Digital asset management at a non-profit: The many layers of the White House Historical Association’s digital library

Abstract

This paper provides a case study of the development, launch and expansion of the White House Historical Association’s (WHHA) Digital Library. The Digital Library supports the WHHA’s core mission to protect, preserve and provide a comprehensive history of the White House by storing and displaying materials for users to access. As this paper shows, the digital asset management (DAM) system that powers the Digital Library not only supports WHHA’s internal needs, but also allows team members to control access to assets in order to provide a research tool for a variety of audiences without disrupting the user experience for WHHA staff. The paper also highlights how the DAM system functions as a collaborative workspace for ingesting assets into the Digital Library, and describes the multiple methods of accessing and delivering image files to internal and external users. Finally, this case study demonstrates how organisations of all sizes can best use DAM to support their missions and make their resources accessible to the public on their own terms.