SacréCur

SacréCur is an open-source web platform designed to support curatorial projects dealing with sacred and cultural heritage material. Developed by the SacréCur Collective, it provides tools for cataloging, presentation, and preservation, with a focus on provenance, rights management, and accessibility. The project is intended for museums, libraries, archives, and scholarly institutions, and emphasizes interoperability through open standards and APIs.

The initiative emerged from collaborations among archivists and developers in 2019–2020, with an initial public release in 2021. It grew through community contributions and partnerships with cultural heritage institutions. The platform has seen major updates in 2022 and 2023, including IIIF image support, a modular plugin system, and enhanced metadata capabilities.

SacréCur uses a modular architecture that supports core cataloging, media hosting, and curated exhibits. It supports metadata schemas such as Dublin Core, PREMIS, and METS, as well as linked data and persistent identifiers. The built-in search supports faceted navigation, multilingual content, and role-based access control. It includes an API for external integration and a plugin system for custom functionality such as transcription, annotation, or digital restoration notes.

Reception and impact: Several national libraries and regional museums have piloted SacréCur for digital exhibitions and archival descriptions. Reviewers have praised its emphasis on provenance tracking and accessibility, though some institutions note the need for technical staff and long-term governance to sustain open-source deployments.

Related topics include digital preservation, cultural heritage informatics, IIIF, and open-source cultural heritage software.