The MODES Users Association

We supply collections management software, training and support services to museums and archives in the UK.

MODES was originally developed by the Museums Documentation Association (MDA), who released the first version in 1987. Since then, MODES has undergone continuous development, and has been deployed successfully by hundreds of collections throughout the UK.

The MODES Users Association (MUA) was formed as a not-for-profit company in 1996. It became a Company Limited by Guarantee in 1997 and was then able to purchase the MODES suite of programs from the MDA. More than 520 museums, archives, and individual users are now members of the MUA.

Our Vision

A world in which collections owners and managers can unlock the full potential of their collections information to engage with the general public.

Our Mission

To enable collections owners and managers to protect, manage and use their collections data for public benefit.

Objectives of the MUA

The objects for which the Company is registered are:

• to secure the future of data at present stored in MODES programs
• to oversee further development of the programs and applications
• to encourage and support the exchange of information between members
• to encourage the use of accepted standards of documentation
• to oversee the interchange of data between MODES and other programs.

Membership of the Association

All MODES and Catalist users who pay their annual subscription fee are full members of the Association and are eligible to attend the AGM and other general meetings. Museums with a large number of screens have proportional voting powers. Members receive a quarterly newsletter.

The organisation of the MUA

The MUA is run by a Board, which meets three times a year. Most of the Board members work in museums or archives. The Board is responsible for the overall administration and finances of the Association and ratifies the decisions of the working groups.

There are two working groups. The Product Development Group manages product development, and the Marketing Group supports business development.

Staff

The MUA employs three staff to deliver support, training and consultancy services. Support is delivered by our staff, and contracted support partners.

The MODES suite of programs

• ModesXML - a client-server system giving single-user or multi-user access for data-entry and retrieval. The new generation successor to MODES for Windows.
• Modes Compact - (forthcoming) an entry-level version of ModesXML designed for small museums and collections. The new generation successor to Catalist.
• MODES for Windows - a powerful data-entry and data-retrieval program with many user defined features.
• Catalist - an entry-level version of MODES for Windows designed for small museums and collections.

Record formats

The Object and Archive Formats supplied with MODES for Windows define data structures based on the original MDA Data Standard (for Museums) and ISAD(G) and MAD II (for Archives). Three alternative record formats are available, the Conservation format, for recording conservation processes, the Person format, for recording biographical details, and the Place format, for site-based recording.

Catalist includes the Social History format and the Photograph format, both subsets of the full Object format.

ModesXML and Modes Compact incorporate an extended, SPECTRUM Compliant, version of the Object format. ModesXML incorporates the EAD standard for archive recording.

History

As soon as the MUA acquired the MODES programs, it prepared an upgraded version of the DOS program MODES-plus, and began writing a specification for MODES for Windows (MFW). The program was written by Richard Light, who was responsible for developing much of the original program, in close collaboration with the Development Sub-Committee. MODES for Windows was first released in 1999, and the 4th upgrade (version 1.99) was issued in April 2004. Catalist for Windows was released in January 2000, and the 2nd upgrade (version 1.50) was issued in June 2003. The MODES Web Server was released in March 2002. The third generation of MODES, ModesXML, was released in May 2006. The first upgrade of ModesXML (version 1.1) was issued in December 2007.

Current developments

The Product Development Group, with Richard Light and Red Door Software, are developing Modes Compact, a new entry-level program intended to replace Catalist for Windows. They are also working on the a dedicated single-user version of ModesXML, and the version 1.2 upgrade for ModesXML.

Pricing policy

MODES software and services are available only to members of the MODES Users Association. The MUA is a not-for-profit company, which keeps the costs of software purchase, support and training to a minimum, for the benefit of its members in the museum and archive community.