About DAMS Time! Asset Management to Streamline & Achieve Strategic Institutional Goals

Through a digital asset management system (DAMS), institutions can more efficiently retain and supplement critical rights information in the image files’ metadata as well as manage multiple image sets, such as museum objects, non-collection images, archival content, and document management (DM) collection. Implementation of a DAMS can streamline image management and in turn expand partnerships with external distributors of collection images, by drastically decreasing the amount of additional work for both parties. However, further efficiency can be achieved if an institution also has a document management system in place. Through document management, all non-media IP content generated by an institution can be retained in an organized, central, and efficient system that numerous staff members can reference and utilize. This article outlines the process by which the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) researched various DAMS and DM options, eventually partnering with Piction for the implementation of both, and undertook a major copyright research project, which in conjunction with Piction increased content distribution and the introduction of Open Access (OA) imagery via the IMA's website. Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank Maureen Burns, content editor, for the invitation to write for the VRA Bulleti