Topics in this newsletter:

• Municipality of Alkmaar manages archaeological wealth in Atlantis
• The visual family tree representation of the municipality of Emmen
• Reflection on the knowledge session Grip on Data Security
• The new Archive Act from 2027
• Follow DEVENTit on LinkedIn

Municipality of Alkmaar manages archaeological wealth in Atlantis

Although the collaboration officially started last year, we have not publicly shared this success before. Meanwhile, significant steps are already being taken behind the scenes! The municipality of Alkmaar, a city with immense archaeological wealth, will manage its archaeological projects and finds in Atlantis. Alkmaar chose Atlantis because of the specific design of our archaeology module. It is structured in such a way that it can be used for both field management and depot management.

What makes the implementation in Alkmaar so effective is the way the module structures complex data. From project descriptions and traces to the finds themselves; everything is described in interrelation in a multimedia file. Digital drawings, photos, and all relevant research documents are directly linked to the objects. Because the information model seamlessly aligns with the national standards of the Cultural Heritage Agency, Alkmaar is assured of a future-proof setup. They will achieve this by applying Linked Open Data (LOD). This transforms the archaeological information into a network of machine-readable links, allowing the data to be effortlessly connected to other national and international heritage sources in the future.

This project provides the municipality with significant benefits in daily practice, which they summarize powerfully: “Our archaeologists are very much looking forward to registering the finds directly in the management system during fieldwork. This not only saves work for later but also allows me, as a depot manager, to work much more efficiently.”

For us at Atlantis, this collaboration is proof that our module provides exactly the functionality that a large municipality needs to bring fieldwork and depot management together. We are looking forward to a successful implementation of the project.

The visual family tree representation of the Municipality of Emmen

At DEVENTit, we have been happily building the most beautiful heritage websites for our clients for years. The municipality of Emmen uses Atlantis for the complete management and accessibility of their extensive archives. To lower the threshold for historical research, they sought a way to not only store personal data from records but also to make it visually accessible immediately. For this, we developed an advanced page that automatically translates data into an interactive family tree. In this overview, the selected person is highlighted, and all relationships are shown directly: parents, in-laws, and grandparents appear above the person, the spouse is shown next to them, and the children are placed below the person. A specific icon between two people makes a marriage immediately clear, while every person in the tree is clickable for detailed information and the exact source record.

This project provides the municipality of Emmen with significant advantages in their public service. It makes their records and registers visually accessible to a broad audience and saves researchers hours of manual work to map family ties. The website thus no longer functions as a static database but as a dynamic tool that makes the history of the municipality immediately understandable.

The municipality of Emmen says the following about this:

”To achieve this visual accessibility on hierkomjijweg.nl, a lot of work is being done in Atlantis. The person registration ensures that each person is only recorded once in the database. By then recording relationships between people, family ties are made visible. Additionally, relationships are established between people and the records in which they are mentioned. This creates an overview of all sources in which a person appears. The extensive work required for this is done with the help of volunteers and will be further supported in the near future through Crowdsourcing.”

We are proud that Atlantis is the engine behind this representation at the municipality of Emmen. By realizing this project at this level, we strengthen our role as the innovative partner that sets the standard for the entire sector.

Reflection on the knowledge session Grip on Data Security

That data security is a highly relevant and important topic was evident last week during our digital theme afternoon. The board of the Atlantis User Group organized this session in close collaboration with DEVENTit, and successfully: nearly 70 Atlantis users watched live. During this interactive afternoon, participants received an in-depth and valuable look behind the scenes at how DEVENTit ensures the security, storage, and management of data in practice.

The kickoff was provided by Ben Boortman (FEHAC). On behalf of the users, he sharply articulated the questions and concerns currently surrounding data management and privacy. This formed the perfect prelude to DEVENTit’s presentation, which directly addressed these practical questions.

DEVENTit then guided the attendees through the main pillars of a secure data environment. There was extensive discussion on hosting and availability to guarantee the stability of the systems, as well as how current digital threats are addressed. Additionally, there was much focus on safe data processing in accordance with privacy legislation, and it was clearly explained how the procedures regarding exit and continuity are structured to ensure service delivery in the long term.

We look back on a very successful and constructive afternoon. By providing a look behind the scenes to our users, they have gained significant clarity and extra confidence about the underlying processes.

Does this make you want more? The board wants to organize more of these thematic sessions in the future. Do you have a good idea or a suggestion for a next topic? Let us know!

The new Archive Act from 2027

As of January 1, 2027, the new Archive Act will come into effect. An important change is the shortening of the statutory transfer period of government information from twenty to ten years. This means that archives will be transferred to an archive service earlier, and the accessibility of this information will also come into view sooner.

For organizations, this means they must have timely insight into which information is public and for which information any legal restrictions on public access apply. Careful documentation of these restrictions and their duration supports the proper implementation of the new Archive Act.

This places high demands on information management. Atlantis supports organizations in documenting and managing public access restrictions within their digital archives. The reasons for a restriction and its duration can be carefully recorded.

Based on this documented information, Atlantis supports the management of the accessibility of archival pieces.

With this setup, Atlantis assists organizations in implementing the new Archive Act and helps maintain insight and control over the accessibility of archival information.

Follow DEVENTit on LinkedIn

Your collections form our collective memory and deserve the best digital protection. Due to the increasing (cyber) threats and the rise of AI, we are organizing, in collaboration with the board, Did you know that we now share some updates earlier on LinkedIn than in our newsletter?
There you will find our latest projects, developments within Atlantis, and examples from practice.
On LinkedIn, we regularly share short updates and insights that help you stay informed about what is happening with us.

Don’t want to miss anything? Follow us on LinkedIn and stay automatically updated on the latest developments.