Untapped Resources: Making the Case for a Simple Digital Archiving Project

In 2010 Seattle Art Museum began the creation of a small digital catalogue of its historic archival photography holdings. This project was necessitated by the inability to quickly locate specific images of historic significance. Additionally, a need was identified for a more user-friendly interface to the existing search mechanism. This project was initiated and supervised by the rights and reproductions administrator within the registrars and museum services department and conducted by a team of museum volunteers.

In order to leverage the organization’s existing technology and minimize expenses, Microsoft’s SharePoint System was chosen to facilitate the project. Up until the point of this archiving project, the software had not been used within the organization as a LL-DAMS (low-level digital asset management system). Now, one year later, the photo archiving project boasts over 1200 records that feature a glimpse into the museum’s past through images of former and current staff, trustees, celebrities, architectural renderings, and building photos. Next steps include incorporating gallery images, special event images, and researching the potential to offer the search mechanism to the public.

The presentation will focus on the following topics:

• Explanation of the original archiving challenge

• Brief overview of SharePoint technology

• Challenges encountered during the course of the project

• The current state of the search mechanism

• Future opportunities