County Record Offices
& Council Archives
Fully hosted open-source cataloguing. No annual software licence. No in-house IT. Public catalogue included.
Get a QuoteThe Open-Source Alternative to CALM
County record offices have long been the core market for CALM (Axiell). But annual licence fees are substantial, the public web catalogue is a chargeable add-on, and Axiell's roadmap is pointing users toward Axiell Collections — a further investment. AtoM offers comparable functionality at zero software cost, fully hosted and supported.
Eliminate the Software Licence
AtoM is free, open-source software. There is no annual licence fee, no per-seat charge, and no upgrade costs. Your budget goes on hosting and support — both predictable, fixed costs — not on software that gets more expensive every renewal cycle.
Public Catalogue Included
AtoM's Public User Interface is included as standard — no additional charge. Researchers can search your full catalogue online, browse by creator, subject, and reference code, and request reproductions. CalmView is an add-on cost; with AtoM it comes free.
UK GDPR & Data Residency
Council archives are subject to UK GDPR and local authority data governance requirements. We provide a Data Processing Agreement as standard. Data residency options are available on request.
No In-House IT Required
Local authority IT departments are stretched. We manage the entire infrastructure — server, security patches, SSL, backups, monitoring, and upgrades. Your archivist logs in through a web browser. Nothing to install, nothing to maintain locally.
Full CALM Migration
We migrate from CALM with all hierarchical descriptions, authority records, accession data, and digital object links preserved. No data loss. Your cataloguing history — built up over years — comes with you intact. Read the CALM migration guide →
TNA Standards Compliant
AtoM is built on ISAD(G), the descriptive standard endorsed by The National Archives. EAD export is included, supporting submission to Discovery and other national aggregators. Your existing descriptive practice maps directly.
Total Cost of Ownership
| Cost | CALM + CalmView (Axiell) | AtoM — Archives Hosting UK |
|---|---|---|
| Annual software licence | £££ / year | None |
| Public web catalogue | Chargeable add-on | Included |
| Upgrades | Chargeable | Included |
| Off-site backups | Your responsibility | Included |
| API access | Restricted | Full REST API |
| IIIF integration | Limited | Native |
Note: We do not suggest CALM is being discontinued. Axiell continues to develop and support it, and for many local authority archives it remains the right choice. Licence costs, add-on charges, and API access vary by contract — the figures above reflect typical reported experience. This comparison is for institutions actively considering their options at renewal time.
Get a Quote
We are happy to provide a detailed cost comparison for your specific situation.
📧 info@archiveshosting.co.uk