A complete list of schools/units that participate in can be found here. If interested in acquiring access, please contact mdam-support@northwestern.edu.
Faculty and staff of the schools/units with active licenses can gain access to MDAM.
Student workers or those working with faculty/staff that are part of the access list can obtain access on a case by-case basis.
Visit https://northwestern.mediavalet.com/ and log in via SSO using your NetID and password. Upon initial login, you will be placed in a temporary "No Access" group. Within 24 hours or less, you will then be assigned to your appropriate user group. Please log out and log back in the next day to gain full access to all assets.
Once you’re properly added, you’ll be able to see folders for all schools and units. If you haven’t been added yet, you’ll only have access to assets in the Northwestern Media Kit.
Casual Users: Users with the ability to search, share, and download assets for which they have permissions. The vast majority of users are casual.
Power Users: Content creators with the ability to import assets, edit metadata, search, share, and download assets for which they have permissions.
Department Admins: School/unit administrators with the ability to approve download requests for restricted assets, import assets, edit metadata, search, share, and download assets.
We have three different usage rights that are available to all digital assets:
All-University Rights: For use in University-related media only (e.g., flyers, brochures, videos, and other marketing materials). Most assets in MDAM are All-University Rights.
All-Media Rights: Approved for both University-related and external media use (e.g., news outlets, media kits).
Restricted: Limited to use by the department that owns the asset. To use or download these assets, contact the designated Asset Usage Approver for permission.
Yes, when completing a search, you can filter by Created Date by clicking Custom Attributes, scroll down to Created Date, then enter your desired time range.
Please pay attention to Usage Rights before downloading assets. Assets labeled All-University Rights and All Media Rights can be downloaded without approval. Restricted assets will require permission to download.
For one asset, click the download icon on the asset's thumbnail.
For a group of assets, select your desired assets and click the download icon in the black menu bar at the bottom of the page.
Assets with Restricted usage rights are unable to be downloaded without permission from the school/unit of ownership.
The quickest way to receive permission to download a restricted asset is to email the asset usage approver. For details on how to use the in-system request download workflow instead, see the User Reference Guide.
Click the asset’s thumbnail and navigate to the Metadata tab. Click on Attributes, scroll down to Custom, and locate the Asset Usage Approver field.
In MediaValet, this is called the Object ID and helps anyone locate a specific asset. Click on an asset, then click its Metadata tab, Attributes, and scroll down to the Object ID field in the General section. You also have the ability to copy the Object ID number to your clipboard.
First, create a Category/folder for your assets to belong to by navigating to your school/unit’s folder in the Library.
Click the + where you would like to add a new subcategory/folder → Enter New Category Name → Save
Click Upload on the left menu bar
Drag and drop or choose files for upload → Continue
The system will walk you through adding additional details including Categories, Attributes, Keywords, and Descriptions.
PLEASE NOTE: If the assets will have Restricted Usage Rights, add them to your school/unit’s Restricted Assets folder in addition to other categories.
Power users will be prompted to Submit Assets for Approval.
Add assets to a New or Existing Collection. This will be a temporary holding space for the assets until they are approved by an Admin.
Select MDAM-Support or one of the other superadmins (Albert Bautista & Michelle Williams) to submit for approval.
Department Admin List
School/Unit
Asset Usage Approver/Department Admin
Admissions
Andrew Linnehan
Alumni Relations
Mark Meyer
Bienen School of Music
Katelyn Balling
Facilities
Sammi Balik
Human Resources
Noelia Vargas
Libraries & University Archives
Clare Roccaforte
McCormick School of Engineering
Brian Sandalow
Medill
Mackenzie Warren
Northwestern IT
Steve Christensen
NU Qatar
Abrara Rageh
Office of the Provost
Gina Bazer
Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy
Stephanie Teterycz
School of Education and School Policy (SESP)
Julie Deardorff
The Block Museum
Lindsay Bosch
Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
Katie Falcone
Power users and Department Admins can edit metadata on individual assets and groups of assets.
Select the assets that you would like to edit by either selecting each thumbnail, or selecting the full page of assets.
In the black menu bar at the bottom of the page, select the pencil icon to Edit Metadata. You’ll be prompted to either edit Attributes or Keywords. Attributes are the main pieces of metadata.
Enter desired information into the metadata field you would like to change. Click Apply.
Power users and Department Admins can edit the categories assets belong to.
Select the assets that you would like to edit by either selecting each thumbnail, or selecting the full page of assets.
In the black menu bar at the bottom of the page, select the folder icon to Edit Categories.
Select your desired categories, including any subcategories. Click Apply.
Power users and Department Admins can edit folder structure and their names in Settings. If you need to delete a folder, please contact MDAM Support.
Anyone with access to MDAM, including individuals from schools/units with active licenses, can view all images in the system. All users must adhere to listed usage rights and notes.
In the DAM Resources folder within MDAM, you will find a handy User Reference Guide and previously recorded training sessions that can be watched anytime.
