Cultural heritage

Helping you protect what matters for generations to come

Rōpū kohinga is a team at Catalyst that has spent 15+ years helping libraries, archives, and cultural institutions care for their collections.

Start a conversation
Aerial view of Wellington city, harbour, waterfront and central business district office tower blocks from Mt Vic lookout in Wellington, New Zealand Aotearoa

Helping you keep history, present

What you collect connects communities to their past and future. Technology should both honour the stories, knowledge, and taonga it holds, and empower those who look after it. Rōpū kohinga are committed to providing solutions that align with your values and goals. We will meet your community where you are, and partner to deliver a system that is accessible, sustainable, and adaptable.

Success stories

Wainui at library 2

Te Kotahitanga o Te Atiawa Trust: Protecting taonga in Taranaki

Explore how we supported Te Kotahitanga o te Ātiawa Trust to future-proof their collection using Koha library management system.

Screenshot of the Ia portal

Ia: the world's first Rainbow research portal

Auckland University of Technology launched the world’s first Rainbow and LGBTQIA+ research portal. We implemented a discovery layer called VuFind to harvest metadata from multiple systems, making vital research accessible to communities who need it.

Screenshot of the Quakestudies website showcasing resources

University of Canterbury QuakeStudies

Digital asset management system, Islandora, was used to preserve community memories from the Canterbury earthquakes. Large amounts of content and media from various organisations representing heritage have been made accessible to all through this platform

Sherri and Lynne

Jessie Street National Women's Library: Honouring Australian stories

Explore why Koha library management system is the chosen platform for preserving Australian history and honouring stories of women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Photo of the Kolovai library shelves filled with books. Above them are a collection of different country flags and hand made ones for the kingdoms.

Kolovai Public Library: a real treasure for Tonga

We were proud to stand up the first public library in Tonga, using Koha as a tool to support and connect their community. Learn more about how world-class library technology can empower local Pacific communities.

Screenshot of Archives Central homepage which presents the 9 regional and district councils archives and provides the option to search

210,000 records migrated for Archives Central

Archives Central have adopted next-generation digital asset management to replace outdated proprietary systems. Check out how modern tools are enabling better access and supporting staff to do their best work.

How we can help

Strategy & consultation

We’re experts in technology for collections. We want to help, with everything from digital preservation planning and metadata management, to data governance and business case support.

Implementation & migration

You’ll work with the same team throughout the entire implementation. Our people handle complex data migration, integration with other platforms, custom development and configuration, and everything in between.

Collections, research & discovery software

We support open source library systems, digital repositories for asset management, curation, and preservation, platforms for unified discovery, and develop bespoke solutions.

Hosting solutions

In Aotearoa, Catalyst Cloud is a sovereign and secure hosting option for your data. We also support implementations that are self-hosted, or on another platform of your choice.

Design & accessibility

We’ll build a visual design that reflects and engages your community. We offer dynamic and accessible web design, and guidance on creating pathways to WCAG 2.2 AA compliance.

Custom code & configurations

We bring specialised workflows to life through code. Our developers love to solve problems, and are experienced in third-party integrations, plugins, APIs, and global development frameworks.

Support & capability building

Our New Zealand-based team are here to support you. We facilitate bespoke training and regular workshops. We’ll share knowledge and resources to support your independence, giving you the tools to care for your collection while we handle everything else.

Working with us

Rōpū kohinga can work with you to create trusted technology solutions for your physical and digital collections. If you’ve got ideas for managing your collection, or are seeking advice on a new or existing initiative, we welcome you to talk to our team.

We specialise in collections management for cultural heritage. With 15+ years of dedicated Koha experience and working across platforms like DSpace, VuFind and Islandora, we understand what generational preservation requires.

We match technology not just to collection requirements, but to the people maintaining the systems. We help you navigate open source communities and get the best from the software you choose. Your expertise is in your collections and communities - ours is in making technology serve that expertise.

Kathryn, Te Wainui, Alex & Aleisha, Rōpū kohinga team, Catalyst standing next to eachother smiling

Rōpū kohinga is based in Wellington, New Zealand. We're happy to help with collections management questions in person and online.

Contact us