What's new in ArchivesSpace v3.2.0
If this is your first time moving into a version of ArchivesSpace past 3.x, please note that there are two ArchivesSpace webinars detailing the new Agents module. The first, An Introduction to ArchivesSpace v3.0.0 and the Expanded Agents Module provides an overview of the changes associated with v3.0+. That webinar featured explanations around the origins of the re-design including a presentation from the SNAC Project. A later webinar, Understanding the Changes to the ArchivesSpace Agents Module repeated some of the info in the first, but with more detail and examples. Atlas recommends watching both webinars, but if you only have time for one, we recommend the second.
ArchivesSpace v3.2.0 was released on February 4, 2022. The official release notes are available here. Atlas highly recommends that users always read the official release notes in their entirety, as this article will only highlight specific changes.
Are you skipping over versions?
Changes to ASpace are cumulative so remember to read the official release notes for any versions you are skipping over. Here are convenient links to Atlas articles on previous versions. Staff at ArchivesSpace Member Institutions are encouraged to reference the ArchivesSpace Help Center for additional documentation corresponding to new and former releases.
Improvement Highlights for v3.2.0
Custom reporting!
Custom reporting has been a popular feature request for as long as ArchivesSpace has existed and it's finally here! This suite of features is anticipated to be popular and will allow users to create and save custom report templates with much more flexibility than ever before.
Atlas will be enabling custom reports by default. This is a configuration that we will enable for you upon the update to the new version; if you want this turned off in the future you may let us know at any time.
Custom reports can crash ArchivesSpace! This is the primary reason that this functionality has been delayed for so long. Please contact Atlas support if you experience crashes while running custom reports, as they can help troubleshoot issues related to memory usage and query complexity.
Report templates can be created per repository and are found under the Gear menu icon:
Once a custom report template has been created and saved it is thereafter available under the same Custom Reports Template heading where it was created; custom reports are not available through the usual Create > Background Jobs menu.
Please note! Reports can only be run per repository for records that are repository specific. Take two examples to help explain:
- If you wanted a report on your use of Agent records, Agent records are not repository specific, so any custom report in any repo would still deliver information on any Agent record that met the criteria you picked.
- But, if you wanted a report on your use of Resource records, Resource records are repository specific, so any custom report would only return Resource records in the repo where you created the report.
Built-in import templates!
There are a number of spreadsheet/csv templates designed to be used for the various importers available in ArchivesSpace. While these templates have been available as long as their features have been available, they were never available for download directly in the application. All import templates are now found in one place, under the gear menu. A lot of them have been updated recently, so do consider downloading the most recent versions!
First, navigate here:
Which will lead you here:
Select the template that meets your use case and get started.
Remember to check back after major updates, as these templates do change and improve.
New built-in ARK Minter!
This is an FYI only for institutions invested the creation of ARKs in ArchivesSpace. Generating internal ARKs and recording external ARKs have been optional features since v2.7.0. but there are now additional configurations that allow for more control over how internal ARKs are minted.
If you are new to ARKs in ArchivesSpace, we recommend this 2020 webinar titled Integrating ArchivesSpace and ARKs but please note that that webinar was recorded before the 3.2.0 functionality debuted.
This pull request helps to document and explain some of the work that went into this Smithsonian-funded initiative.
Because of this change, 3.2.0 adds new configuration options for ARK minting. Those are:
AppConfig[:ark_minter] = :archivesspace_ark_minter
AppConfig[:ark_enable_repository_shoulder] = false
AppConfig[:ark_shoulder_delimiter] = ''
New Settings
New settings are rare, so you may want to check these out and set them up for yourselves. Navigate to the arrow next to your username (upper right) and you will find these new options in the three preferences menus.
FAQs for v3.2.x
Are there new requirements?
There are no new required fields or actions for the 3.2.0 release.
Do I have to do anything upon updating?
You may want to re-visit your permission groups upon updating, since the new Custom Reporting features come with a new permission setting:
Please note that users must also have the permission to create and run a background job in order to use custom reports.
Anything else?
Move to external Solr
- Summary: The move to external Solr was handled by Atlas Systems and users should detect no changes to the application as a result.
- Background: One of the significant differences that comes with 3.2.0 is that its indexer (Solr) has been moved from an embedded deployment to an external deployment. This is a server-side change, meaning that as a hosted customer at Atlas you do not have to do anything regarding this change and users should not detect any changes (except perhaps faster searching). Nothing about Solr itself has changed other than its version and deployment; there are no new enhancements to searching nor indexing in ArchivesSpace, though now that this change has been made, the community may benefit from such enhancements in the future.
Security notices
- log4j: There were essentially zero log4j concerns in version of ASpace prior to 3.2.0, but 3.2.0 and the newest release of Solr have addressed whatever concerns there could have been.
- Background: Even before 3.2.0, the risk of log4j vulnerabilities in ArchivesSpace was essentially zero. Versions prior to 3.2.0 did have some log4j logging in the test suite, which is code that does not actually run in deployment, meaning that even if one of your servers stays on an older version, the presence of these Ruby gems is not a concern. Additionally, a prior version of Solr did have log4j vulnerabilities; Atlas was aware of this is and is using a newer version of Solr where that vulnerability has been addressed. If you run another server on an older version prior to 3.2.0, that version is still using the embedded Solr where log4j was never a concern.
- For additional background information, please see this December 2021 message from ArchivesSpace.
- Depreciated Jetty: The concern about depreciated Jetty has been addressed in v3.2.0. Very few Atlas customers were affected by this security issue and any site that was affected was contacted in November 2021 to remediate any concerns. If you were not contacted directly, this issue is moot for your server(s).
Configurations for v3.2.0
New configurations as well as configurations that are being removed are available to view in the official ASpace Release Notes for 3.2.0.
Turning on custom reports is one of the new configurations! Atlas Systems will be enabling custom reports by default, though you may elect to turn them off at any time by writing to support@atlas-sys.com.