Open-source software
for cultural
collections
Museums, archives, libraries — we design and deploy open-source platforms to catalogue, manage and publish your heritage collections.
Our approach
Ambitious tools, for the broadest possible audience. Care for the problems you actually face. Open source — never as dogma.
Read our credo ↗Care
Even if we cannot replicate an interface issue you experienced, we never assume it does not exist. That single principle changes the entire relationship.
Open source, no dogma
We recommend open source without enforcing it. Our work routinely coexists with proprietary software. Value comes from interconnection.
Human contact
We work in a field of passionate professionals. Talking with them, sharing their excitement for culture and technology, is what we do every day.
Where we stand
CollectiveAccess.
A relational database, customisable web interfaces, international metadata standards. No hard-coded fields — a structure tailored to your project.
Providence
Cataloguing interface: 14 record types, multi-level search, access control, import/export, Musées de France.
Pawtucket
Web publication: faceted browsing, HD viewer, participatory features, responsive.
Interoperability
OAI-PMH, RDF, Getty, WorldCat, Wikipedia, Z39.50, multi-format imports.
Media
HD photos, streaming video and audio, 3D objects without plugins, embedded PDF, interactive annotations, batch import.
Our services
Six explicit lines on the invoice — what you ask for, what we charge for. Each page details the methods, deliverables, and lessons learned.
References
Based in the US or Canada?
idéesculture is a French studio. We only work on North American projects when they are tied to French institutions or partnerships — Villa Médicis, Nasher Sculpture Center / FrenchSculpture.org, Embassy collections and similar.
For all English-first US or Canada-based engagements, please contact Whirl-i-Gig, the original developers of CollectiveAccess, headquartered in New York. They are the upstream maintainers of the platform and the natural partner for North American institutions.
