INFO 282: Digital Asset Management
Fall 2022
Course description
Introduce students to the fundamental concepts, terminology, practice, and application of digital asset management in the public and private sectors. It will feature discussions on metadata, workflow, taxonomy, data security, and preservation of digital assets.
Outcomes
Evaluate a digital collection of different media assets to determine their value in their current and long-term roles within an organization.
Describe how the professional skill sets of librarians and archivists are converging with the practice of digital asset management, from content classification and organization to records management and long-term access and preservation of digital assets.
Critically think about how metadata, including descriptive keywords and taxonomies, can be used to organize digital content in a constructive and valuable format for users.
Demonstrate good project management skills, from project design through implementation and training.
Portfolio
Overview
Through the course readings and three core projects, I became familiar with the challenges of managing digital assets, specifically media and creative assets. Challenges include rights management, preservation, workflows, metadata, DAM systems analysis, and project management. The projects prepared me for researching, testing, selecting, and implementing a digital asset management system and framework for image and video files.
Flickr and metadata
Project link | Collection link
Project 1 involved developing an online digital collection of photographs, including identification, vocabulary design, retrieval requirements, and possible licensing issues. For the deliverable, I examined the digital asset management needs of photographic collections and identified the strengths and weaknesses of applications like Flickr.
Video Collection Analysis
Collection analysis | Asset records
Project 2 required 1. a video asset metadata needs analysis, including digital rights management, 2. consideration of access and metadata for a specific use case, and 3. creation of a metadata model. As part of the deliverable, I developed a metadata model based on the PBCore schema and a topical taxonomy.
Project plan and DAMS analysis
Asset records | Taxonomy | Report
Project 3 brought together all of the course topics and built on the first two projects. The deliverable included a use case analysis, needs identification, selection and description of a representative set of assets, custom taxonomies, and an analysis of potential DAM systems. The report covered a breakdown of my analyses, arguments for the metadata models and taxonomies I developed, and justification for the final DAMS selection.
Professional Application
Throughout my Post-Master’s Certificate work, I have led the research, testing, and selection of a digital asset management system (DAMS) for the archive where I work. The digital curation courses have given me a knowledge base from which to evaluate DAMS and justify my decision-making. The Digital Asset Management course enriched my understanding of DAM and helped me develop an implementation plan that includes building metadata models, taxonomies, and workflows. My coursework has also given me expertise in which to advise on a video asset management project and the implementation of Panopto.