How Do You Find Your Digital Assets?

Poll results are in on the DAM Learning Center site on how DAM users find assets.

What is especially revealing to me is how I, too, expected Keywords and Description to take up the largest chunk, but also how many other methods are used and included in the other category.

The system I employ has a good filtering system that allows users to refine searches by these types of metadata values.

In addition, if you read more of the results, you can see just how necessary rights related data is for the assets to be considered useable once located in the system. Media release status and copyright are no laughing matter and should be mandatory fields.

 

5 Things Thursday: Skills, DAM, ISKO, Names and Crowdfunding

Here are five really interesting things to check out this week:

1. What skills does a digital archivist or librarian need? According to The Signal (LOC) blog, an MLIS from an ALA-accredited school is a start along with metadata savvy and project management skills.
2. For some basic DAM building blocks, check out this post by David Riecks - "because people can't use what they can't find."
3. Wish I could have been a fly on the wall at this event in London on visual content presented by ISKO (International Society for Knowledge Organization). With segments on keywording, rights, metadata (including auto generated) and even multimedia classification, this is the kind of thing I would like to see here in Seattle.
4. This post from Henrik de Gyor on names is intriguing. I might counter with what's in a filename. Unlike names of products, filenames really should have convention of sorts - dates, abbreviated locations or creator names - a unique identifier.
5. Out of the box thinking abounds over on Hack Library School with the proclamation that 'The Library Will Be Crowdfunded." One can only hope...

Happy Thanksgiving from NYPL Digital Collections

5 Things Thursday: Turkey Edition - HP/Autonomy, Geeky Gadgets and Gravy

Here are five things to brighten your Thanksgiving conversation:

1. Be thankful that you are not Autonomy. They apparently misled HP regarding finances. Oops.
2. Is the entire enterprise software space a big turkey? This is explored here with my favorite line "the enterprise is selling a tangled mess of spaghetti architecture, and the only ones who can make sense of it are the vendors themselves."
3. What better time than immediately preceding black Friday to check out these ten geeky gadgets librarians love? I'd like the Aroma USB so my office can smell like cinnamon...
4. Rejoice in the season with this Boxes and Arrows overhaul. This site has so much information for information types and now it looks even better.
5. Ever have to explain the science of library science (especially to relatives at holiday dinners)? This article on good old Hack Lib School delves deeply into the social science aspect. I feel like my research methods course was not taken in vain...

 

5 Things Thursday: Metadata, Getty Research, MOMA, Tracking Ideas

Here are five more things to help you discover and dissect the world of information:

1. Do we really need another arts-related authority list? The Getty Research Institute yells a resounding "of course" and unveils CONA - the Cultural Objects Name Authority. CONA development is still a work in progress so if you can contribute, please do.
2. David Diamond posts an article on CMS Wire on The Metadata Lifecycle for Digital Content. The metadata timeline described is interesting because it points out that metadata is indeed dynamic and needs to evolve with the asset.
3. Claire Kelley writes about visiting the MOMA Library and even includes a little sneak peek on Tumblr.
4. How do you keep track of your ideas? Read all about how the Library Scenester (Erin Dorney) does it. I happen to share many of her techniques including old fashioned bookmarking. That's how I write this blog as a matter of fact...
5. Want a recap of the recent Henry Stewart Digital Asset Management Conference in Los Angeles? Here it is and includes some great talks on best practices, the cloud, and a nice case study on Symantec.

Taxonomy Tuesday: Buy a Book!

Leala Abbott, one of my favorite taxonomists, posted a great article today providing insight into her taxonomy development process. As it should be, simplicity is the rule of the day. When faced with creating a taxonomy where there is either scant existing data to work from and/or in which you are not a bonafide subject matter expert (and even if you are), why not consider buying a book on the subject?

Now, the book should not be just any old book - rather a well established and current authoritative source - like buying or referencing a Janson text for art history. Leala describes a bit more about her selection criteria.

Most importantly, I applaud that this tip provides an obvious but often overlooked starting point for anyone creating a taxonomy. And, it is true that taxonomists need to not only enjoy developing proficiency efficiently on a wide variety of topics, but that the index of the selected book or books may provide a bit of a framework as well.

 

 

5 Things Thursday: Video, DAM, Metadata is Like Voting...

Here are five things for you to explore:

1. Adding video to your digital asset management system? Here are some considerations before you jump right in.
2. Why is metadata like voting? Because you should "tag early, tag often" just as you should "vote early, vote often." Accurate and timely application of metadata is key to a functional DAM. And, as the author states, nothing is more frustrating than a "bug" that turns out to be simply poor metadata.
3. What can digital asset management do for advertising agencies? Probably not make them less crazypants, but hopefully help ensure brand consistency by enabling efficient sharing and eliminating redundancies.
4. An internship is the single greatest thing you can do while pursuing an MLIS. Here's how to make yours worthwhile.
5. How is Syracuse University handling the use of copyrighted works in teaching? Digitization 101 provides a glimpse.

5 Things Thursday: DAM, Dublin Core, Project Collaboration

Here are five more things:

1. Check out Artists' Books Online - designed to promote critical engagement with artists books and to provide access to a digital repository of metadata, scans, and commentary. The project serves several different communities: artists, scholars and critics, librarians and curators, and interested readers.
2. Should you auto-tag or crowdsource your metadata? Henrik de Gyor answers here.
3. Would you like to know more about Dublin Core and Schema.org? Read Cameron Laird's article on Develop in the Cloud.
4. All in one place - the slides for InfoCamp Seattle 2012!
5. Does collaboration require trust? In any type of project and in life, the answer is a resounding yes. Here's more about successful project collaboration.