Metadata Editing
ARCS allows registered users to enter and edit the metadata for any resource within the installation, thereby increasing the quality and accuracy of metadata for all users.
Far more than a simple transcription tool, ARCS is designed to foster the upload, augmentation, and presentation of digitized copies of various types of archaeological documentation. And ARCS can do a lot more too …
ARCS allows registered users to enter and edit the metadata for any resource within the installation, thereby increasing the quality and accuracy of metadata for all users.
Resources can be linked to other resources within an ARCS installation. This helps to add context and connect like resources. For example, a user can connect an inventory card of a pottery sherd to a page in a field notebook that describes the excavation of the sherd.
Resources in ARCS can also be linked to other digital assets outside of ARCS (e.g. open access publications, internet databases and repositories, other projects’ online archives).
Each resrouce in ARCS has its own dedicated discussion space, allowing researchers to ask questions, provide answers, or engage in a conversation with other scholars in a way that does not require all to be in the same place at the same time.
Administrators can import resources into ARCS using the underlying KORA interface. Admins upload XML, JSON, or CSV files containing metadata and associated JPEGs for the digitized archival documents. Metadata can be enhanced by registered users through the ARCS Resource View interface.
All resources can be exported from an ARCS installation as XML or JSON. The result is a high degree of data portability, allowing users to move data into analytical tools or preservation environments.
ARCS is built on top of KORA 3, the newest version of the open source digital repository platform built by MATRIX: The Center of Digital Humanities & Social Sciences.
Registered ARCS users can create collections of resources on the site. Collections, which can be set as closed or open, are listed on the user’s profile page and appear in general site searches.
A single ARCS installation can host and provide access to the resources of multiple archaeological projects.
ARCS features four different types of user accounts - public, researcher, moderator, and administrator. Each user type has different access to resources and tools on the site
ARCS is a significant improvement over traditional archaeological archives because it provides users the ability to search across thousands of digitized documents. Users can conduct broad Keyword searches and more granular Advanced searches over ARCS resources.
ARCS offers powerful browsing and filtering tools that let the user zero in on exactly what they want to explore. Users can filter content by season, resource type (field journal, photograph, report, etc), excavation unit, and creator.
Users can transcribe text in any resource within an ARCS installation. Other users can then view the original resource and its transcribed text side by side, as well as offer edits to improve the transcription.
Users can add keywords to any resources. Keywords are searchable, adding to the discoverability of resources within an ARCS installation.
Registered ARCS users can flag and describe metadata errors and problematic annotations. A project administrator can determine the best resolution for the flag.
ARCS project administrators can set resources as either open (accessible to anyone) or private (accessible only certain users). The status of the resource can be changed at any time, providing admins with flexibility as their project evolves.