1. To develop core data standard(s) for cataloging each material
type (specimen data, manuscript pages, photographs, sound, etc.)
in the project by analyzing each type and evaluating which fields
are appropriate.
2. To be aware of syntactical systems for data presentation (such
as XML, aka eXtensible Markup Language) and make recommendations
for data storage.
3. To assure that all project metadata maps to MARC, or to provide
good, documented reasons why it doesn't.
4. To develop and maintain authority lists (in cooperation with
the Geography, Taxonomy, and Content Working Groups); to determine
ways to share those lists with project participants and others.
5. To automate cataloging as much as possible in order to reduce
cataloging costs while enhancing accessibility and optimizing
resource discovery.
6. To evaluate externally-created data sets as they arrive and
to determine whether the data can be useful to the project without
extensive re-working.
7. To make project data accessible and usable to all interested
audiences, including but not limited to non-English speakers,
hearing- and sight-impaired people, and children.
8. To identify members for an inter-disciplinary, inter-institutional
cataloging and metadata advisory group, and to manage this group.
9. To develop cataloging and metadata expert contacts within
this institution, in other institutions, and possibly in the commercial
sector. Communication with these contacts will be documented as
per project procedures.
1. This group will participate in or monitor the participation
of other Museum representatives in the process of defining metadata
standards for museum objects, especially natural-science-related
museum objects.
As of now, the major emerging standard for museum metadata is
the Dublin Core standard being developed by the Consortium for
the Computer Interchange of Museum Information (CIMI). Other initiatives
to monitor include the International Council of Museums' (ICOM)
Committee for Museum Documentation (CIDOC), as well as certain
World Wide Web Consortium working groups and the activities of
the UK Interoperability Focus (part of UK Online Networks, UKOLN).
Other metadata standards to monitor include:
· For geography, the Federal Geographic Data
Committee (FGDC) standard
· For taxonomy, the Association for Systematic Collections
(ASC) information model, also the National Biological Information
Infrastructure (NBII) Metadata Standard and the Integrated Taxonomic
Information System (ITIS) model.
2. MARC crosswalk maps will be collected or created for all metadata
schemes that we consider. If this is not possible, this group
will document the reason why.
3. Analyze each material type that will be included in the project,
observing what kind of metadata has been collected on each material
type, and by whom. Develop a data standard based on these observations
and on emerging standards.
4. Collect information on cataloging authorities for different
types of information, such as indexes of taxonomic names, thesauri,
gazetteers, etc. Evaluate these authorities for potential use
in the project. Investigate how best to incorporate local authority
lists with these third-party authorities.
We may choose to run the outside authority utilities in parallel
with local authority lists, or we may incorporate our authorities
into these third-party lists, or items from outside authority
lists may be incorporated into our tables.
5. Investigate and implement systems and techniques for automated
cataloging, including automated indexing and keyword extraction.
6. Document the discovery and/or development of all authority
information, and note difficulties and suggestions for improvement
by preparing regular reports. Review and administer rights for
use of material.
7. Investigate alternative cataloging schemes that make information
more accessible to children, to non-English speakers, and to other
potential audiences.
8. Document all communication with contacts as per project procedures.
