one to remove legacy metadata that no longer served a purpose, and one to bring in curator-created description that had previously existed outside of ArchivesSpace. Both projects stemmed from requests from internal collaborators, and both leveraged the ability to work across collections in ArchivesSpace. Creating explicit linkages between related materials across collections allowed us to highlight contributors who might otherwise have been hidden in the noise of so much data. This presentation will highlight how even simple coding skills can make a large impact in streamlining bulk updating workflows and responding quickly and effectively to requests from colleagues to improve patron experience.

6:05 - 6:15pm UTC

Easy ways to participate in the ArchivesSpace community
Jessica Crouch, ArchivesSpace

Submit an ArchivesSpace Use Case:

https://airtable.com/appAFvKW70CfTQQzp/pagFfZrfJWv7PYH7k/form

Participate in a Show Us Your Implementation Webinar: https://airtable.com/appWTPiYzF6bla9Iz/pagYzHYAO4gqZd5HK/form

With over 500 member organizations in a variety of settings, we know there are many creative and successful ways to use ArchivesSpace. The ArchivesSpace program has created two easy ways for members to let us know about the important and interesting work they are doing in their archive. In this lighting round session, Jessica will highlight these two new initiatives as low barrier ways to get involved and give back to the ArchivesSpace community.

6:15pm - 6:25pm UTC

10 minute break

6:25 - 6:55pm UTC

Usability Subteam Update: Proposal for Surfacing Back-End Configuration Settings

Susannah Broyles, Usability Subteam, Texas State University
Kelly Kress, Usability Subteam (Vice-Lead), Huntington Library
Noah Lasley, Usability Subteam (Lead), University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Nick Pavlik, Usability Subteam, Bowling Green State University
Brian Zelip, ArchivesSpace Front End Developer

Over the past year, the Usability Subteam and the ArchivesSpace front end developer have been developing a proposal to make application configuration more flexible and user-centered. The proposed changes would allow archival staff to manage some Public User Interface defaults directly from the Staff User Interface, streamlining configuration changes that currently require sysadmin-level access to the server. Community feedback from an April 2025 ArchivesSpace Community Discussion has played a key role in shaping this work.  In this session, the Usability Subteam will present the set of Public User Interface configuration settings identified for staff-level control, including those for default resource record display, global header navigation, and help configuration. This will be followed by a live presentation of how this new settings page could appear in the Staff application. The session will conclude by opening the floor for questions and additional feedback.

6:55 - 7:00pm UTC

Closing Remarks

1:00pm - 1:05pm UTC

Welcome and Announcements

1:05 - 1:50pm UTC

Running ArchivesSpace on Your Laptop with Docker: A Practical Guide for Archivists
Thimios Dimopulos, Tech Lead, ArchivesSpace

Presentation recording

Docker makes it easier for archivists to run a fully functional ArchivesSpace installation on a personal computer using the officially supported ArchivesSpace Docker configuration package. This presentation introduces a Docker based way to create a local ArchivesSpace environment that users can install, manage, and customize themselves without needing advanced system administration skills. We will explain the core concepts behind running ArchivesSpace with Docker and show how the official configuration package simplifies setup and management. The session will demonstrate how a local Docker installation can be used to customize configuration, preferences and theming, install and test plugins, switch datasets by performing database backups and restore, managing the indexer service and interact with ArchivesSpace through the API. Attendees will also see how Docker makes it easy to upgrade, reset, and experiment with installations, making it ideal for training, learning, and development. By the end of the talk, attendees will understand how Docker can give greater control over ArchivesSpace using a flexible local installation for low-risk experimentation. The session is aimed at archivists and ArchivesSpace users of all leverls with little or no prior Docker experience.

Break
1:50 - 2:00pm UTC

10 minute break

2:00 - 2:30pm UTC

Custom Reports: The power tools for excavating ArchivesSpace data
Anne Marie Lyons (she/her), Atlas Systems

Presentation recording

Bio:
Anne Marie Lyons is the Special Collections and Archives Implementation Consultant at Atlas Systems, which is a registered service provider of ArchivesSpace. She’s been with Atlas for 16 years and works with special collections and archives customers on their ArchivesSpace and Aeon implementations. Prior to working at Atlas, she was a digital initiatives consultant for special collections and archives in Colorado; a cataloger at the National Security Archive in Washington, D.C.; and a part-time librarian in the NPR library.

Presentation:
ArchivesSpace's custom reporting functionality offers archival staff powerful tools for data quality control, workflow management, and collection discovery. Custom reports provide granular control over search criteria and display options that are not currently available in the standard ArchivesSpace reports. For example, staff can create custom reports that filter by date ranges, controlled vocabulary values, creation dates, and record creators - all while displaying related data across multiple record types in a single report. The session will begin with an overview of how custom reports work in the staff user interface, as well as how they compare to the standard reports. We’ll then explore practical uses and examples of the ArchivesSpace custom reports. The data that these reports “excavate” reveal hidden collections that need enhanced description to enable patron discovery, help prioritize processing activities for staff, and improve management of description records for staff and administrators. The session will also cover practical management strategies for custom reports, including best practices for creating and testing complex reports, writing clear custom report descriptions, and maintaining reports as the organization’s custom report library expands. Attendees will gain practical knowledge of how to implement custom reports that improve data quality, enhance collection accessibility, and streamline workflows.

2:30 - 3:10pm UTC

A Link to the Past: Enhancing Digital Object Linking in ArchivesSpace
Jess Farrell, Lyrasis

Presentation recording

Presenter slides

You succeeded in advocating for implementing ArchivesSpace. You told them it was open source, used by all their favorite peer archives, and has an awesome community. You told them it has an API and will unlock possibilities of automating robust workflows that are even better than what ChatGPT can produce. But now it's time to deliver on that promise. And, honestly? Interoperability is a lot harder than you thought. The tools are there, but the knowledge gaps can be huge. The Lyrasis Community-Supported Technology Interoperability Project seeks to lessen this pain point by building interoperability solutions and documenting reproducible integrations with Lyrasis Organizational Home technologies, including ArchivesSpace. The project has recommended a set of solutions that facilitate linking digital objects in ArchivesSpace. Join the discussion session to participate in developing these linking enhancements! Jess Farrell, Lyrasis Community-Supported Technologies Interoperability Project consultant, will present an introduction and summary of the project to date. Then we will discuss user stories and specifications for the solutions, as well as reproducible integrations that you would like to see fully documented.

3:10 - 3:15pm UTC

Closing Remarks

March 26, 2026

ArchivesSpace Virtual Member Forum - Session D

Session D

5pm-7pm UTC (10am-12pm PT, 1-3pm ET, 6-8pm GMT) - Find your local time

Register for Session D: https://lyrasis.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Lf7EeIgIRtuuz_hdWYBIUA

5:00 - 5:05pm UTC

Welcome and Announcements

5:05 - 5:30pm UTC

ArchivesSpace Metadata Standards Adoption Principles
Frank Violette Foss (they/them/she/her), Technical Advisory Committee - Metadata Standards sub team / Milwaukee Art Museum
Gregory Wiedeman, University at Albany
Colleen McFarland Rademaker, Disciples of Christ Historical Society

Presentation recording

The Metadata Standards sub team of the ArchivesSpace Technical Advisory Council has drafted these principles to help guide and elucidate our decisions around the adoption and maintenance of external metadata standards, models, and guidelines in ArchivesSpace (including impacts on import, export, and data modeling within the application). We use these principles to assess a diverse landscape of standards. As such, these principles are not a checklist but guidelines that allow for a flexible gradient of adoption levels–from fully integrated support to minimal import or export functionality.

5:35 - 6:05pm UTC

Testing and Stakeholder Engagement: User Acceptance Testing Strategies for Creating Informed and Engaged Stakeholders
Joanne Archer, Library of Congress
Chris Mayo, Aretum

The Library of Congress recently completed the first phase of their ArchivesSpace implementation with the import of more than 3,000 EAD3 finding aids and the launch of the public user interface. A critical part of the project has been focused on stakeholder involvement in testing and evaluating the development of the EAD3 importer throughout the project. The presenters will discuss their 6-month testing strategy with internal stakeholders including testing design, workflow, and feedback loops. They will provide practical tools and tips for designing similar processes that are scalable for multiple types of projects.

6:05 - 6:15pm UTC

10 minute break

6:15 - 6:55pm UTC

Clarifying How ArchivesSpace Works: An Overview of the Technical Documentation Group
Corey Schmidt, Smithsonian Institution

Presentation recording

Ever wonder about the technical aspects of ArchivesSpace? The ArchivesSpace Technical Documentation (TechDocs) group is here to enlighten and help users understand what ArchivesSpace runs on and how to modify it to fit your needs. We’ll cover what documentation the TechDocs team maintains, how we’re working to make our resources more usable and understandable, and offer time for participants to provide feedback on what you would like to see demystified in the ArchivesSpace technical documentation.

6:55 - 7:00pm UTC

Closing Remarks