OpenCollection is a full-featured collections management and online access application for museums, archives and digital collections. It is designed to handle large, heterogeneous collections that have complex cataloguing requirements and require support for a variety of metadata standards and media formats. Unlike most other collections management applications, OpenCollection is completely web-based. All cataloging, search and administrative functions are accessed using common web-browser software, untying users from specific operating systems and making cataloguing by distributed teams and online access to collections information simple, efficient and inexpensive.

To get started with OpenCollection, take our tour of the software and see who is using it and what they're doing with it. Then give it a try for your own project by downloading the latest version. If you need help installing or using OpenCollection you can ask questions on our support forum, look at our wiki or contact us directly.

OpenCollection is intended as an alternative to expensive proprietary software solutions that have traditionally been used for collections cataloguing and publishing by museums, archives, libraries and other organizations. OpenCollection is open-source software released under the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2. The use of the GPL guarantees, in perpetuity, a user's right to (a) use OpenCollection without charge, (b) redistribute OpenCollection to others without limitation and (c) freely modify OpenCollection to meet their needs or the needs of others. Any software derived from OpenCollection is similarly bound by the GPL, ensuring that the software can be shared as a community resource but never used as the basis of a proprietary product.

OpenCollection was created and is developed by Whirl-i-Gig. A community of partner institutions contribute funding, planning and software development resources. Many contributors focus on areas of specific interest to them and it is through their efforts that OpenCollection has gained capabilities it would never have had otherwise. If OpenCollection lacks features you require let us know and, if possible, please consider joining our development effort!