How DAM search improves access to collections

3rd November 2026

One of the primary benefits of digitising an arts and heritage collection is to make it more accessible, both for internal teams and the general public. However, just because a collection has been ‘digitised’, it’s not necessarily discoverable.

An item has been digitised as soon as a digital image of that item has been created, but if it simply sits in storage media or on someone’s personal computer, no one else is going to be able to find it.

For arts and heritage institutions to actually benefit from collection digitisation, the assets need to be easy to find by all stakeholders, and a Digital Asset Management system’s digital collections search functionality takes this to the next level.

Different user groups search your collections in different ways

Arts and heritage DAM Managers need to recognise that different user groups search for assets in different ways, and your metadata strategy and processes needs to take all of these into account.

Curators and researchers search with precision

Curators and researchers often know exactly what they are looking for, searching accession numbers, controlled vocabularies, artist names, collection references or exact catalogue terms. For these users, accurate and consistent metadata is essential. The record needs to match the terminology they already know.

With this in mind, if an accession number is missing or a subject term has been applied inconsistently, an item can be difficult to retrieve even when it has been digitised and stored correctly. In order for it to work for curators and researchers, a DAM system should be designed around structured metadata to cater for these precise searches, allowing specialists to narrow results using known identifiers and established terminology. This helps them to locate specific assets efficiently and makes the collection more useful for curatorial work.

Marketing and communications teams use collection and object names

Marketing and communications teams may need the same collection images as curators, but they often search in a different way. Rather than knowing an accession number or formal catalogue term, they might look for a painting by its commonly known title, an image of a particular gallery or a photograph of an object featured in an upcoming exhibition.

However, if the DAM is only configured with formal catalogue fields, marketing and comms users might struggle to find relevant assets in the collection. This means they have to try several different searches or browse folders manually, before eventually having to send a request to the DAM manager or archivist. Ultimately, these requests take time away from collections management tasks and create a bottleneck for marketing projects.

Your metadata strategy should accommodate both specialist and everyday terminology, so record preferred object names, alternative titles, artist names and relevant exhibition terms alongside reference numbers. This makes DAM searches more intuitive, allowing marketing teams to work independently and ensuring collection images can be reused across campaigns, websites and social media without repeated internal requests.

The public uses natural language

If your institution makes digital collections available to the public, you also need to consider how this group will search the library.

They’re unlikely to know how a museum has catalogued an item, particularly if the DAM relies on accession numbers or specialist subject classification, instead searching using plain descriptions. For example, some would search using terms like ‘Victorian toys’ or ‘paintings of local landscapes’, while others browse by theme, period or area of interest.

Relying exclusively on formal catalogue terminology can shut these users out, but arguably they’re the most important audience of all. To improve public discovery, institutions should consider alternative titles, common names, descriptive keywords and relevant place names alongside formal catalogue records. To take this further, filters and suggested search terms can help visitors explore related material where appropriate. This isn’t about replacing specialist archiving, but connecting it with the language people actually use, helping more users to discover and engage with collections.

The foundations of effective search you control day to day

Effective collection search relies on four foundations:

consistent metadata
controlled vocabularies
useful filters
integration with your collections management system

Automated tagging can help speed up cataloguing, but it cannot guarantee accurate, consistent results on its own. Arts and heritage institutions need defined standards that everyone follows, from the DAM Manager to external contributors, so assets remain searchable as collections grow.

Consistent metadata and clear standards

Agreed metadata standards make collection assets quicker to find because every record follows the same rules.

Define which fields are required, how dates and object names should be recorded and which identifiers must be included. For example, if one contributor records an object's material as ‘wood’ while another uses ‘wooden’, searches may return inconsistent results unless these terms are managed appropriately.

The DAM Manager and archivists should establish these standards and make them easy to follow, while contributing users must apply them consistently. Automated tagging can suggest descriptions, but human oversight and clear rules help maintain the accuracy that specialist collections demand.

Controlled vocabularies and synonyms

Controlled vocabularies provide arts and heritage institutions with an agreed set of terms for describing collection items. For example, the Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) is used for describing items of art, architecture and material culture, and is used by museums, art libraries, archives, catalogers and researchers.

However, specialist terminology does not always match the language used by other audiences, but synonyms and alternative search terms bridge the gap. An object catalogued using a formal term might also be discoverable through a common name or everyday description. By connecting these terms in your metadata or search configuration, you help curators, researchers and public users find the same object using the language familiar to them.

Faceted filters that narrow results fast

Faceted DAM filters let users refine a large set of search results without having to guess increasingly specific keywords. For example, depending on the metadata available, users might filter by date, material, collection, location or creator, allowing them to narrow thousands of results to a particular decade or location in a few clicks.

For collections managers, the key is choosing facets that reflect how people actually explore the collection. Within ResourceSpace, the simple search panel is available on every page of the DAM interface, allowing users to search for assets from anywhere in the system. The basic panel includes a general search box alongside resource type and date, but additional metadata fields can be added to the panel for more refined searches.

Integration with your collections management system

Connecting your DAM to a collections management system such as EMu, The Museum System (TMS) or MuseumPlus helps keep catalogue information and digital assets in step. Instead of entering object names, accession numbers and classifications twice, relevant data can flow between the systems automatically, reducing duplication and inconsistencies.

ResourceSpace’s integration with MuseumPlus was key for the Ashmolean Museum, as well as the institution’s other systems.

“The integration with MuseumPlus was a key requirement for us,” said Christopher Monaghan, the Ashmolean’s Museum Systems Implementation Manager.

“Without it, our collections management process would be inefficient and, frankly, chaotic.”

ResourceSpace has enabled us to make digital resources accessible across the museum in one centralised place that is searchable and organised, with metadata and tools to enable better rights management, more consistent standards, and more efficient preservation of assets.

To find out more about how ResourceSpace leverages collections management system integration, controlled vocabularies metadata and AI image tagging for archives to improve digital collections search, book your free discovery call below.