Background and Mission
The Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) provides an accessible database to the University Marketing and Creative Services staff and CSUs for image retrieval, storage, curation, and long-term preservation. The DAMS enhances productivity and maintains brand identity for the university as more digital assets are generated.
Prior to the DAMS, the department members searched for and retrieved assets via shared folders on the server. Thus, users relied on scanning folder names, file names, and embedded metadata (if any) through keyword searches. Users also often ask University Photographer, Marsha Miller, to find a specific image she had taken. This process lacks efficiency for the user’s workflow and does not provide the maximum number of results that exist on the servers. According to Marsha Miller, there are 2.5 million images total, which reside on servers and her local hard drives. Many of these images may be duplicates.
University Marketing and Creative Services has chosen guidelines for the DAMS based on best practices and department needs established by the Digital Asset Manager and development users. These guidelines will assure the creation of robust records and instructions for management, uploading assets, developing metadata, and image retrieval. The cataloging and management process of the department’s assets is a collaborative process, as all users will be implementing it into their daily workflow. Any questions should be sent to Rachel Appel, Digital Asset Manager (rappel@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-2324).
