Challenges in delivering digital content in archival and production environments

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Abstract: Archives both large and small face similar challenges. Indeed, digital asset management can be difficult whether managing 300 assets or 300,000. This paper examines the creation and management of digital asset management systems by two wildly different organisations, showing the need for accurate metadata, standardised workflows and automated processes no matter the size of the archive or how the content is delivered.

Keywords: open source; automated workflow; production; community archives

Brittan Dunham is Archive Director for a private archive housed in an active production environment, where she manages the digital archive, on-site and off-site physical media archives, and oversees media management for the production team. She is a graduate of New York University’s Moving Image Archiving and Preservation programme, during which time she worked as a projectionist and archivist at Tisch School of the Arts. She interned at the Museum of Modern Art, contributing research to their Modern Women book and exhibition series, and at the University of Hawaii, where she preserved a critical collection of media relating to Hawaii’s labour history.

Candace Ming is the Project Manager and Archivist of the South Side Home Movie Project (SSHMP). She is a graduate of New York University’s Moving Image Archiving and Preservation programme and interned at the Museum of Modern Art, doing crucial research on the newly discovered 1913 footage of Bert Williams. She has a wealth of experience as an archivist and as a film projectionist. Most recently, she managed the moving image archive of the New York Police Department’s Video Production Unit. She is responsible for digitising and preserving all films donated to SSHMP and also conducts community outreach and preservation workshops.