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CONTENTdm : At a glance

CONTENTdm at a glance

CONTENTdm makes everything in your digital collections available to everyone, everywhere. No matter the format—local history archives, newspapers, books, maps, slide libraries or audio/video—CONTENTdm can handle the storage, management and delivery of your collections to users across the Web.

CONTENTdm is also easy to install and use, which means you can focus on planning and building collections. An out-of-the-box Web interface lets you get started quickly. The software can be installed on your server or you can opt to have it hosted by OCLC. Plus, your collections' metadata can be added to WorldCat for discovery through WorldCat.org and WorldCat Local.

Benefits

  • As of May 2009, an entry-scale hosted version of CONTENTdm will be included, at no additional charge, for OCLC FirstSearch Base Package subscribers.
  • A complete solution for digital collections—CONTENTdm is the only solution of its kind to offer all you need to manage, store and share your collections on the Web. It also offers full support of Unicode enabling you to provide access to digital collections in any language.
  • Easy to use—CONTENTdm is easy to install and use, and many current users have built or converted collections within a few weeks. They are assisted by templates, batch processing, customizable out-of-the-box Web interfaces, tutorials, Web training sessions and comprehensive Help files.
  • Flexible and fully customizable—CONTENTdm gives you full control over all digital resources, their descriptions, access and display. You can fully customize metadata fields and create predefined queries, as well as all Web interfaces.
  • Serves as an institutional repository—PDF documents, theses, dissertations and reports can all be easily stored and managed in CONTENTdm. With its ability to handle any type of file, using CONTENTdm for an institutional repository brings collections together into a cohesive and accessible Web-based environment.
  • Scalable—CONTENTdm seamlessly grows with your projects, enabling you to upgrade and increase capacity without new software installations. Organizations with small, unique collections to statewide groups with hundreds of collections have selected CONTENTdm for their projects.
  • Open, extensible and interoperable—While most users run the CONTENTdm software “out-of-the box,” it also has an API that allows for custom development. The open architecture supports extensions and the Web interface is fully customizable.
  • Discovery through WorldCat—The WorldCat Digital Collection Gateway provides you with a self-service tool for uploading the metadata of your unique digital content to WorldCat—the premier database of library materials. Once your metadata is in WorldCat, your collections are more visible and discoverable by end users who search WorldCat.org, WorldCat Local and WorldCat Local "quick start", as well as Google, Yahoo! and other popular Web sites.
  • World-class support and documentation—OCLC offers world-class support services via phone and e-mail, and comprehensive documentation. Additionally, help is available—anytime, anywhere—through the online User Support Center, which includes Help files, tutorials, a knowledgebase and other tools.
  • Vibrant, global user community—With CONTENTdm, you become part of an active user community of over 1,500 organizations worldwide. Users freely share best practices and locally-developed extensions through the CONTENTdm listserv and User Support Center, regional user groups and other collaborations.

How CONTENTdm works

Your digital collections reside on a CONTENTdm Server, either installed locally or on an OCLC-hosted server. Digital items can be added from anywhere using the CONTENTdm Project Client, which can be distributed among staff and collaborating partners, through the Connexion client using Connexion digital import, or through a Web browser using a simple Web form. Additionally, collections can be managed remotely over the Web.

Your digital collections can be searched via the Web using standard Web browsers by any number of end users, unless you choose to restrict access. With its ability to handle any file type, CONTENTdm can serve as an institutional repository to bring collections together into a cohesive and accessible Web-based environment. For organizations seeking opportunities for broader collaboration in developing and sharing collections, the Multi-Site Server is an option for cross-collection searching on multiple servers.

Learn more about collection building, management and discovery.

Learn more about the end user experience.

Learn more about our world-class support.

Contact us with your questions, or if you haven’t tried CONTENTdm for yourself, request a free software evaluation or request a Web information session for your organization.