CatalogIt

CatalogIt is a cloud-based software brand focused on documenting, preserving, managing, and sharing cultural, historical, artistic, and privately held collections. The platform was established in 2015 by Dan Rael and Howard Burrows after Rael sought a practical way to document a personal collection of Native American artifacts. Burrows developed a cloud-based, mobile-oriented system for that purpose after the founders found that existing options did not adequately address the needs of ethnographic and other object-based collections. The product initially served as a collection-management system for a small private-collector community. In 2016, CatalogIt was released to a limited, invite-only group, allowing the founders to test the software in real-world collection-documentation workflows. Exposure to the system and reviews during 2017 brought it to the attention of Joy Tahan Ruddell, a museum registrar. Ruddell recognized that the platform could be adapted for professional museum and institutional use and joined Rael and Burrows in developing it further. CatalogIt's core function is the creation of structured digital records for collection items. Users can record descriptive information about objects, photographs, letters, artworks, and other materials, while also linking related records to create connected digital collections. The system includes prompts and classification tools intended to guide users in recording attributes such as an item's type, origin, and other collection-specific information. This approach makes the software relevant not only to museums but also to historical societies, libraries, repositories, and individual collectors. The platform supports operational as well as descriptive collection work. Features described for CatalogIt include QR-code lookup, process management, and the ability to maintain either private databases or publicly accessible collections. Its account model begins with a free option, with additional packages available for expanded records, users, and storage. This structure allows smaller organizations and individual users to begin with limited requirements while providing a path toward broader institutional use. A central part of the CatalogIt offering is CatalogIt HUB, the brand's publishing environment for making selected portions of digital collections available online. HUB aggregates metadata and images from participating collections and supports public browsing, cross-collection discovery, and self-directed research. It therefore extends CatalogIt beyond internal inventory and registration work into public interpretation, digital access, and online collection discovery. Following its development for private collecting, CatalogIt expanded into the museum and cultural-heritage sector. Organizations identified as users or adopters include the Berkeley Historical Society, National Black Doll Museum of History & Culture, Fort Adams Trust, Kinsman Free Public Library, St. Joseph Museums, and the Basque Museum and Cultural Center. These examples reflect the platform's intended breadth: it can support institutional collections containing objects, documents, images, and other forms of material or visual heritage. CatalogIt's positioning is consequently centered on accessible, cloud-based collection management rather than a narrowly defined inventory application. It combines cataloging, preservation-oriented documentation, workflow support, relationship mapping, and optional public presentation. The available reference material does not establish the company's headquarters, legal ownership structure, financial performance, current executive roster, or official website, so those fields remain unspecified.

CatalogIt originated in 2015 from a private collecting need. Dan Rael was seeking a way to document a personal collection of Native American artifacts, but the founders did not find an existing system that adequately addressed the requirements of ethnographic collection documentation. Howard Burrows responded by creating a cloud-based, mobile application intended to record and organize the collection's information. The early system was developed as a collection-management tool rather than as a general consumer inventory product. Its purpose was to capture structured information about individual items, preserve associated details, and make relationships among records visible. This foundation shaped the later platform, which supports records for artworks, letters, photographs, and three-dimensional objects as well as other materials held by museums and cultural institutions. In 2016, CatalogIt was made available to a limited, invite-only group of private collectors. This stage gave the developers an opportunity to expose the software to users beyond the original collection and to receive practical feedback. During 2017, broader exposure and reviews brought the system to the attention of Joy Tahan Ruddell, a museum registrar. Ruddell identified a potential application in professional museum registration and collections management and joined Rael and Burrows in improving the platform. Ruddell's involvement coincided with CatalogIt's transition from a tool created around an individual collector's needs into a platform aimed at museums, historical societies, libraries, repositories, and other organizations responsible for cultural or historical materials. The product's capabilities developed around recording detailed object information, applying classification prompts, linking related records, and managing collection processes. Its cloud-based structure also allowed collections to be maintained digitally rather than being limited to local or paper-based systems. CatalogIt provides options for both restricted and public use. Users can maintain private collection databases for internal management, or they can publish selected materials through CatalogIt HUB. The HUB acts as a public-facing discovery and publishing layer, bringing together metadata and images from participating collections. Through that service, visitors can browse materials from different organizations, discover relationships among collections, and conduct self-directed research. The platform uses a tiered access model in which accounts can begin without charge, while optional packages provide additional records, users, and storage. This model is compatible with a range of users, from individuals and small organizations to institutions with larger collection-management requirements. The software also includes QR-code lookup and process-management capabilities, supporting day-to-day registration and access workflows alongside long-term documentation. CatalogIt's adoption expanded beyond the original private-collector community. Organizations identified in connection with the platform include the Berkeley Historical Society, National Black Doll Museum of History & Culture, Fort Adams Trust, Kinsman Free Public Library, St. Joseph Museums, and the Basque Museum and Cultural Center. Their inclusion illustrates the brand's focus on cultural memory, material heritage, community history, and public access. The available reference material does not provide a detailed corporate chronology after this expansion, nor does it identify headquarters, ownership, financing, formal leadership changes, acquisitions, or major controversies. CatalogIt's documented history is therefore primarily a product-development and market-expansion story: a system created for a personal ethnographic collection, tested with private collectors, adapted with museum-registration expertise, and extended into a public digital-collection platform.

• 2017

  Museum-sector development begins

  [1]CatalogIten.wikipedia.org

  Museum registrar Joy Tahan Ruddell became involved after encountering reviews and exposure surrounding the software, helping develop its usefulness for museum collections management.

• 2016

  Invite-only collector release

  [1]CatalogIten.wikipedia.org

  The software was released to a limited, invite-only group within the private collector community.

• 2015

  CatalogIt established

  [1]CatalogIten.wikipedia.org

  Dan Rael and Howard Burrows established CatalogIt to document Rael's personal collection of Native American artifacts and created a cloud-based, mobile collection-management system.

• Expansion to cultural and historical organizations

  [1]CatalogIten.wikipedia.org

  CatalogIt was adopted by museums, historical societies, libraries, and cultural organizations, including the Berkeley Historical Society, National Black Doll Museum of History & Culture, Fort Adams Trust, Kinsman Free Public Library, St. Joseph Museums, and the Basque Museum and Cultural Center.

An accessible cloud-based platform for cataloging, preserving, managing, and publishing collections, serving museums, historical societies, libraries, repositories, cultural organizations, and private collectors.

• Collection-management software · 2015

  CatalogIt

  CatalogIt is a cloud-based platform for documenting and managing collections. Users can create records for artworks, letters, photographs, three-dimensional objects, and other materials; add descriptive details such as type and origin; and link records to one another. The platform is intended for museums, historical organizations, repositories, libraries, cultural institutions, and private collectors. It also supports QR-code lookup, process management, private databases, and optional packages for additional records, users, and storage.

• Digital collection publishing and discovery

  CatalogIt HUB

  CatalogIt HUB is the platform's public-facing publishing environment. It allows organizations and individuals to expose selected parts of their digital collections online rather than keeping all records private. HUB aggregates collection metadata and images, enabling visitors to browse materials across participating collections, discover related content, and conduct self-directed research into cultural, historical, and artistic resources.

1. 1CatalogIten.wikipedia.org