A digital leap for heritage in Bruges

The unified Flemish library system Wise is not sufficient for the heritage collections. Think of unique copy characteristics such as origin or book bindings, which require a much more intricate approach. The Gezelle Archive, for example, is so rich and complex that standard solutions simply aren't enough. And with growing digitization, there were also specific needs for image management.

After a thorough tender process, the library opted to collaborate with the Wander team. We knew that data conversion was going to be complex, but the Wander team brought a lot of experience. In the end, the migration went more smoothly than expected. Because our data is based on our own registration guidelines, we chose not to join the Wander network. This enabled us to set up the software flexibly and tailored to our collections. At the same time, we can make use of the rich authorities in Wander. ‍

And the fact that we can now manage and unlock both metadata and images via Wander means an enormous efficiency gain: for our employees and for researchers who dive into our collection. ' — Alexander Soetaert, Bruges Public Library

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