Resources
Disclaimer: The following resources have been compiled here as a helpful navigation guide for cultural heritage imaging, photography, and industry standards in GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums). These links are provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only. I do not have control over the information published beyond my own webpage. Please follow the linked third-party websites for more detailed information.
Last updated: 26 March 2025
American Alliance of Museums (AAM)
https://www.aam-us.org/
The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is the only organization representing the entire museum field, from art and history museums to science centers and zoos. Since 1906, we have been championing museums through advocacy and providing museum professionals with the resources, knowledge, inspiration, and connections they need to move the field forward.
American Institute for Conservation (AIC) & Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC)
https://www.culturalheritage.org/
AIC: We are the national membership organization supporting conservation professionals in preserving cultural heritage by establishing and upholding professional standards, promoting research and publications, providing educational opportunities, and fostering the exchange of knowledge among conservators, allied professionals, and the public.
FAIC: Our mission is to save cultural heritage for future generations, protecting it from decay and destruction.
We advance research and education, lead treatment and collection care initiatives, and deploy conservation expertise to where it is most urgently needed. Our work empowers conservation professionals, strengthens cultural institutions, and engages stakeholders, including public audiences, as we work together to protect cultural heritage for humanity.
Online publications: https://www.culturalheritage.org/publications/online-publications
The AIC Guide to Digital Photography and Conservation Documentation
American Library Association (ALA) & Association for Library Collections
https://www.ala.org/
The American Library Association (ALA) is the oldest and largest library association in the world. Founded on October 6, 1876 during the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, the mission of ALA is “to provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.”
Association for Library Collections & Technical Services, a division of the American Library Association (ALCTS)
https://www.ala.org/alcts/
ALCTS is the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services, a division of the American Library Association. ALCTS is the national association for information providers who work in collections and technical services, such as acquisitions, cataloging, metadata, collection management, preservation, electronic and continuing resources. To shape and respond nimbly to all matters related to the selection, identification, acquisition, organization, management, retrieval, and preservation of recorded knowledge through education, publication, and collaboration.
ALCTS Preservation and Reformatting - Minimum Digitization Capture Recommendations
Cultural Heritage Imaging (CHI)
https://culturalheritageimaging.org/
Cultural Heritage Imaging (CHI) drives development and adoption of practical digital imaging and preservation solutions for people passionate about saving humanity's treasures today, before they are lost. Our vision at CHI is to democratize technology, empowering people all over the world to document their own cultural heritage, helping to preserve and protect it for future generations. The technologies and principles that guide our work are leading to new and easy-to-learn imaging techniques that can be made available and accessible to people all over the world. By providing tools, technology, and training, CHI drives the adoption of new practices by a broad constituency, from major art museums to remote archaeological sites to fields in the natural sciences.
Digital Transitions Cultural Heritage (DTCH)
https://heritage-digitaltransitions.com/
DT Heritage is the leading provider of digitization solutions for the world’s leading institutions, corporations, research facilities, libraries, museums, and archives. Through cutting-edge technology and our own in-house proficiency, we provide turnkey digitization solutions that combine advanced digitization systems, sophisticated automation software, and industry-leading training and expertise. Those same elements are also the foundation of our state-of-the-art service division, staffed by industry experts experienced in preserving the most valuable and challenging collections. DT’s mission from day one has been to bring together an integrated collective of experts in engineering, photography, collections care, and art history, as well as a passionate in-house R&D staff, and a world renowned support team to innovate solutions to the industry’s most difficult digitization challenges. For over two decades DT’s products, services, and knowledge have been relied upon by the most discerning organizations in the world. And today we continue that mission by developing new technology and techniques to achieve the highest level of imaging fidelity and efficiency. Because we believe every detail is worth preserving.
DT Live Events & Training
DT Project Lemonade (webinars and tutorials during the covid pandemic 2020-2022)
Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative (FADGI)
https://www.digitizationguidelines.gov/
FADGI is a collaborative effort started in 2007 by federal agencies to articulate common sustainable practices and guidelines for digitized and born digital historical, archival and cultural content. Two working groups study issues specific to two major areas, Still Image and Audio-Visual.
FADGI Guidelines: https://www.digitizationguidelines.gov/guidelines/
Still Image Working Group Guidelines
Technical Guidelines for the Still Image Digitization of Cultural Heritage Materials
• 2022 DRAFT of Revised Guidelines, 3rd Edition
Minimal Descriptive Embedded Metadata in Digital Still Images
Content Categories & Digitization Objectives
Digital Imaging Framework
Embedded Metadata in TIFF Images
General Digital Content Guidelines
File Format Comparisons
ImageMuse
https://www.imagemuse.org/
A discussion group of cultural heritage imaging, DAM and publishing professionals who pose questions and share information on topics ranging from color management and science to cultural heritage photography and workflows in DAMs and publishing. Members of ImageMuse hold professional positions at the institutions listed on our website, however their employers are not officially associated with ImageMuse. Members in ImageMuse pose questions and offer solutions regarding cultural heritage imaging workflows.
Institute of Museum and Library Services
https://www.imls.gov/
The mission of IMLS is to advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. The agency carries out its charge as it adapts to meet the changing needs of our nation’s museums and libraries and their communities. IMLS’s mission is essential to helping these institutions navigate change and continue to improve their services. IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage.
International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF)
https://iiif.io/
IIIF is a set of open standards for delivering high-quality, attributed digital objects online at scale. It’s also an international community developing and implementing the IIIF APIs. IIIF is backed by a consortium of leading cultural institutions. IIIF is a way to standardize the delivery of images and audio/visual files from servers to different environments on the Web where they can then be viewed and interacted with in many ways. Modern Web browsers understand how to display formats like .jpg and .mp4 at defined sizes, but cannot do much else. The IIIF specifications align with general Web standards that define how all browsers work to enable richer functionality beyond viewing an image or audio/visual files. For images, that means enabling deep zoom, comparison, structure (i.e., for an object such as a book, structure = page order) and annotation. For audio/visual materials, that means being able to deliver complex structures (such as several reels of film that make up a single movie) along with things like captions, transcriptions/translations, annotations, and more. IIIF makes these objects work in a consistent way. That enables portability across viewers, the ability to connect and unite materials across institutional boundaries, and more.
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
https://www.imls.gov/
IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage.
International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC)
https://www.iptc.org/
The IPTC is the global standards body of the news media. We provide the technical foundation for the news ecosystem. Our mission is to simplify the distribution of information. We develop and promote efficient technical standards to improve the management and exchange of information between content providers, intermediaries and consumers. We thereby enable easy, cost-effective and rapid innovation and product development. We are committed to open standards and make all of our standards freely available to our members and the wider community. Founded in 1965 and based in London, the IPTC brings together the world's leading news agencies, publishers and industry vendors.
IPTC Photo Metadata Standard 2021.1 (by IPTC Photo Metadata Working Group, office@iptc.org, Version 2021.1 Revision 1, 2021-10-21)
Annual IPTC Photo Metadata Conference
Society for Imaging Science & Technology (IS&T)
https://www.imaging.org/
The first place technical professionals and users go for knowledge on techniques, processes, and systems for imaging. Founded in 1947, the Society for Imaging Science and Technology (imaging.org) is a professional international organization dedicated to keeping members and others apprised of the latest scientific and technological developments in the field of imaging through conferences, educational programs, publications, and its website. IS&T encompasses all aspects of imaging science, with particular emphasis on digital printing, electronic imaging, color science, image preservation, photofinishing, pre-press technologies, hybrid imaging systems, and silver halide research.
Library of Congress (LOC)
https://www.loc.gov/
The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, films and video, audio recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.
Preservation Metadata: Implementation Strategies (PREMIS)
https://www.loc.gov/standards/premis/
The PREMIS Data Dictionary for Preservation Metadata is the international standard for metadata to support the preservation of digital objects and ensure their long-term usability. Developed by an international team of experts, PREMIS is implemented in digital preservation projects around the world, and support for PREMIS is incorporated into a number of commercial and open-source digital preservation tools and systems. The PREMIS Editorial Committee coordinates revisions and implementation of the standard, which consists of the Data Dictionary, an XML schema, and supporting documentation.
LOC - Metadata for Digital Content (MDC)
Developing institution-wide policies and standards at the Library of Congress. Over the years the Library of Congress' digital projects have generated many digital objects and these objects have been given various levels and types of descriptive metadata. The Library has assembled several use cases that require a more coordinated and standardized approach to the creation and management of this descriptive metadata.
LOC - Recommended Formats Statement
Best practices for ensuring the preservation of, and long-term access to, the creative output of the national and the world in both analog and digital formats. Recommended Formats Statement identifies hierarchies of the physical and technical characteristics of creative formats, both analog and digital, which will best meet the needs of all concerned, maximizing the chances for survival and continued accessibility of creative content well into the future.
LOC – Sustainability of Digital Formats
In considering the suitability of particular digital formats for the purposes of preserving digital information as an authentic resource for future generations, it is useful to articulate important factors that affect choices. The seven sustainability factors listed below apply across digital formats for all categories of information. These factors influence the likely feasibility and cost of preserving the information content in the face of future change in the technological environment in which users and archiving institutions operate. They are significant whatever strategy is adopted as the basis for future preservation actions: migration to new formats, emulation of current software on future computers, or a hybrid approach.
Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC)
https://www.nedcc.org/
The NEDCC | Northeast Document Conservation Center is a nonprofit organization specializing in paper-based conservation, digital imaging, audio reformatting, and preservation services. Our mission is to improve the conservation and preservation efforts of libraries, archives, historical organizations, museums, and other repositories; to provide the highest quality services to institutions without in-house conservation facilities or those that seek specialized expertise; and to provide leadership in the preservation and conservation fields.
Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute (MCI)
https://www.si.edu/mci/
The Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute (MCI) is the center for specialized technical collection research and conservation for all Smithsonian museums and collections. MCI combines knowledge of materials and the history of technology with state-of-the-art instrumentation and scientific techniques to provide technical research studies and interpretation of artistic, anthropological, biological, and historical objects. Through its Healthy Environments, Healthy Practices, Healthy Collections initiative and the training program Preventing Illicit Trafficking – Protecting Cultural Heritage, MCI responds to the threats that will affect cultural heritage in multiple and complex ways, including developing and using less invasive and less damaging materials and procedures for collection conservation and supporting U.S. agencies and the museum community in protecting cultural heritage from looting and theft. MCI, as the only Smithsonian resource for technical studies and scientific analyses for most of the Smithsonian’s collections, brings unique analytical capabilities to Smithsonian researchers, including a central mass spectroscopy instrument core and advanced technological capabilities. These services are available to Smithsonian units at no charge. In addition to requests for consultations from within the Smithsonian, MCI responds to requests from affiliates and outside organizations, such as the White House, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Department of Homeland Security—Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of State, and other federal, museum, and academic organizations.
MCI's Complete Publication Listing on Smithsonian Research Online
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
https://www.archives.gov/
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation's record keeper. Of all documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United States federal government, only 1%-3% are so important for legal or historical reasons that they are kept by us forever.
National Archives: Records Express Blog
https://records-express.blogs.archives.gov/
Records Express is the official blog of the Office of the Chief Records Office (OCRO) at the National Archives. The OCRO provides records management leadership, oversight, guidance, and service to Federal agencies so they will appropriately manage their records for as long as needed to carry out their mission. As a result of that work, NARA can properly preserve and provide access to records that document the national experience and protect legal rights.
National Archives - Preservation
Best Practices for File Naming (2017)
Guidelines for Digitizing Archival Materials for Electronic Access (2004)
National Information Standards Organization (NISO)
https://www.niso.org/
NISO, the National Information Standards Organization, is a non-profit association accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). We identify, develop, maintain, and publish technical standards and recommended practices to manage information in today's continually changing digital environment. NISO standards apply to both traditional and new technologies and to information across its whole lifecycle, from creation through documentation, use, repurposing, storage, metadata, and preservation.
A Framework of Guidance for Building Good Digital Collections (NISO, 2007)
Rijksmuseum 2D/3D Photography Conference
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/lectures-symposiums/2and3d-photography
2and3D Photography LinkedIn group
”This is a group to share information on 2D and 3D digital photography, best practices, standardized workflows and a variety of applications for cultural heritage photography professionals: photographers and studio managers.”