Circa

Circa is a browser-based application for managing requests for materials in the Libraries’ special collections. Circa greatly simplifies our internal workflows by providing a single system for creating requests; tracking movement of materials from storage locations to reading room or other access points; controlling and recording access to materials by researchers; and providing extensive usage data to give insight into how and by whom our collections are used, which assists in planning and resource allocation.

Circa integrates with ArchivesSpace, the de facto standard, open source archival collections management system. Container and location data stored in ArchivesSpace can be easily imported into Circa when items are requested and updated when the source data changes. Integration with our ILS provides access to rare books and other materials not managed In ArchivesSpace.

In addition to requests for on-site access to materials, Circa also aids in managing workflows for duplication requests from remote researchers, and for reproductions for publication. Our implementation of the IIIF specification facilitates requests for high resolution copies of items discovered on our Digital Collections site.

While Circa was developed specifically for use by the North Carolina State University Libraries, it was designed with sufficient flexibility to be generally useful to other libraries and archives with similar needs. The application is open source and the code is available on Github.