What is Inventoriana?

Inventoriana is a software package for describing the contents of digitized resources, particularly liturgical manuscripts. Its key features are as follows:

1. Web-based. Inventoriana is accessible via the world wide web, at http://inventoriana.com. Anyone may register for an account.
2. In-image tagging. Although many existing software packages allow for the “tagging” of images with general descriptive keywords, Inventoriana tracks the precise location of noteworthy places on the image (called “items” in Inventoriana), allowing for a much greater degree of descriptive specificity within the image.
3. Pluggable Content Types. Inventoriana allows the user to specify the data structure of what they wish to track. For example, a user who is using Inventoriana to describe a photograph needs to track different information from one who is using Inventoriana to catalog a diary. By using extensible content types, Inventoriana promises to reach a broader audience. At the moment, Inventoriana tracks four kinds of content: Chants, Comments, Inscriptions, and Source Comparisons.
4. Revision History. Inventoriana leverages the collective knowledge of its users by maintaining a revision history of all items in its database. This feature, which is common in online wikis, allows users to gradually refine their understanding of a digitized resource.