The BASIRA Project team has been working on the re-designed Content Management system for the past two years. Along with our collaborator, Performant Software, we’re very happy to be able to post these samples from our new interface — a web-based resource that supports access with any web browser.

Configuration lists for artists, repositories, and places are shared by records across the entire system. Likewise, shared value lists define terminology used in the fifty metadata fields which are used to identify the particulars of objects and actions.

Since some of the images in the BASIRA database are complex altarpieces with many component sections, the new structure employs a nested hierarchy. Within each Artwork, sub-records are created for each Physical Component; then a sub-record for Visual Context records metadata about the immediate surroundings of each book or document. Finally, within the Visual Context, separate Document records collate tags for the Document’s content, binding, and interactions.

This post can only show a few layouts, but we hope this makes it clear that much work has been done, and that many interesting insights are on the way. While the public web interface has encountered delays in development, we’re all eager to complete that work and open the BASIRA database to users far and wide.