Killing Sacred Cows: Challenging Assumptions about Digital Asset Management

The pace at which a technology moves from emerging to production continues to increase. The support systems around that technology must match that pace. A modern DAM needs to work with just about any kind of file type and make them all discoverable. And while metadata may be king, adhering to a one-size-fits-all structure may not be the best way to serve the needs of today\u27s researchers and teachers. We\u27ve worked to build an open-source digital library capable of keeping up with the demands placed on it by rapid innovation. By utilizing a cloud-computing platform with dynamic metadata capabilities, pluggable support for new technologies, and strong extensibility, this library aims to make sure storage and categorization is never a hindrance to innovation. Our platform challenges many of the existing conventions of digital asset repositories, by flipping to a user-centric, content-delivery focused approach. This allows us to be responsive and flexible as users express their needs. And by opening our repository up via a standards-based, public API, we allow innovators to leverage our content in new and exciting ways. In this session, we will discuss the capabilities of this new system, the research that led to its design, and the ways in which we are already seeing it grow and expand