Hello members of the MCN community, I'm proud to announce that, through a partnership between MCN and the MOAC consortium, MCN is now distributing to you, the members, a new free software tool for managing and sharing museum digital collections content. A description of the tool follows below and you can download it with documentation from the MCN website at:
http://www.mcn.edu/resources/index.asp?subkey=1980 -------------------------------------------------- Digital Asset Management Database (DAMD) Building on previous successful work in the areas of standards and online collections access, the new MOAC software tool, the Digital Asset Management Database (DAMD), has been developed as both a utilitarian tool and as a test case for exploring more general issues of content sharing and community tool development. This tool has two primary functions that can be used together or separately: it provides basic digital asset management for simple to complex media objects and it easily transforms collections information into an extensible variety of standards-based XML formats, such as METS and OAI, to allow even small organizations without technical staff to share their collections broadly and participate in building a national network of culture. DAMD was developed as an "open solution," built on FileMaker Pro software (8.5 or above) because of the broad base of installed users of FileMaker in the museum and arts communities. DAMD is available for free to cultural organizations. The tool, and its unique export/transform functions (detailed in the documentation), are open-ended, allowing organizations to customize the tool for themselves or the community to improve the tool for all. Thanks to funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, DAMD is now ready to be shared freely with the cultural heritage community. Here you may download your own copy of the Digital Asset Management Database (DAMD), which works in FileMaker Pro Version 8.5 or above for Mac or Windows. The download includes a PDF version of the DAMD manual, with annotated screenshots. -------------------------------------------------- This tool was developed by the MOAC consortium and the Berkeley Art Museum with support from the IMLS. You can find out more about the project that lead up to the release of this tool, "MOAC: Community Toolbox", at: http://bampfa.berkeley.edu/moac/ I'd like to thank IMLS for supporting this project and the MCN leadership for distributing this tool to the community. Enjoy! -- Richard Rinehart --------------- Digital Media Director & Adjunct Curator Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive bampfa.berkeley.edu --------------- University of California, Berkeley --------------- 2625 Durant Ave. Berkeley, CA, 94720-2250 ph.510.642.5240 fx.510.642.5269
