Many thanks to everyone who responded to the query I posted about CALM a few
weeks ago. I was asking for user opinions on CALM, as we are considering
new software options, and this is a quick summary of the responses I
received. If anyone would like any further information, please feel free to
get in touch.
In general, the responses were uniformly positive. Either CALM really does
have no major glitches, or else all the archivists who use it are
exceptionally cheerful people! The main advantages were seen to be the
stability of the company (DS Limited), and its genuine understanding of
archive requirements (I understand the MD has been dedicated enough to read
ISAD(G)). People rated very highly DS's willingness to develop the product
in consultation with archivists, and the very active CALM user groups
provide feedback to DS as well as a network of support for archivists.
Further positive aspects are the number of archives which are using CALM (I
think around 55-60), which bodes well for future data exchange as well as
the continued existence of the software. CALM can also be used by museums
and libraries which again bodes well for future collaborative projects.
In terms of the actual software itself, the one comment everyone made was
that they found it very easy to use, and that it was in general
user-friendly. The windows-like look to it means that users tend to find it
fairly intuitive, and it is also easy to customise so that field titles etc
reflect local use. Inevitably, not everything is perfect: several
respondents mentioned the occurence of crashes (although this may be
affected by the users' own IT provision and infrastructure) but this was
really the only common glitch that came up. There were some other issues
mentioned but as they were only individual niggles it seems inappropriate to
add them to a summary. Use of the web server and image handling features
is still relatively uncommon, so I would also hesitate to generalize about
that: if anyone wants further information, they are welcome to get in touch.
The usual corollary to people telling me about niggles was that the DS
helpdesk was reported as providing a very good service, and that DS was very
willing to look at incorporating issues raised in future upgrades.
In conclusion, CALM users seem to be very satisfied. Inevitably, there are
a few niggles but DS seem to deal with these both by a good helpdesk service
and by consulting with the user groups as to future developments of the
software.
I should of course stress that this is all purely anecdotal, based on only
10 respondents, and I have no experience of using CALM myself, so I cannot
make any claims for the accuracy of the information. Many thanks to
everyone who gave up their time to help me.
Lucy Jones
BT Group Archivist
BT Archives
Third Floor, Holborn Telephone Exchange, 268-270 High Holborn, London WC1V
7EE
Tel: 020 7492 8795
Fax: 020 7242 1967
Email: [log in to unmask]
Intranet: corporate.intra.bt.com/sec_area/archives
Internet: www.bt.com/archives/
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