Set up Vernon CMS for your organisation

Before you begin working in Vernon CMS, there are a few things to consider that will help you to get the most out of your system. Putting thought into this initial setup can help to save time in the long run and reduce the risk of running into some common problems. The purpose of this guide is to highlight some of the main things you should be thinking about.

On this page

• Establish your data entry standards

• Set up your authority files

• Set up your accession number formats

• Define your procedures and workflows

• Set up your security

• Decide your image and multimedia file storage

• Organise your backup process

Establish your data entry standards

In-house data entry standards are important to ensure that data is entered into the system in a consistent way. This will make it easier to search for records and manage data. It is also essential if you're planning on sharing data with a third party application, such as an online public access catalogue or mobile app.

Your data entry standards should detail the Vernon CMS fields you will use and any specific formatting requirements users will need to remember.

Industry guidelines

There are a number of different industry standards and guidelines available to help inform your own data entry standard. The guidelines you use will depend on the type of collection you have.

You can access Spectrum documentation from the Help menu in Vernon CMS. Spectrum is an internationally-recognised collections management standard developed by the UK Collections Trust.

Other standards include:

• Cataloguing Cultural Objects - Visual Resources Association

• Categories for the Description of Works of Art (CDWA)

• The CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model

• Dublin Core Metadata Element Set

• Encoded Archival Description (EAD)

• General International Standard Archival Description (ISAD(G))

• Lightweight Information Describing Objects (LIDO)

• Resource Description and Access (RDA)

Enforcing data entry standards

Data entry standards can be enforced through the following Vernon CMS features:

• Authority fields

• Procedural control

• Security

• Mandatory fields

Set up your authority files

Authority files contain lists of authority terms available for use in authority fields. Before you get started, it is important to think about the terms you want available in some of the more widely used authority files, such as Classification, Place, and Location.

For example, when a user enters data in the Classification field, they will be presented with a list of available terms to select from. These terms have been set up in the Classification authority file.

You may choose to import external thesauri into your system, such as the Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT), or you can create your own lists of terms.

Importing external thesauri

We can provide some thesauri. Please see our list of vocabularies. If you would like to import other external thesauri, they will need to be in a common format, such as Excel.

Some thesauri can be viewed online, such as the Powerhouse Museum Object Name Thesaurus (PDF) and the Australian Pictorial Thesaurus. These can be used as an external reference and terms added into your system as required.

Creating your own thesauri

You can create your own authority terms (and will need to do so for terms that are specific to your organisation, such as Location terms). You can import terms into your system in bulk using the XML Import tool or you can add terms manually. You can create authority terms at any stage.

• Create an authority term

• Create or update records in bulk with XML Import

Set up your accession number formats

An accession number is a unique number given to every object by your organisation. Most organisations have different accession number formats for accessioned or loaned objects, historic accession numbers, and departments.

The Accession Number field is special. Data entered into this field must conform to very specific formats, so that complex numbers can be sorted logically and the next available number calculated.

For more information, see Accession number formats.

Define your procedures and workflow

Procedural control is a feature of Vernon CMS that allows you to manage workflows and define procedures for internal processes such as acquisitions and loans. This feature is available for the Object file in the Cataloguing module and all major files in the Activities module.

• Procedural control lets you set prerequisites for saving records at specific statuses, such as required fields and tasks that must have been completed.

• You can also trigger actions to occur at certain steps, such as sending an email or running a report.

• This is achieved through the configuration of Procedural Status terms, which represent steps in a procedure.

It's a good idea to map out your organisation’s procedures and decide on the prerequisites and actions you would like to perform at each step. For example, when a record is saved at a status of Accessioned, you may wish to require the Accession Number and Accession Date fields to be filled in, and to schedule the tasks of attaching a label and photographing the object.

For more information, including a template to help you map procedures and workflows, see Procedural control.

Set up your security

Security settings in Vernon CMS control who has rights to create, delete, view and modify records. They also control access to the various tools and functions in the system.

Security is configured primarily at group level. That is, each individual user is assigned to a security group, such as Cataloguer or Supervisors, which controls what they can and can't do in the system. Exceptions can be applied at user level, if required.

Each user should be given a unique user name and password, so that you can track changes made by specific users.

For more information, see Security.

Decide your image and multimedia file storage

Images and multimedia files are stored external to Vernon CMS, either in the Wincoll folder or somewhere else on your network. When a file is attached to the system, a link is created, pointing to the location of the external file. Moving and renaming image files and folders may cause this link to break, meaning the system won't be able to find the file for display or use. It is therefore important to decide where you're going to store these sorts of files.

For more information, see Image and multimedia file storage.

Organise your backup process

It is essential to back up your system regularly, so that in the event of hardware failure or a natural disaster you can restore your data. Standard methods for backing up the system include copying the entire Wincoll folder (including subfolders) to portable hard drives or web-based cloud storage. It is best if the system is backed up daily. All users will need to be logged out of Vernon CMS before you can copy the Wincoll folder.

For more information, see Backups and performance.