How to Manage Your Collection Data
Learn how to efficiently organize, search, edit, and maintain your digital archive using powerful data management tools and bulk operations.
Understanding Your Collection Overview
When you access the Data Management page, you'll first see three key statistics that give you an immediate understanding of your collection's scope and recent activity. These numbers help you track growth, understand content diversity, and monitor digitization progress at a glance.
Reading Your Collection Statistics
What the Numbers Tell You
The three statistics cards at the top reveal different aspects of your collection's health and growth. Understanding what each number represents helps you make informed decisions about digitization priorities and collection development.
📊 How to Interpret Your Statistics:
Total Items: This is your complete digital collection size. Use this number for grant applications, annual reports, and measuring digitization progress against your goals.
Item Types: Content diversity indicator. A higher number suggests a varied collection that serves multiple research needs, while a lower number might indicate specialized focus or opportunities for expansion.
Recent (30 days): Current digitization velocity. Compare this to previous months to track productivity, identify seasonal patterns, or measure the impact of process improvements.
Finding Items in Your Collection
The search and filter tools help you quickly locate specific items or groups of content within large collections. Learning to use these effectively saves time and helps you better understand your collection's content.
🔍 Text Search Strategies
Broad searches: Use general terms like "photograph" or "letter" to find content categories
Specific searches: Search for names, dates, or locations to find particular items
Partial matches: The system finds titles and descriptions containing your search terms
Real-time filtering: Results update as you type, so start with broader terms and narrow down
📂 Using Content Type Filters
See what you have: The dropdown shows all content types with item counts
Quality control: Filter by type to review consistency within categories
Collection gaps: Low counts might indicate areas needing more digitization
Combine with search: Use both text and type filters together for precise results
Working with Your Items Table
The items table is your main workspace for reviewing, organizing, and maintaining your collection. Learning to navigate it efficiently helps you spot issues, identify patterns, and perform maintenance tasks quickly.
📋 Organizing Your View
Sort by relevance: Click column headers to sort by title (alphabetical), type (categorical), or dates (chronological)
Spot patterns: Sort by type to see content distribution, or by date to review digitization chronology
Visual scanning: Thumbnails help quickly identify items and spot missing images
Adjust density: Change items per page (5 for detailed review, 100 for quick scanning)
⚡ Efficient Navigation Tips
Start with sorting: Sort by "Date Added" to review recent work for quality control
Use filters first: Narrow down before browsing to focus on specific content types
Check thumbnails: Missing thumbnails may indicate broken image links or processing issues
Batch similar tasks: Use checkboxes to select related items for bulk operations
How to Manage Individual Items
Working with Item Actions
Each row in your items table has three action buttons that give you complete control over individual items. Understanding when and how to use each action helps you maintain high-quality metadata and collection organization.
👁️ When to View Details
Quality review: Check that images display correctly and links work
Metadata audit: Review custom metadata fields for completeness and accuracy
Research support: Understand exactly what researchers will see when they find this item
Troubleshooting: Investigate items that users report as problematic
✏️ When to Edit Items
Correct errors: Fix typos, incorrect dates, or wrong categorizations
Enhance metadata: Add missing information discovered through research
Update classifications: Standardize item types or subject headings
Fix broken links: Update file URLs when content moves to new locations
🗑️ When to Delete Items
Duplicate removal: Clean up accidentally imported duplicates
Quality control: Remove items that don't meet collection standards
Rights issues: Remove items where copyright permissions are unclear
Scope refinement: Remove items that no longer fit collection focus
Bulk Operations for Efficiency
When you need to perform the same action on multiple items, bulk operations save time and ensure consistency. This is especially useful for large collections or when implementing new standards across existing content.
📋 Bulk Selection Strategies
Filter first: Use content type or search filters to isolate the items you want to modify
Review your selection: Check a few items individually before performing bulk operations
Work in batches: For very large operations, work with 25-50 items at a time to maintain control
Document changes: Keep notes about bulk operations for future reference and quality assurance
How to Review Items in Detail
Understanding the Detail View
The detailed view shows you exactly what researchers see when they discover an item in your collection. Use this view to verify that items are properly presented, check for missing information, and ensure external links work correctly.
📋 Quality Review Checklist
Visual presentation: Does the thumbnail display clearly and represent the item accurately?
Description completeness: Is there enough information for researchers to understand the item's significance?
Date accuracy: Are both creation date and archive addition date correct and properly formatted?
Link functionality: Click "View Original File" to ensure external links work and lead to the correct resources
🔍 Metadata Assessment
Custom fields review: Check that additional metadata fields contain accurate, useful information
Consistency checking: Compare similar items to ensure consistent formatting and categorization
Completeness evaluation: Identify missing information that would help researchers
Error identification: Look for typos, incorrect dates, or inappropriate content classifications
Item Editing Interface
Comprehensive Item Editing
Click the ✏️ (pencil) icon to open the item editing modal with full metadata management capabilities.
Standard Fields:
- • Title: Required field for item name
- • Description: Multi-line text area for detailed description
- • Date Created: Original creation date (free text format)
- • Item Type: Content classification (free text)
- • File URL: Link to original file or external resource
- • Thumbnail URL: Link to preview image
Dynamic Metadata System
Add unlimited custom metadata fields with proper data type handling:
- • Key-Value Pairs: Flexible metadata structure
- • Data Types: Text, Number, Boolean, Array, Object
- • Add/Remove Fields: Dynamic field management
- • JSON Support: Complex data structures for arrays and objects
- • Type Conversion: Automatic parsing based on selected type
Form Features:
- • Real-time form validation
- • Save/Cancel functionality with confirmation
- • Loading states during save operations
- • Success/error feedback messages
- • Automatic data refresh after successful edits
Table Management Features
Sorting and Organization
Click column headers to sort your collection by different criteria.
Sortable Columns
- • Title: Alphabetical sorting
- • Type: Group by content type
- • Date Created: Original creation date
- • Added: Date added to system
Sort Controls
- • Click once for ascending (↑)
- • Click again for descending (↓)
- • Visual indicators show current sort
- • Default sort: newest items first
Pagination and Display Options
Control how many items are displayed and navigate through large collections.
Pagination Features:
- • Items per page: Choose 5, 10, 25, 50, or 100 items
- • Smart pagination: Shows relevant page numbers with ellipsis
- • First/Previous/Next/Last: Quick navigation buttons
- • Results counter: "Showing X to Y of Z results" display
- • Responsive design: Works well on mobile and desktop
Safety and Feedback Features
Delete Confirmations
All deletion operations require explicit confirmation to prevent accidental data loss.
Confirmation Modals:
- • Single item deletion with item title display
- • Bulk deletion showing count of selected items
- • Clear warning about permanent action
- • Cancel option always available
Action Feedback
Real-time feedback keeps you informed about the status of your operations.
Feedback System:
- • Loading spinners during operations
- • Success messages for completed actions
- • Error messages with clear explanations
- • Automatic data refresh after changes
- • Auto-dismissing notifications