IDENTIFYING A COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR TOWER BRIDGE MATTHEW FREY MICHAEL GOBRAN COLIN STEVENS JARIUS THOMAS SPONSOR Tower Bridge, London ADVISORS Professor Katherine Foo Professor Robert Hersh D-Term Mar 24th - May 13th, 2021 London Project Center This report represents the work of four WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its web site without editorial or peer review. The opinions presented in this report do not necessarily represent the opinions of WPI. For more information about the projects program at WPI, see: http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/Projects ABSTRACT ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As a listed historic building and visitor attraction, This project involved the work of four undergraduate students at WPI, but it could not Tower Bridge is in need of a centralized digital have been completed without the aid of the many people who guided our research. repository to better manage the assets used in its interpretation, educational activities, marketing, and We would like to thank all the people who made time for interviews with us to help us operation. This project assisted Tower Bridge to learn about collections management systems and museum software, especially: identify and implement a searchable, scalable, Amy Smid, WPI Archivist Spectrum compliant, and secure collections Alexandra Walker and Nancy Wade, Guildhall Art Gallery management system (CMS), intended initially for Terri Dendy, National Army Museum internal use. Our group conducted key informant interviews, surveyed Tower Bridge staff, and used We would like to thank the members of the Tower Bridge team for their open online resources to identify important criteria and communication, participation in our surveys, and thought-provoking feedback during our options for a CMS. Using our findings on potential presentation. We appreciated the help of: systems, Tower Bridge chose CollectionsIndex+. We Chris Earlie, Head of Tower Bridge provided recommendations and training videos for Adam Blackwell, Exhibition Principal CollectionsIndex+, setting the foundation for future Amy O'Rourke, Head of Marketing exhibitions and increased public engagement. Natalie Cain, Learning Manager, Adrian Dressekie, Tower Bridge IT Manager Dirk Bennett, Exhibition Development Manager We would also like to thank Adrian Dressekie for the insightful feedback he provided on the technical aspects of the software options and Tower Bridge’s IT capabilities. We would especially like to thank our sponsor Dirk Bennett, Tower Bridge’s Exhibition Development Manager, who guided us in our project and provided unwavering support for our efforts. Dirk Bennett was always available and provided many great suggestions to move the project forward, even when expectations and goals for the project changed. Finally, we would like to thank our advisors Robert Hersh and Katherine Foo for their guidance throughout the project, insightful suggestions on our research methods, and valuable commentary on our writing. Their help was crucial to the success of our project. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract and Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ v Introduction: A Centralized Repository for Tower Bridge ..................................................................................................................................................................................................1 Background .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 From Private Collections to Public Exhibitions: The History of Museums and Their Visitors .............................................................................................................................3 Implementation of Digital Technology to Increase Public Engagement with Museums ...................................................................................................................................... 6 Databases in a Museum Context........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................9 Identifying Options for Collections Management Systems .........................................................................................................................................................................................12 Tower Bridge and Its Need for a Collections Management System ..........................................................................................................................................................................13 Methods ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................15 Objective 1: Research potential Collections Management Systems .........................................................................................................................................................................16 Objective 2: Choose the system that best fits the needs of Tower Bridge .............................................................................................................................................................17 Objective 3: Research the implementation of CollectionsIndex+ ..............................................................................................................................................................................18 Objective 4: Develop User Training Videos ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................19 Findings from our Research ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Important Features for a Collections Management System at Tower Bridge .........................................................................................................................................................20 Identifying and Filtering Out Systems that are Suitable for Tower Bridge ..............................................................................................................................................................23 Project Team’s In-depth Analysis into Potential Systems ............................................................................................................................................................................................25 Using Input from Tower Bridge Staff to Recommend a CMS .....................................................................................................................................................................................28 Implementing CollectionsIndex+ for Tower Bridge .......................................................................................................................................................................................................33 Concluding Remarks .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 37 Recommendations for Tower Bridge ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................38 Final Reflections .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................39 References ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................40 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................40 Picture Credits 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