Frequently Asked Questions about ArchivEra

Purpose-built. ArchivEra is a web-based archival collections management system (CMS) from Lucidea, purpose-built for archivists. It provides archives with a highly configurable, standards-based environment to accession, describe, manage, and share collections, supporting both standard collections-management processes and the requirements unique to your institution.

Public portal. ArchivEra’s comprehensive back-end CMS pairs with an integrated, public-facing portal that delivers rich, contextual documentation to both in-person and virtual visitors.

Standards-based. ArchivEra supports the standards archivists rely on (EAD3, DACS, RAD, ISAD(G), and Dublin Core), along with collection-specific fields, multimedia, granular permissions, and in-depth reporting.

Informed by experience, archivist focused. Available as a SaaS or on-premises platform and backed by more than 35 years of experience, ArchivEra allows your team to focus on collections stewardship rather than software maintenance.

Yes. ArchivEra is built for archivists and collections teams of every kind—from a lone arranger handling it all, to a large, distributed department working across multiple locations.

ArchivEra is a good fit for archives of virtually any sector, size, and budget. Archives of many types rely on it, including academic, government, corporate, cultural heritage, library, non-profit, religious, and Indigenous and First Nations archives. ArchivEra is flexible enough to adapt to each institution’s collections, workflows, formats, and descriptive standards rather than forcing you to adapt to the software.

Highly. ArchivEra offers unrestricted configurability, with no limits on fields or record types—and your team can do it themselves, without coding or ongoing dependence on IT. ArchivEra’s Design Suite lets you add, edit, or remove fields and build custom “Views” (data-entry screens) for different staff roles or collection types, aligning the system with your terminology, workflows, permissions, and standards.

ArchivEra also supports authority-controlled fields, highly configurable group-based security permissions, bulk tools such as Global Change and the Update Locations Wizard, and a Theme module for easily updating colors and logos. ArchivEra can be used out of the box or tailored to your requirements, and Lucidea’s accredited project managers, with 10+ years of experience, help institutions get up and running quickly and efficiently.

Absolutely. We have happy clients around the world who are willing to speak with organizations evaluating ArchivEra. Get in touch, and we’ll connect you with a relevant reference.

Yes. ArchivEra lets you record and manage access, use, reproduction, and copyright restrictions on collection records, so staff can honor donor terms, confidentiality requirements, and legal holds. A restriction cascades down the archival hierarchy–if a series is public but a sub-series or folder within it is restricted, the restricted material stays private–and the public portal automatically hides anything marked restricted, so staff can manage restricted records while the portal only ever displays what may be shared.

ArchivEra supports arranging and describing archival materials using recognized standards, including EAD3, DACS, RAD, ISAD(G), and Dublin Core.

Yes. ArchivEra is built for managing complex archival content, including multimedia and digital assets. ArchivEra supports a wide range of archival materials—physical, digital, and multimedia—and can store or embed digital files such as images, audio, video, and documents, linked to their records.

ArchivEra offers Google-like keyword search, advanced Boolean search, saved search strategies, and the ability to save specific groups of records. Users can search any field or combination of fields and display results in grid, column, or stacked record views.

Yes. ArchivEra offers optional AI Search capabilities that help users find and surface relevant content more efficiently, even when they are not sure exactly what to search for.

ArchivEra includes both a Report Writer for quick CSV or PDF reports and a web-based Reports Designer for more complex, highly formatted reports and forms such as loan agreements and Deeds of Gift. It supports unlimited custom reports, export to CSV, XML, Word, and Excel, and security settings to restrict reports to specific users or groups. ArchivEra also ships with a suite of default reports, including Deed of Gift, Location Report, Incoming Receipt, Finding Aid Report, and barcodes.

Yes. ArchivEra is fully Unicode compliant, so it supports any language and character set. Both the public portal and the back-end CMS can be presented in many languages, including Indigenous and First Nations.

The ArchivEra portal is a public-facing website that shares live, dynamically updated data directly from your catalog, with no separate export or publishing step. You can control exactly which records and fields are visible, highlight specific collections or subsets, and create as many portals as you need. The portal can be a standalone site or embedded in another website. It supports faceted browse and search, and includes a design tool that lets staff make changes without IT or vendor assistance. Your portal can also be built to meet WCAG 2.1 AA, supporting Section 508 and ADA requirements.

The ArchivEra portal can invite your community to contribute information back to the archives (crowdsourcing), e.g., tagging images, transcribing documents, or identifying people and places—enriching your collections data over time.

Yes. ArchivEra supports a WCAG 2.1 AA-compliant portal, along with Section 508 and ADA requirements–which is vital for any organization receiving state or federal funding. Your public-facing portal can be built to meet these standards, so your collections can be truly accessible.

Yes. ArchivEra supports robust, granular permissions and secure access controls, including configurable, group-based security down to the field level, so you can manage who can view, edit, or administer sensitive information across teams, collections, and workflows. Access is controlled by role, so you can give volunteers or interns safe, limited read-only access or the ability to edit only a few selected fields through a custom data-entry View. ArchivEra also supports Single Sign-On (SSO/SAML 2.0), Active Directory, and ADFS.

Yes, and it is built to clear that review with confidence. ArchivEra is delivered by Lucidea, a SOC 2 Type II certified company—certified at the company level, not only at the data-center level—and it runs in a single-tenant private cloud, so your archives has its own dedicated database rather than sharing a pool with other customers. Lucidea develops its software in-house, without offshoring, and hosts in US and Canadian data centers backed by a Service Level Agreement. Combined with granular, group-based permissions, this lets ArchivEra meet the security requirements common in government, financial, and other regulated sectors.

ArchivEra keeps ongoing IT involvement low. Because it is offered as a cloud-based SaaS platform, there is no server hardware to buy, maintain, or patch, and updates are handled for you, which keeps the ongoing maintenance burden low.

Archivists can handle day-to-day administration themselves, including adding and adjusting content fields, modifying workflows, managing users, setting roles and permissions, and building reports, without waiting on IT or developers. This self-service administration reduces dependence on technical staff and lets your team respond to new requirements as they arise. IT may still be involved in authentication, integrations, security reviews, or organization-specific technology requirements, but routine administration can be handled by your archival team.

Yes. ArchivEra offers a RESTful Web Services API for integration with third-party systems such as websites, membership software, and DAMS platforms. It supports Single Sign-On (SSO/SAML 2.0), Active Directory (AD), and Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS), and It also includes built-in social media sharing (Facebook, X, etc.), Google-indexable portal content, and OAI-PMH support.

No. ArchivEra runs entirely in the browser, so staff can work from PCs, Macs, tablets, or smartphones, in the archives or the office, without installing any special software.

ArchivEra can be deployed as Software as a Service (SaaS) through US and Canadian data centers, or on-premises. It is scalable to meet your institution’s current and future needs and is backed by a Service Level Agreement covering availability and uptime obligations.

ArchivEra is offered as SaaS from both US and Canadian data centers, so you can keep your data hosted in the region you require. This is often a requirement for government and public institutions and for organizations with data-residency obligations.

Yes. ArchivEra includes conversion tools that streamline migration from existing systems, including PastPerfect, Rediscovery, FileMaker Pro, Access, Excel, SharePoint, and others.

ArchivEra is a fully supported platform. Support includes Lucidea’s in-house Client Services team, archives-specific training, and 24/7 technical support, backed by a Service Level Agreement covering availability and uptime. Training is treated as part of the implementation plan rather than an afterthought, covering data entry, search, permissions, and maintenance.

Ongoing support is a core part of what Lucidea provides, and that support comes from people who understand archival work as well as the software.

ArchivEra has affordable solutions for archives of every size and budget. ArchivEra pricing is tailored to each institution’s scope and requirements. Cost is based in part on the number of staff who need access and their required access levels, rather than simply the size of your collection or the features you use. This accommodates the needs of large organizations, while giving small teams access to a powerful collections management system. Essentia program pricing begins as low as $2,500/year; fully-featured cost begins at $7,500/year. For a customized quote, speak to a Lucidea specialist about your collections, current system, number of users, and goals.

Lucidea offers flexible paths to modernization, tailored to different needs and budgets:

• Evergreen provides seamless upgrades for trusted legacy systems.
• Evolution offers guided migrations from non-Lucidea systems.
• Essentia provides right-sized solutions for smaller teams and budgets.

To request ArchivEra pricing, complete the contact form below to tell us about your archives’ needs. Useful details may include your collection size, current system or data sources, number of users, migration requirements, desired capabilities, and target timeline. You are also welcome to ask any questions you may have about migration, implementation, training, technical requirements, and ongoing support.

Speak with a Lucidea specialist about ArchivEra pricing, migration, and implementation.

ArchivEra is made by Lucidea, a SOC 2 Type II certified company founded in 1989. Lucidea has more than 3,000 customers in over 50 countries, more than 35 years in business, and offices in four countries. Lucidea specializes in collections management software for archives and museums, and systems for special libraries (ILS/LMS) and knowledge management (KMS), providing commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software.