Resources

Resources are the archival units you describe. A resource can be a fonds, sub-fonds, series, sub-series, file, item, or any level defined by your institution's hierarchy. Resources are arranged in a tree that reflects your archival arrangement.

Browsing the tree

The left panel shows your archival hierarchy as a collapsible tree. Click an arrow to expand a node and reveal its children. Click a node name to select it and view its details in the right panel.

The tree can be filtered by hierarchy type (e.g. ISAD(G), Library) using the dropdown above it. You can also search by typing in the search box — results are shown as a flat list rather than a tree.

Adding resources

Use the + New button at the top of the tree panel to add a root-level node. To add a child node, select a parent node first and then use the + Add child button.

Every new resource requires at minimum a title and a level of description.

Rapid Entry

Kurbits offers a rapid entry functionality. Useful for mass registration of items or boxes. It's also possible to copy and paste directly from a spreadsheet and then populate columns.

You can also attach files to rows and have Kurbits create a representation for each one, so a batch of digitised items can be described and have their scans attached in a single pass.

Attaching files

1. Click Pick files to select files from your computer. They aren't uploaded yet — they're held in the browser and matched to rows by filename.
2. Tell Kurbits which file(s) belong to which row. There are two ways to do this:
3. From a pasted sheet — include a files column listing filenames (semicolon-separated if a row has more than one file), and a column naming the representation type (e.g. Preservation master, Access copy) to use for that row's files. Map both columns during the paste's column-mapping step.
4. Manually / Auto-match — type filenames straight into a row's Files cell, or click Auto-match to have Kurbits match each selected file to a row automatically: it strips the extension and looks for a row whose reference matches the filename (or the filename prefixed with it), falling back to the title if no reference matches.
5. If your sheet didn't supply a representation type per row, use Set representation for all rows with files to apply one type to every file-bearing row at once.

A reconciliation panel above the grid keeps you honest before you submit:

• Shows how many files are matched, across how many rows, and how many you've selected in total.
• Warns if a filename named in the sheet was never actually selected.
• Warns if a row has files but no representation type.
• Warns if a representation type named in the sheet doesn't match any configured type (configure types under Administration → Vocabularies → Objects).
• Warns if the chosen level of description isn't flagged as an object level — representations can only be attached to object-level nodes, so this is flagged up front rather than failing silently after the records are created.

What happens on submit

Records are created first; files are attached afterwards as a second step, so an upload problem never blocks or rolls back the descriptions themselves. For each row with files, Kurbits creates one representation (of the chosen type) on the new node, then uploads that row's files to it, one at a time. A progress indicator tracks files done vs. total, and any individual failure — a rejected file, a permissions error — is listed by filename with the server's reason, without stopping the rest of the batch.

The Details tab

The Details tab shows the core descriptive fields for the selected resource.

Field	Description
Title	The name of the archival unit
Level of description	The level in the hierarchy (Fonds, Series, File, Item…)
Reference code	Auto-generated from the institution prefix and the local ref
Date(s)	Date range of the material
Extent	Physical or digital extent
Scope and content	Summary of what the unit contains
Description	Additional descriptive text
Access conditions	Any restrictions on access
Appraisal	Appraisal and disposal decisions
Accruals	Expected future additions

Additional fields may appear depending on the metadata template assigned to the level — for example a photograph record will show fields for format, technique, and dimensions.

The Identifiers tab

The Identifiers tab holds external and persistent identifiers for the resource — ARK, Handle, DOI, ISBN, or any scheme your institution has configured.

• Click Add identifier, choose a scheme, and enter the value. If the scheme has a resolver configured, the stored value becomes a clickable link.
• A scheme can be connected to an external minting service. When it is, a Generate button appears — click it and Kurbits requests a new identifier from that service and stores it automatically. This is how you mint a new ARK or PID without leaving the record.
• One identifier per scheme can be marked primary.

Identifier schemes (and their resolver/generator settings) are set up under Administration → Identifier schemes.

The Relations tab

The Relations tab manages links between this resource and agents (creators, contributors, subjects) and links to other resources.

To link an agent, use the search box to find them by name and select the relationship type (Creator, Publisher, Subject, etc.). To link another resource, search by title or reference code.

The Locations tab

The Locations tab shows where this object is physically located, and allows you to check it in, move it, check it out, or return it.

• Current location is shown at the top with its full path (e.g. Building A / Store 2 / Cabinet 4). Click the location name to jump straight to it in the Locations section.
• The Check in / Move button opens a location search to place or relocate the object. An object can only be in one location at a time — checking in automatically removes it from its previous location.
• The Check out button opens a short panel where you choose a reason (e.g. Reading room, Conservation, Exhibition, On loan, In transit) and confirm. The object moves to the virtual Checked out location under that category.
• When an object is checked out, a Return button appears. It checks the object back in to exactly the location it was checked out from — the one-click way to put something back on its shelf.
• Movement history (expandable at the bottom) shows the complete location history with dates and users.

Checkout categories are managed like any other location — see Locations → Checkout categories.

The Classifications tab

Links this resource to one or more classification nodes — subject headings, record types, administrative units, or any scheme defined for your institution.

The Places tab

Links this resource to geographic places — countries, cities, parishes, specific sites. Places can be looked up from Wikidata to auto-fill coordinates and descriptions.

The Flags tab

Shows any open workflow flags on this resource, such as metadata issues, conservation needs, or rights questions. See Flags for details.

The Accessions tab

Links this resource to accession records in the Acquisitions module. Clicking an accession reference navigates to that accession. See Acquisitions for details.

The Tags tab

Assigns subject tags from your institution's tag vocabulary. Tags differ from classifications in that they are lighter-weight labels rather than structured scheme nodes.

The Notes tab

Free-text notes on this resource. Each note has a type (General, Administrative history, Biographical history, Scope and content, Appraisal, Accruals, etc.) and can be marked public or internal.

The Files tab

Attachments associated with this resource — finding aids, digitised images, transcripts, spreadsheets, or any other file.

When a file is uploaded, Kurbits automatically extracts technical metadata:

• Checksums (MD5 and SHA-256) for fixity verification
• MIME type identified from file content (not just extension)
• PRONOM format ID linked to the National Archives format registry
• Image dimensions, resolution, colour mode, bit depth
• EXIF and IPTC metadata (camera, date, GPS, copyright, keywords)
• Audio/video duration, codec, bitrate
• Thumbnail for images and PDFs (click to view full file)

Click the ⓘ button on any file to expand its technical metadata panel. The Re-extract metadata button re-runs extraction on an existing file, useful after a migration.

The History tab

A full audit log of all changes to this resource — who changed what and when.