Tampere Museum Center Vapriikki and Profium Oy have come a long way together at the forefront of the digitalization of cultural heritage. The Siiri collection management system has grown from a single tool to a comprehensive platform serving authorities, citizens and researchers. This is a story of a partnership where technology and cultural heritage meet.
Located in the national landscape of Tampere, by the Tammerkoski, Vapriikki was born as a bold cultural act in the midst of the depression of the 1990s. The museum center, founded in 1996, has grown into a unique blend of local and international. It is where ice hockey meets archaeology and Manserock postal history. Vapriikki's operations are based on locality, but its outlook extends to international fields.
"Officially, our name is Tampere Historical Museums, but Vapriikki as a brand is what we carry proudly," says Teemu Ahola, who has been the collection manager since 2017.
Siiri – a data warehouse in the heart of cultural heritage
When Ahola first got acquainted with the collection management system developed by Profium in 2005, Siiri was already an impressive tool.
“Compared to other systems used in the field, Siiri felt more agile right from the start. The basic feel is still the same, even though there have been more extensions and layers,” Ahola recalls, and continues: “The system is the same, but not the same at all. Development is moving forward all the time."
Vapriikki’s collections contain over 400,000 objects and a whopping 1.8 million photographs. New material is being added to Siiri all the time from this collection, so the amount of information it contains grows every day. Since only about five percent of the museum’s objects are on display at once, Siiri also serves as an important logistic tool for museum curators.
The digital breakthrough of the museum industry
"Newer technical tools are being introduced all the time, such as the possibilities brought by the information network, drones and 3D modeling. The thirst for information among local residents has grown, and it will continue to grow as new services become available," Ahola says.
Historical photographs released from Siiri now serve consumers online, and the growing popularity of genealogy in particular has increased the demand for photographs. In addition, citizens participate in recording cultural heritage through various collaboration channels.
Cultural environments – a unique tool for authorities
One of the most significant expansions of Siiri has been the Cultural Environment complex. As the regionally responsible museum for Pirkanmaa, Vapriikki issues approximately 1,000 statements annually on various cultural and historical issues.
“The regionally responsible museum acts as the corresponding authority under the mandate of the Finnish National Board of Antiquities, and all official statements are made in Siiri. Especially in this activity, the museum staff has high standards and work ethic, and in this respect, information systems must especially keep up,” Ahola emphasizes.
The secret behind long collaboration
When Ahola reflects on the reasons for the more than 20-year long collaboration, he highlights three key factors:
"Firstly, active development is taking place all the time, so the system remains viable. Second, the core is functional and modern even after decades. Third, even though there is competition, there aren't any similar products on the store shelf. "
Ahola says that Profium's strengths are good cooperation, delivery reliability and active dialogue. The cooperation includes regular meetings where future needs and development trends are discussed.
Profium's CEO Perttu Heinonen is also satisfied with the collaborative journey:
"We are proud to have been able to support one of Finland's largest museums by developing digital solutions that make information more accessible to everyone."
Focus on the future
When talking about the future of the museum industry, Ahola's voice becomes more serious:
"Our task is to provide researched and reliable information. We live in a time when fake news must be separated from the truth, and museums have an important role to play in this. Siiri is a key tool here - it is a way of preserving and sharing reliable and researched information.
He also sees great opportunities in the "experience economy": Vapriikki must offer concrete, unique stories about history that cannot be found elsewhere. At the heart of Siiri is the information content with which to respond to future challenges.
Vapriikki Museum Center, which was chosen as the Finnish museum of the century in 2017, continues to cherish and share cultural heritage - now to an even wider audience with the help of digital tools, in close cooperation with Profium.
Vapriikki is a versatile museum center by the Tammerkoski and offers things to see and experience for the whole family. You can explore more than ten exhibitions at once. History, natural sciences and technology – they make a good museum center!
For over 25 years, Profium has offered its customers software solutions that help organizations enrich content and link it so that the overall picture behind individual data items is available to users.
