Article Summary: “When Archivists and Digital Asset Managers Collide: Tensions and Ways Forward" by Anthony Cocciolo
In the digital era, some titles in library science have been rebranded. An association with data and computing is expected to attract prestige and money. LIS programs are becoming iSchools, and LIS graduates are more frequently pursuing jobs like “data architect,” “digital librarian,” or “digital preservationist.” Sometimes these positions are rebranded versions of the same thing, but sometimes they are truly new jobs. Cocciolo’s article discusses the “digital asset manager” and how this position collides with that of the archivist. He carries out a case study at an art museum with one digital asset manager and two archivists. The digital asset manager was brought on in 2012 to manage the digital asset management (DAM) software. At first, the digital asset manager worked solely with the photography department, since DAM is most established in digital photography. Tensions arose, however, when the DAM spread to other departments throughout the museum. Essential...