The costs of a free, open-source software implementation: building ICCROM, a web-based archival catalogue using ICA-AtoM

Abstract

To meet the needs of archives around the world whose budgets do not allow for expenditure on software licenses, the International Council on Archives (ICA) supported development of the Access to Memory (AtoM) system, a free, open-source processing and access tool. For archives facing tighter budgets than ever, the appeal is obvious. So what's the catch? This is the story of the hidden organisational costs of an open-source software implementation project at the Archives of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM).