Poster For Kelsey Project

Observe to Assess, Assess to Optimize —Assess Collection Images at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology

The Project This project evaluates the Kelsey Museum's

current digitization practices and offers recommendations for improving the Museum's systems for storage, retrieval and long-term preservation of artifacts digital images.

Kelsey’s Present Practices

Problems and Recommendations

The Kelsey image collection’s present practices include image creation, digital asset management, storage and online presentation, all aspects of a digital image system.

Problem Statements It is not capable of supporting efficient retrieval, its image quality cannot always meet the needs of users

The assessment covers three aspects:

the scale of its online display is too small and

Kelsey’s present practices; other museums’ practices; Kelsey’s possible approaches to a sustainable future.

has not been updated regularly

Metadata

No updating

The recommendations target to situate the

museum’s digitization project in a bigger picture as a way to help Kelsey make decisions that benefits a long-time preservation.

Image quality ?

Images

Equipments Image Quality Database software Metadata Online Gallery Thoughts about future

Develop collection digital preservation policy. Web Presentation

Creation

Other Museums Museum of Anthropology Museum of Sindecuse Museum of Art

Recommendations

No updating

Efficient retrival ?

Storage

Kelsey’s Present Practices The image collection plays its role as the primary image source for both internal usages and external services. However, the system cannot function as the solid base for a sustainable collection yet.

Improve the image quality

Give suggestions on both in-house photo shooting and collaboration with photographers from the library of University of Michigan.

Achieve Efficient Retrieval and Optimize

Access • Provide both short-term and long-term solutions. • Recommend Digital Asset Management Database (DAMD), a platform tool to standardize the metadata construction. • An overview of five digital asset management systems and online access applications

Xiaoli Ma, School of Information,University of Michigan