Small Staff, Big Impact: Preserving the Past with ArchivEra Essentia

The Echuca Historical Society in Victoria, Australia selected ArchivEra to organize and structure their holdings, and to allow their volunteer staff to work remotely in addition to having a Web-based system with vendor support.

They were able to take advantage of Lucidea’s Essentia Program, which makes high-end solutions affordable because it is tailored to the budgets of small-but-mighty organizations and/or departments, with solutions “right-sized” to fit their financial and functional requirements. 

The Society is a local history museum, focused on recording the early settlement along the Murray River, with an extensive collection including photos and archives going back to the early 19^th century. Available to peruse are river charts, records of floods, information on paddle steamers that traveled up and down the Murray, and materials that tell the stories of the men and women who made their life in Echuca. Visitors will see photographs of early river crossings and early transport including bullock teamsters and railways, alongside images of the first settlers in the area. There are also costume collections, and an outdoor area with stationary engines, horse drawn transport equipment, and other items relating to forestry, farming, and life on the land.

Archivist Dot Hammond told us the ArchivEra implementation and training was excellent, and the system is very intuitive. Another significant benefit for the staff is the ability to work remotely, as several of the volunteers work from home. In addition, the powerful searching capabilities in ArchivEra really improve their workflow and knowledge of the collection.

Ms. Hammond sat down with us for an entertaining conversation about their ArchivEra implementation and the significant benefits it offers the historical society and its visitors. We invite you to read their full success story here.