Dear Tony
The reason for the lack of initial responses may have been that it
all depends what you mean by an image management system. There are
over 115 different IMS on the market but although they may all have
similar elements of image management at their heart - they have very
individual additional functionality. Grant Young of TASI has prepared
an excellent overview (http://www.tasi.ac.uk/advice/delivering/
ims2.html )
I am currently assisting a group of Cambridge institutions to specify
a system (see Chris Burnside's email) - and trying to survey off-the-
shelf solutions that we can hook up with existing collections
databases - and there is no doubt that this a very fluid project. At
Cambridge, we do not feel that the current DSpace software offers
enough functionality - we look forward to developments and I will
certainly be getting in touch with Michael to discuss this.
There are a multiplicity of image management systems in place in
cultural institutions ranging from expensive customised systems based
on software such as IBase or System Simulation's Indexplus or
Fotoware -- to commercial picture library software, such as Prostock
and Capture. In between, there are systems, such as Extensis
Portfolio, that are much easier to set up - but limited in their
functionality. However, many of them are not set up to take direct
feeds or integrated within collections workflows or commercial
distribution. When we went digital during the NOF-funded project at
NMSI, we commissioned both customised and commercial systems in the 3
museums - and set up a workflow that fed both the commercial (Science
& Society Picture Library) and the cultural (Ingenious) websites at
the same time. This works very well - but we would of course make a
number of changes if we were to return to the project. The great
advantage of distributing through a commercial system (even if you do
not charge) is that you can analyse what you have and how it is used
- such functionality is built into the systems.
It is not possible to recommend a system until your institution has
decided on the immoveable criteria - including budget, potential
numbers of files, formats, numbers of users, required interface,
infrastructure, existing staff capabilities, workflows, etc.
Generally speaking, the process is iterative - especially if you want
to keep your costs down and ensure that the software will continue to
be supported. We may well implement interim IMS software while we are
working towards our ultimate IMS goal. At Cambridge, we want to
exchange data between our collections and our images systems - and to
be able to distribute through a variety of outlets - including
websites aimed at educational and commercial users.
There is still no 'one-size-fits-all' IMS for museums and galleries -
and many of us have imbedded stand-alone systems that still do not
talk to each other. In my experience, the preparation period is
critical and the implementation period is long and painful. Once
passed the pain is soon forgotten but it is difficult to recommend it.
I very much welcome this as a useful opening salvo in what I hope
will be a continuing exchange of information.
I would also be happy to chat with anyone about this offline.
best wishes
Angela
Angela Murphy
Consultant
Image Management and Rights Clearance
The Image Business
21 Leamington Road Villas
Notting Hill
London W11 1HS
Tel: +44-(0)20-77274920
Mob: +44-(0)7973-820020
email: [log in to unmask]
On 16 Nov 2007, at 10:44, HARRIS TONY wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> Having only had one response to my email below, can I take it
> nobody is
> using an image database? Surely not?
>
> Tony Harris
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> ---------------------------------
>
> We at the Government Art Collection would like to investigate an image
> database that can be linked to an SQL collections management
> system, and
> have some sort of permanently live link for data retrieval, can anyone
> recommend such a system? We are running the Argus CMS which used SQL.
>
> Regards
>
> Tony Harris
>
> New Media Officer & Photographer
> Government Art Collection
> 0044 (0)20 7580 9123
>
> www.gac.culture.gov.uk
>
>
>
>
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