Embedding metadata to sustain a museum’s visual archive

Abstract

Museums constantly face challenges when it comes to staying current with technological advances. Whether it involves lack of staffing, IT infrastructure or funding, maintaining best practices can be a struggle. The Worcester Art Museum (WAM) remains committed to digital outreach despite its own internal struggles and retains staff dedicated to thinking outside of the digital box to deliver images to all stakeholders while ensuring a digital object’s sustainability without the use of a digital asset management system. This case study looks at how attention to file-naming structure, along with embedding metadata, can ensure higher standards of preservation and sustainability along with day-to-day needs.