It’s well established that digital asset management (DAM) can assist businesses in a wide range of industries – from accountants and estate agents to graphic designers and ecommerce stores.
But it’s by no means restricted to organisations in the private sector. iBase’s innovative digital asset management software is used by a number of local authorities for a range of purposes.
In this post, we explore how DAM can help local authorities.
One of the most popular ways in which DAM software is used by local authorities is to facilitate an online image library. Local councils are typically responsible for the preservation of historical photos, which can range from decades gone by to the recent past – showing people going about their daily lives or recording notable buildings, for instance.
As an example, Edinburgh City Libraries uses a DAM system to store images of local and historical interest.
A similar system is used by Lancashire County Council Red Rose Collections, which regularly adds new images as they’re collected by the public library service.
Quite often, local heritage goes beyond images. Leicestershire County Council uses DAM software to present a wide range of historical archives for its libraries and museums.
Books, newspapers, maps, photographs, videos and even sound recordings are available on its growing online library. That includes pictures of important paintings and artefacts, so it really acts as an online museum for the local area.
The system is categorised by collections, with comprehensive subject hierarchy allowing users to search by broad categories or more specific tags. As a result, their site can be used to research everything from family trees and house history to school projects and local area studies.
That’s all complete with an integrated online payment system, so local residents – or those based further afield – can purchase digital or printed images all in one place.
While DAM is often used to share assets with the public, it can also be a tool for internal management. The City of London Corporation is a uniquely diverse local authority with offices at Mansoon House, Walbrook Wharf and outside the city centre, as well as its headquarters at Guildhall.
They run two of their sites using a single DAM system. The software allows them to manage assets from any location, and each site has its own interface, collections, metadata and administrator access. Authorised users at each site can search for assets by keyword, collection or geographical location, then download or share them as a link.
If like most local authorities, your organisation is struggling to manage an abundance of images, videos and other assets, iBase can help. Our innovative DAM software is used by a growing number of local councils to manage their assets digitally, making it easier and quicker to search, share, download and in some cases buy them.
Contact our team to find out more about how we can help.
