Ten Tips on Organizing Your Media Assets

1. Define how you want to arrange the media within the library. For example, media elements can be organized in by shelf and bin according to bar code number or date. Or alphabetically by title. However you decide to set up the library make sure that it matches the way your organization produces and thinks about their assets.

2. Bar code each media element as it comes into the library. This will immediately give it a unique identifier. Then enter one or two basic descriptive pieces of information, such as the date and title. You now have already established a structure by which you can track your important assets.

3. Think about how people in your organization think about their work and product. Use this as the basis for defining the data by which you want to manage your media library. Some groups track media by production crew; some by date and title, and others by show. However you define these data they should reflect how your users think about their work.

4. When a person wants to view, edit or use a media element in some way it then becomes real time to enter more information into your system about the element.

5. Log new tapes as they come into the library. Try to keep up with current logging and you will be way ahead of the game.

6. Bar code and scan in raw tape. In this way you can maintain inventory count of raw stock and buy only when you need it.

7. Scan out your media not only to a location but actually to the user who has the element. In this way you have accountability for where the asset goes if the asset moves around and is not properly tracked by scanning current locations.

8. Use an overdue alert system to keep assets from assets, which have been out of the library for too long a period.

9. Put computers out in the production environment and let your users search for tapes themselves. This will take some of the pressure off of your library staff and will allow your users to find footage for themselves and make requests for specific assets rather then have your library staff try to find them.

10. Buy the Nesbit Systems Media Library System.