A Practical, Sustainable Alternative to CONTENTdm

A Fully Managed Platform Shaped Around Your Repository

If your institution is reconsidering CONTENTdm, Aurora provides a fully managed platform designed specifically for libraries, archives, museums, and other organizations managing digital collections.

We work with your team to understand your collections, metadata practices, access requirements, and institutional priorities, then configure Aurora to support those needs within a proven, managed platform. Hosting, maintenance, upgrades, and support are handled by Discovery Garden, reducing the technical burden on your team.

For institutions looking to move beyond the limitations of a legacy digital collections platform without taking on the complexity of managing their own repository infrastructure, Aurora provides a practical, sustainable path forward.

A Migration Process Built for CONTENTdm Collections

Moving away from CONTENTdm is rarely a simple export-and-import exercise. Years of files, metadata, compound objects, and collection-specific practices need to be understood, transformed, and validated before they can move successfully into a new environment.

Discovery Garden has developed specialized migration tools and processes based on our experience moving CONTENTdm collections to Aurora. This technology helps us handle the technical work of extracting and transforming metadata, migrating files and complex objects, preserving important relationships, and preparing collections for their new environment.

Your team stays involved where institutional knowledge matters most—reviewing metadata decisions, confirming collection structures, identifying special handling requirements, and validating the results. Discovery Garden handles the technical migration work using proven tools and repeatable processes rather than placing that burden on your staff.

The result is a more predictable, manageable path from CONTENTdm to Aurora, backed by technology and migration experience developed specifically for digital collections.

Make Large-Scale Collection Work More Manageable

Bulk ingest and metadata updates should not depend on a locally installed application or command-line expertise.

Aurora provides a guided, browser-based workflow that lets repository staff upload CSV files or connect to Google Sheets, validate records before ingest, monitor progress, and review results.

This makes ongoing collection work more accessible to your team, with less reliance on specialized technical expertise.

Look Beyond the Subscription Price

The cost of a digital repository extends beyond the subscription itself. Staff time, technical administration, maintenance, upgrades, and the resources needed to keep collections accessible all contribute to the true cost of operating a platform.

Aurora brings hosting, ongoing maintenance, platform updates, and responsive support together in a fully managed service with predictable recurring costs. This gives institutions a clearer picture of their total operating costs while reducing the technical burden placed on internal teams.

For institutions evaluating alternatives to CONTENTdm, that means comparing not only what the platform costs, but also what it requires from your organization to operate and sustain it.

A Roadmap Informed by Digital Collections Expertise

Aurora is shaped by people who understand the realities of managing digital collections. Our team brings direct experience from libraries and archives, alongside years of working with institutions to solve repository, metadata, migration, preservation, and access challenges.

That expertise, combined with ongoing input from the institutions we support, informs Aurora's roadmap and helps us prioritize improvements grounded in the real-world needs of digital collections teams.

Reduce Reliance on One Technical Expert

A common risk in repository environments is that responsibility for the system sits with a very small team, and sometimes primarily one person. When that person changes roles or leaves the institution, the repository can become more difficult to maintain and support.

Aurora reduces that risk by placing hosting, maintenance, updates, and technical stewardship with Discovery Garden. Your staff can stay focused on collections, metadata, access, and local priorities while our team manages the underlying platform operations.

Plan Around Your Timeline

Whether your CONTENTdm renewal is approaching in a few months or further out, starting the conversation early gives your institution more options.

We can help you understand the likely migration scope and build a transition plan around your staffing capacity, contract timing, and the launch window that makes sense for your institution.

Is Aurora the Right Fit?

Aurora is not the right choice for every institution. It is designed for organizations that want a managed digital collections platform, value access to experienced repository professionals, and want to modernize without taking on the technical burden of operating the underlying infrastructure themselves.

If that sounds like what your institution is looking for, let's talk about your collections, workflows, current environment, and future priorities.