Collections Management System Basics with CatalogIt: Creating records for internal use and for sharing with the world

This session will provide an overview of working with a modern collections management system including the basics of creating a record utilizing standardized terms and fields, and adding images and other files. Students will also learn how collection records can be shared internally or externally- publishing to the web- using an API. Students will be encouraged to create their own free online collections management accounts to continue to build skills at their own pace.

 Learning Outcomes

  • Gain an understanding of what a collections management system (CMS) is

  • Obtain practical experience in using a CMS to create records and add images

  • Learn the essentials of a CMS record

  • Learn considerations to keep in mind when determining what type and size of image or other files to add to a record

  • See examples of publishing from the catalog to the web using an API

Your Instructors

Dan Rael

Co-Founder, CatalogIt

Dan is one of the founders of CatalogIt, a collections management system used by institutions and private collectors around the world. He leads the sales and support teams, as well as the business side of the company. He studied anthropology, archaeology, and geology in college, and while studying at the University of New Mexico, he worked in the collections at the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology. He then spent a number of years as an archaeologist for the US Forest Service in California, on the Eldorado and Stanislaus National Forests.

Following a stint as a volunteer in the US Peace Corps in rural eastern Paraguay, Dan moved into the financial services world, and ultimately led the brokerage side of a small investment company in San Francisco. Dan’s been a collector of things pretty much his whole life- from seashells to stamps and coins, and later, of ethnographic art. He is delighted to be deeply connected with, and contributing to, the history, culture, and art world through his work at CatalogIt.

Nathan Kerr

Engineer and Support Specialist, CatalogIt

Nathan is an engineer and support specialist with CatalogIt. In this role he manages data migrations, provides client support, and contributes to feature development.

Nathan studied Art History and Design at the University of Cincinnati. Previously, Nathan worked at the Oakland Museum of California, overseeing the migration of over 200,000 records into a new collections management system, developing API-based tools for the collections management system, and managing collections digitization initiatives.

Nathan is passionate about exploring the ways that technology can help us preserve our history and tell our stories and is thrilled to support all kinds of cultural heritage institutions through his work with CatalogIt.