First-things-first. I am not an authority. My goal here is not to write a comprehensive overview of the topic. I hope to offer a general, ‘plain English’ explanation, somewhat useful for the majority of us working in the field (newbies and non-experts), of what I understand Digital Asset Management is with a description of some of the software tools used for its application. I was recently asked if I had a list of all of the available collection or asset management software with specifications which could be used for cross-comparison. Well, go ahead –I dare you! Try to piece together such a list. As you enter your third or fourth day of researching, I think that you’ll realize that half of the software you’ve identified has been either discontinued or sold, bought and renamed. And overnight, three or four more DAM products were introduced. Building and maintaining the list seems to be a full-time job that I’m not really interested in (unless it comes with a big raise). This might be a slight exaggeration, but the frustration is real and valid.
Yeah, I know –so where’s my list? It’s coming. But first, let’s cover some basics…
What is a Digital Asset Management System?
Digital Asset Management systems (software and/or hardware) facilitate the ingestion, annotation, cataloging, storage, retrieval, and sharing or delivery of electronic files (image, audio, video, document, presentation, spreadsheet, etc.) By ‘ingest’ I mean adding to our system of organization and to the warehouse of digital objects stored on the hard drive(s) or server. ‘Annotate’ roughly refers to the addition (either to the files or to a database describing the files) of metadata (information about the digital objects, useful for finding, organizing, and making decisions about them (data about the data).
What types or classes of DAM Systems do we need?
The class of Digital Asset Management (DAM) system we need depends on the scope of our management needs. How many files are we managing? What types of files are being managed? Who is managing the files? What are our access and delivery needs for these files? And so on.
As I see it, the very generalized classes are as follows, from biggest to smallest:
· Repository architecture-based digital library and collection management systems
· Enterprise-level DAM solutions for small to medium sized businesses
· Consumer-level file management and cataloging tools
· Simple operating system file management tools
Do you need something for repository, enterprise, or consumer-level management? Or are you more of a ‘sos-type’? (don’t laugh, sos-ers are people too (and they’re everywhere!))
What are the DAM best practices and what are some features to look for in DAM software?
I’ve found the RLG/NARA 2005 Audit Checklist for Certifying Repositories helpful for designing large and small DAM systems. According to their best practices, the software is one of many elements we should consider in designing a DAM system. Even if you’re managing a small or personal collection of digital assets, this is worth reading in that it’ll help formulate specific questions about DAM and it can help in narrowing down our software selection (once we have an idea of how it’ll be applied).
In narrowing down your software selection, you should consider the system’s extensibility (the compatibility of and the ability to export and convert the DAM system’s catalogs for use in other DAM systems in years (or months) to come). Other important factors include support for your file schema metadata standards (support for working with XML objects, METS/ALTO, etc.), software interoperability (the ability to share information and workflow with other applications), cost, system requirements, system stability, reliability of the publisher/vendor (product support, stability of the business organization), etc.
By now, you’re either dozing on your keyboard or you’ve pulled the plug on your computer. If you haven’t, you probably should take some time to digest some of this. In a day or so, I’ll continue the discussion and include a partial list of software and some considerations for choosing a good system which'll match your particular needs.–In the mean time, try this:
· Have a look at the RLG/NARA document.
· Take an inventory (roughly) your files. List the types and sizes if considerable.
· Estimate your management needs for next year and for the next three or five years.
· Describe your delivery and access needs for the various types of files.
· Identify the potential user(s) for your DAM system.
· Come up with a hardware specifications list for the computer(s) or server which’ll host the DAM system.
· Decide on a budget for the implementation of a DAM system, potential immediate hardware upgrades, and for maintenance and future upgrades for the next five to ten years.
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