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A volunteer-run historical library managing over 15,000 photos, maps, architectural plans and local history materials dating back to the early 1600s now gives researchers and members worldwide a single place to search them all.
SAHAAS manages a wide-ranging special collection across books, maps, photographs and archival materials using Soutron’s thesaurus-driven metadata system. A team of 12 volunteers maintains consistent, searchable records across every material type, with the catalogue integrated directly into the Society’s website for public access.
The St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society (SAHAAS) Library has one of the largest collections on local history in Hertfordshire, focusing on the history, archaeology, architecture and the people of St Albans, Hertfordshire, and the surrounding area.
Their special collections consist of thousands of books and pamphlets, including early antiquarian county histories; journals and periodicals; town, tithe, parish, manorial and estate maps and other large format materials dating back to the early 1600s; over 15,000 photo and pictures; miscellaneous papers on a wide range of topics; and special architectural collections.
The SAHAAS Library is managed by volunteer Heather Jardine. When she began volunteering for the society after a career as a public librarian, the catalogue consisted of primarily books and pamphlets.
Heather and the other volunteers have worked to expand its catalogue database, exposing to the public photos, maps, architectural plans, and other primary and secondary research materials.
“The ability to attach documents, such as a list, to a record has been of great value.
Sometimes a donation will consist of boxes of a variety of materials such as published pamphlets, manuscript diaries, research notes, photographs, plans, etc., and we do not have the resources to catalogue every item in the box fully and separately. Instead, we catalogue the items as a collection and attach a list of what is in the box to the record.”
Heather Jardine
Library Director
Under Heather’s guidance, the volunteers use Soutron’s thesauri to find and use the right metadata tags to properly catalogue the items into the Soutron database, keeping it nicely organized. This consistency makes the library’s collections easily discoverable and accessible to all.
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Today, the majority of the collection is non-book related, and their catalogue offers online search facilities providing access to books and pamphlets, with links to other resources, journal articles, maps, and research documents.
At the core of Soutron is a very flexible, secure, and customisable database that enables organisations to catalogue both library and archival collections in the cloud, in a single database, unlike other library and archive solutions that require two separate databases.
With the expansion of materials catalogued, Heather has discovered that the Soutron thesaurus and its metadata keyword management system are extremely helpful in maintaining an organised database.
The volunteers use this functionality, ensuring that the metadata aligns with standard library practices. This consistency is important because library users often visit multiple libraries for research. Using standard terms and descriptions across libraries makes it easier for the public and researchers to locate materials.
“The way I explain it to my volunteers is that you can think of a library like a supermarket – you expect to be able to find certain things like produce, tins, meats, etc. arranged in similar ways whichever supermarket you are using. The way our library is organised needs to be familiar to our visitors in the same way,” states Heather. “A lot of our visitors tend to be tourists, not explorers, and it is our job to help them find what they are looking for.”
She likes the Thesauri because it enables the consistency in the database records needed for findability and appreciates that the Society can catalogue diverse objects using full names with added metadata. “People want to find items in different ways,” states Heather. The volunteers can add additional metadata keywords and content descriptions, links to additional documents, and thumbnail images to records to make the materials easier to search and find.
For instance, the library may catalogue a family photo that was taken outside with not just the names of the people pictured, but also the locale, such as street name and province. That way if someone searches a street name, that family photo will turn up with the street in the background providing added context.
Additionally, if an item is about farming for example, the thesauri will suggest adding agriculture and other terms, helping with the selection of the right metadata keywords. The thesauri can also be set up to prompt to NOT use a certain term for certain keywords. For an example, use “World War 2” and not “World War II” or “Second World War”, keeping the term ‘World War 2” usage uniform, distinct, and consistent. These Soutron capabilities help to maintain a nicely organised database that facilitates discovery.
Another Soutron helpful functionality that is appreciated is the ability to attach thumbnails of images to database records. Now visitors can see a thumbnail of the image to determine if that is what they are looking for. Plus, being able to attach documents, such as a list, to a record has also been of great value.
Future plans include taking advantage of the archival cataloguing functionality of Soutron, doing mass imports from collection materials catalogued in spreadsheets into the Soutron database to get more items into the Society’s shop window to help increase visitors, and perhaps use Soutron’s ability to integrate with Google search so people worldwide can see the unique items the Society has in the collection and come in to explore.
To find out more about St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society (SAHAAS) Library and the unique collection materials available, visit their website for details:
www.stalbanshistory.org
To find out how you can migrate to a fast, secure, cloud based library management system to support your local society and organisation, book a 20 minute discovery call with us today, see below.
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The first step is to learn more. Here's how we can answer your questions:
Yes. SAHAAS catalogues books, pamphlets, maps, photographs, architectural plans and archival materials in a single Soutron database.
Unlike some library and archive systems that require separate databases for each collection type, Soutron handles everything in one place, making it easier for volunteers to manage and for researchers to search across all material types at once.
Soutron's built-in thesaurus guides volunteers to apply standard metadata terms when cataloguing items, regardless of their level of prior experience. At SAHAAS, a team of 12 volunteers with varying backgrounds uses the thesaurus to select the right keywords and descriptions, keeping records consistent across the collection.
The thesaurus can also be configured to enforce preferred terms, for example prompting volunteers to use 'World War 2' rather than 'World War II', so search results stay accurate and uniform.
Yes. SAHAAS integrated the Soutron Search Portal directly into the Society's website, giving members and researchers worldwide access to the full collection without leaving the site.
The search portal is publicly accessible and supports search across all catalogued material types, including books, maps, photographs and archival documents.
Soutron allows staff and volunteers to catalog a donation as a single collection record and attach a contents list directly to that record. At SAHAAS, this approach is used when a donation arrives as a box of mixed materials such as pamphlets, manuscript diaries, research notes, photographs and plans.
Rather than leaving the materials undiscoverable until each item can be fully cataloged, the collection record makes them searchable right away.
