Archnet 2.0: Building a new asset management system for MIT’s online architectural library of the Islamic world

Abstract

<p>Archnet 2.0 is a new front-end website and back-end cataloguing tool and asset management system for Archnet (http://archnet.org), the largest openly accessible online architectural library focusing on the Muslim world. The site, a partnership between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, contains articles and publications, images, maps and drawings, video, archival material, course syllabi and site records relating to architecture in the Islamic world. By 2012, when the Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT, part of the MIT Libraries, took over the digital library, the site had become dated and was no longer meeting the needs of its users. A software development firm was hired to build new front and back ends for the site. This paper explores the development of the new back-end cataloguing and asset management tool, including: the reasoning behind building a new tool from scratch; considerations during development such as database structure, fields and migration; highlights of features; and lessons learned from the process.</p>