CollectionE

CollectionE is a modular software framework designed for managing, preserving, and providing access to digital and physical collections. It targets cultural heritage institutions such as museums, libraries, archives, and research centers, supporting cataloging, digitization workflows, rights management, and public-facing portals. The system emphasizes interoperability through adherence to widely used metadata standards and open APIs, enabling integration with external catalogs, digitization pipelines, and access services.

Core capabilities include a flexible metadata model capable of mapping to Dublin Core, PREMIS, and METS schemas, as well as support for IIIF for image and media delivery. It provides object-, item-, and file-level records, provenance tracking, version history, and audit trails. Role-based access control, workflow management, and quality checks help manage curation and digitization processes. Data import and export facilities support batch ingestion, deduplication, and data synchronization with other repositories.

Architecture consists of a pluggable backend layer for storage and search, a modular ingestion pipeline, a RESTful and GraphQL API surface, and a presentation layer for curated public portals. A plugin system allows extensions for specialized metadata schemes, rights workflows, and external authentication providers. The project emphasizes portability across operating systems and cloud environments and supports containerized deployment.

CollectionE is maintained by a community-driven project with an open governance model. Development discussions and releases are coordinated through public repositories and documentation sites, with contributions accepted from institutions, vendors, and individual developers. The licensing is broadly open-source, intended to encourage adaptation and re-use across institutions.

While still emerging in the landscape of collection-management systems, CollectionE aims to offer a flexible, standards-aligned alternative to proprietary platforms, balancing robust archival features with accessible public access and extensibility.