Hitting the Road towards a Greater Digital Destination: Evaluating and Testing DAMS at the University of Houston Libraries

Authors

  • Annie Wu University of Houston Libraries http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1611-4574
  • Santi Thompson University of Houston Libraries
  • Rachel Vacek University of Houston Libraries
  • Sean Watkins University of Houston Libraries
  • Andy Weidner University of Houston Libraries

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v35i2.9152

Abstract

Since 2009, tens of thousands of rare and unique items have been made available online for research through the University of Houston Digital Library.  Six years later, the Libraries' new digital initiatives call for a more dynamic digital repository infrastructure that is extensible, scalable, and interoperable. The Libraries’ mission and the mandate of its strategic directions drives the pursuit of seamless access and expanded digital collections. To answer the calls for technological change, the Libraries Administration appointed a Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) Implementation Task Force to explore, evaluate, test, recommend, and implement a more robust digital asset management system. This article focuses on the task force’s DAMS selection activities: needs assessment, systems evaluation, and systems testing. The authors also describe the task force’s DAMS recommendation based on the evaluation and testing data analysis, a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of each system, and system cost. Finally, the authors outline their DAMS implementation strategy comprised of a phased rollout with the following stages: system installation, data migration, and interface development.

Author Biographies

Annie Wu, University of Houston Libraries

Head of Metadata and Digitization Services

Santi Thompson, University of Houston Libraries

Head of Repository Services

Rachel Vacek, University of Houston Libraries

Head of Web Services

Sean Watkins, University of Houston Libraries

Web Projects Manager

Andy Weidner, University of Houston Libraries

Metadata Services Coordinator

References

The University of Houston Libraries Strategic Directions, 2013-2016, http://info.lib.uh.edu/sites/default/files/docs/strategic-directions/2013-2016-libraries-strategic-directions-final.pdf (accessed July 22nd, 2015)

Dion Hoe‐Lian Goh, Alton Chua, Davina Anqi Khoo, Emily Boon-Hui Khoo, Eric Bok-Tong Mak, Maple Wen-Min Ng, “A Checklist for Evaluating Open Source Digital Library Software,” Online Information Review 30, no. 4 (July 13, 2006): 360–379.

Jody L DeRidder, “Choosing Software for a Digital Library,” Library Hi Tech News 24, no. 9 (2007): 19–21.

Jennifer L. Marill and Edward C. Luczak, “Evaluation of Digital Repository Software at the National Library of Medicine,” D-Lib Magazine 15, no. 5/6 (May 2009).

Dora Wagner and Kent Gerber, “Building A Shared Digital Collection: The Experience of the Cooperating Libraries in Consortium,” College & Undergraduate Libraries 18 (2011): pp. 272-290.

Wagner and Gerber, “Building a Shared Digital Collection,” pp. 280-284.

Georgios Gkoumas and Fortis Lazarinis, “Evaluation and Usage Scenarios of Open Source Digital Library and Collection Management Tools,” Electronic Library and Information Systems 49, no 3 (2015): 226-241.

Gkoumas and Lazarinis, “Evaluation and Usage Scenarios,” pp. 238-239.

Mathieu Andro, Emmanuelle Asselin, and Marc Maisonneuve, “Digital Libraries: Comparison of 10 Software,” Library Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services 36 (2012): 79-83. doi: 10.1016/j.lcats.2012.05.002

Heather Gilbert and Tyler Mobley, “Breaking Up with CONTENTdm: Why and How One Institution Took the Leap to Open Source,” Code4Lib Journal 20 (2013):

http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/8327.

NISO Framework Working Group with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. A Framework of Guidance for Building Good Digital Collections. Baltimore, MD: National Information Standards Organization (NISO), 2007.

W3C: Linked Data Platform 1.0: http://www.w3.org/TR/ldp/ (accessed July 22nd, 2015)

DSpace: http://www.dspace.org/ (accessed July 22nd, 2015)

Fedora Repository Home: https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/FF/Fedora+Repository+Home (accessed July 22nd, 2015)

Hydra Project: http://projecthydra.org/ (accessed July 22nd, 2015)

Duraspace Wiki: Portland Common Data Model: https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/FF/Portland+Common+Data+Model (accessed July 22nd, 2015)

Downloads

Published

2016-06-30

How to Cite

Wu, A., Thompson, S., Vacek, R., Watkins, S., & Weidner, A. (2016). Hitting the Road towards a Greater Digital Destination: Evaluating and Testing DAMS at the University of Houston Libraries. Information Technology and Libraries, 35(2), 5–18. https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v35i2.9152

Issue

Section

Articles