PAST is a software tool that harvests data from Archivists' Toolkit and Orchestra Planning and Administration System databases and presents it to users. It was developed specifically for performing arts archives by Paul Gallagher at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Michigan Opera Theatre using a .NET framework. While open source, PAST requires commercial OPAS software and was designed for a niche use case, making it difficult to sustain without dedicated development support.

1. PAST:
Performance Archive Search Tool

2. What is PAST?
• A way to harvest Archivists’ Toolkit (AT) & Orchestra Planning
and Administration System (OPAS) data and present it to
users.

9. How Does PAST Work?
OPAS
PAST AT

10. OPAS AT
MS SQL / MySQL databases
PAST
Microsoft .NET Framework

11. Development?
• Paul Gallagher
• Detroit Symphony Orchestra
• Michigan Opera Theatre
• Second phase funded via Andrew W. Mellon
Grant
• Other institutions looking at deploying soon

12. Open Source?
• “Boutique” Application
• Designed for performing arts archives
• Developed to meet the specific needs of the
DSO archives & MOT Library
• Requires commercial OPAS software
• Possibility of disabling the performance system
• Not free as in “beer,” free as in “kitten”

13. Good & Bad
• Good
• Custom developed
• fit specific needs and tailored to specific metadata
• Bad
• Difficult to sustain
• General lack of support – extensibility requires
development support
• Not community driven development

14. Online
• dso.pastsoftware.com
• Public site, primary use has still been internal
• trac.pastsoftware.com
• Source code / installation information