CollectionSpace (CSpace) is the only community-supported collections management application, and that’s meaningful. We are the only community that puts our members front and center in terms of governance - where direction is set and priorities are shaped. This community is also special because of its diversity. CSpace was designed to break through the silos in our organizations, both among and within departments. CollectionSpace the community can do the same, allowing organizations from disparate communities to work together to solve common problems.

That being said, many users are coming to CSpace from other collections management software (CMS) that previously did not meet their needs. They will require data migration and/or other services. In order to become familiar with these potential requests, here are some of the other applications that exist within our competitive landscape.

CMS from Axiell Solutions

Adlib - http://www.adlibsoft.com/products/museum-collection-management-software

Specialized versions are available for Archive, Library and Museum collections, as well as fully integrated solutions for any combination of these. Adlib is widely acknowledged to hold a specialty for Film Archives.

Calm - http://www.axiell.co.uk/calm/

Calm specializes in archival collections management for museums, archives, and records offices.

Emu - http://www.kesoftware.com/

Emu is able to accommodate the requirements of any collecting institution, but is widely acknowledged to specialize in natural history collections.

Mimsy XG - http://alm.axiell.com/sites/default/files/Mimsy.pdf

Mimsy XG has a particular strength in cultural history and multi-disciplinary collections. It has cross platform capabilities ideal for mixed Mac OSX and Windows environments.

CMS from Gallery Systems

The Museum System (TMS) - http://www.gallerysystems.com/products-and-services/tms/

TMS is general collections management software for all sizes of museum and archival collections.

EmbARK - http://www.gallerysystems.com/products-and-services/embark/

EmbARK is affordable collections management software ideal for smaller institutions or collections.

Other For-Profit CMS

ContentDM - http://www.oclc.org/en-US/contentdm.html

ContendDM is a digital collection management software developed by OCLC that allows for the upload, description, management and access of digital collections. It is primarily geared towards archives and libraries.

PastPerfect - http://www.museumsoftware.com/

PastPerfect has four separate catalogs: Objects, Photographs, Archives, Library.

Non-Profit CMS

Collective Access - http://collectiveaccess.org/

Collective Access is a free, open source cataloging tool and web-based application for museums, archives and digital collections. Its main focus/strength is on cataloging and metadata. The code cannot be altered/edited/augmented by outside programmers.

Specify - http://specifyx.specifysoftware.org/

Specify manages species and specimen data for biological research collections. Specify is funded by US National Science Foundation grants.

For a more exhaustive list of services and criteria, the Collections Trust has resources devoted to determining the best CMS for each type of institution:

http://www.collectionstrust.org.uk/collections-link/collections-management/spectrum/choose-a-cms

Internal software

Many institutions will create their own homegrown catalogs from tools already available to them. The most popular tools will be Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, and Microsoft Access or FileMaker databases.

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