We would like to invite any archivist or manuscripts curator interested in the automation of archival workflow processes to visit the INDI (Integrated Digital Special Collections) web site (http://www.lib.byu.edu/indi/) and to become more familiar with the INDI project. Recent INDI developments include the completion of the INDI core tools (MyProjects, MyContacts, INDI Desktop, and the Administrative Interface) as well as the Appraisal and Accession Modules. Planning is nearly complete for the Arrangement and Description module and the development of this key module will begin shortly.

A new feature of particular interest on the INDI website is the INDI Sandbox. If you would like to become more familiar with INDI functionality enter the Sandbox and experiment with the core tools and the various modules. Collection information for four hypothetical collections has been entered. To experiment with INDI, enter or input keyword information for any one of the following collections: 1. Westwood Architectural firm records, 2. Murphy family papers, 3. George Washington legends, and 4. Department of Social Work records. Within the INDI Sandbox, you can also create your own collections as well; all data for created collections is deleted at the end of the day.

There are several ways to create an INDI project; as you become familiar with INDI, experiment with the system and discover the various ways to create new projects. For first time users, however, we recommend that you first create a project by clicking on the MyProjects icon (a clock face and pencil superimposed over a graph) at the bottom of the screen. Next, locate the File menu item located in the upper left hand corner of the screen. Click on the File menu and a drop-down menu will appear. Follow the drop-down menu to New Project and then to Accession and from there just follow the instructions to create a new project.

As you become more familiar with INDI functionality, please share your impressions with us. We welcome your input and your suggestions.

As you may have noticed, this site is under development. We’ll let you know when it’s polished and ready to be unveiled. :)

During our recent meeting, it was decided that we would work to redevelop our Web site to act as a clearing house for information about the INDI Project.

Over the past few months we have received a number of inquiries about the project from other institutions. These include archivists interested in how the system compares to other archival management applications (such as Archon or Archivists Toolkit), programmers interested in the technological underpinnings of the system, and archival administrators interested in the benefits of workflow management in archival processing. In the past we have created various documents to meet the needs of these groups, but we believe that it would be more effective to develop a single site that might meet the needs of these various audiences.

By developing this site, we also hope to generate more interest in the archival community in our developing product. Over the past year there have been a number of other products made available to archivists to help manage their work. While these offer workable solutions for some institutions, we believe that INDI’s focus on workflow management and collaboration sets it apart from its competitors and makes an important contribution to the archival community.

We hope that readers will be able to track our progress on the project, as we move toward our release date.