AtoM presents the same underlying database through two faces: a public discovery interface for researchers and an authenticated staff view for cataloguers, editors and administrators. Learning to move confidently between browse, search and edit modes is the foundation for everything else, because AtoM never separates "the catalogue" from "the editing tool" - you edit the very record the public will read.

Your permissions determine what you see. Anonymous visitors see only published descriptions; logged-in staff see draft records, edit controls and administration menus according to their assigned group.

The main navigation surfaces

  • Browse menus for archival descriptions, authority records, repositories, functions and subjects - each is a separate entity type with its own list.
  • Global search in the header, backed by an Elasticsearch index rather than raw database queries, which is why results are fast and support relevance ranking and faceting.
  • Facets in the sidebar (creator, place, subject, media type, level of description) that let researchers narrow a result set without re-typing a query.
  • The clipboard, where users gather selected records across sessions for export or comparison.

Reading a description page

An archival description displays its place in the hierarchy through a context breadcrumb and a treeview showing parent and sibling records. This reflects the multilevel principle of ISAD(G): an item is understood through the series and fonds above it. The treeview is how you navigate a large fonds without losing your bearings.

Staff tools and roles

Signed-in editors gain an edit toolbar on every record (edit, delete, duplicate, move) and access to the admin area for users, groups, taxonomies and jobs. AtoM's role-based access control maps to the least-privilege thinking in information-security standards such as ISO/IEC 27001 - give each user the narrowest group that lets them do their work.

In practice. If a record you just created does not appear in public search, check two things before anything else: its publication status (draft records are hidden from anonymous users) and whether the search index is current. Long-running actions like re-indexing and imports run as background jobs - watch the job status page rather than assuming a change failed.

Key takeaways

  • AtoM shows one database through a public view and an authenticated staff view; permissions decide what each user sees.
  • Search is powered by an Elasticsearch index with facets; browse is organised by entity type.
  • The treeview and breadcrumb express ISAD(G) multilevel context; heavy tasks run as background jobs you can monitor.

Check your understanding

Last modified: Saturday, 1 August 2026, 11:03 AM