Triple-eye what?: Applying Delivering Archives and Digital Objects: a Conceptual Model (DadoCM) in practice

Delivering Archives and Digital Objects: a Conceptual Model (DadoCM) is a new framework for describing and delivering access to digital materials. Designed to be practical for repositories of all sizes, DadoCM empowers archivists to apply the same aggregate and extensible methods that work well for paper records to digital content. The model supports implementation at multiple levels, from simple links to digital files to complex, multi-level representations using IIIF manifests.

Archivists often struggle to scale workflows for growing volumes of digital materials. Most digital repository platforms lack native support for aggregate description and assume detailed metadata for each item-an unsustainable practice that only addresses portions of our collections. DadoCM offers a flexible approach that allows archivists and technologists to align digital object access with established archival practices and is specifically designed to meet the needs of less resourced repositories, many of whom have piled up digitized images on local or cloud storage and struggle to find a sustainable way to make those materials accessible and that effort more impactful.

Developed through a participatory process as part of the (formerly) IMLS-funded ArcLight Integration Project, DadoCM is system-agnostic and works with common platforms such as ArchivesSpace, Archive-It, and various digital repositories. The panel will include DadoCM contributors and early adopters, representing a range of institution types, resource levels, and personal identities. The discussion will explore how rethinking digital object models can lead to more sustainable, discoverable, and impactful access strategies.

Delivering Archives and Digital Objects: a Conceptual Model (DadoCM), is a new framework designed to establish common processes for description and access for digital objects. DadoCM is designed to be feasible for repositories of all sizes to implement and should empower archivists to use the same aggregate and extensible processing and description methods that work well for paper records to digital materials. DadoCM should provide guidelines for both archivists and technologists and should support many levels of implementations, from basic linking to individual documents to embedding complex multi-level digital objects using International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) manifests.

Panel Discussion