Many thanks to everyone who responded to my query. Once I started researching it, it seemed very strange to me that there would be no tool available to do what I was asking, OR take the data and embed it into the IPTC fields. I know lots of photographers and artists use FileMaker or Excel to catalog their assets, without using Bridge or Lightroom to edit the files upon creation. Unfortunately, I have no PHP skills, or familiarity with working with APIs, so I can't really build a solution myself.
Apparently, there's some way to use Extensis Portfolio to import csv, tab-delimited, or Excel files into the IPTC fields of the images, but I don't have the funds to explore that option. I'm going to look into some of the open-source DAMS to see if they have that functionality. I also contacted John Fox to see if his software, Memory Miner (which we currently use to organize and upload our previously-undescribed assets into Flickr - http://www.memoryminer.com ) can import data via a csv. He's looking into it and doesn't think it would be that difficult to do. Chris, I'll check with your friend Brian and check it out. That sounds like a promising lead! The reasoning beyond all of this is that I want to get all of our collection assets into Flickr soon, and I'm giving a presentation next week at the CAM conference about using Flickr as a quick-n-dirty means for increasing access to collections. I'd love to have a handy solution right at hand to tell people exactly how to do it (beyond copy-paste). Best, ~Perian Perian Sully Collections Information Manager Web Programs Strategist The Magnes Berkeley, CA
