Open Forum

Hello everyone,

My Institution, The Tennessee State Museum, is currently evaluating how to better organize and manage our digital image assets and rights documentation. We use Argus as our collections management system and are exploring whether it could also serve as a centralized repository for digital assets beyond accessioned objects.

Our goal is to create a searchable system that includes not only images of collection objects but also the many images we acquire and use for exhibitions, publications, marketing, educational materials, and research.

We're currently asking ourselves questions such as:

• Do you use your collections management system (Argus or another CMS) to manage digital image assets in addition to collection records?
• If you use Argus, have you created a separate module or record type for images or digital assets?
• How do you manage images that are not part of your permanent collection (e.g., licensed images from archives, exhibition graphics, historical reference photographs, maps, marketing images, audiovisual materials, etc.)?
• Do these assets receive their own records, or are they organized elsewhere?
• How do you document copyright status, permissions, credit lines, and licensing agreements?
• Are permissions attached directly to image records, or are they managed in a separate database or file system?
• What metadata fields have you found most useful for making images searchable and reusable?
• How do you prevent duplicate image records while still tracking where an image has been used (exhibitions, publications, marketing, websites, etc.)?

Our current thinking is to use Argus as the searchable database while storing the digital files themselves in our institutional storage system, with Argus serving as the primary point of access to the images and their associated rights information.

I'd be very interested in hearing how other museums—particularly those using Argus, but also those using other collections management systems—have approached digital asset management. What has worked well for your institution, and are there any lessons learned or pitfalls you would recommend avoiding?

Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences!