Together under one roof: Combining collection and item level description through multiple metadata schemas

Abstract

The Smithsonian's Field Book Project presents a “fusion” of metadata standards to meet the access needs of a diverse user base and to set the framework for establishing best practices for managing field book collections. The key access challenges around field books stem from a lack of best practices when it comes to collection management and description. Field books are unique materials that sometimes fall under the auspices of departmental libraries or laboratories (item level description), sometimes archives (collection level description) and just as often can be found intermingled and uncataloged in museum collections and curators' offices (little to no description). These varying forms of custodianship result in collection management and descriptive practices that are not consistent across or even within institutions. The Field Book Project draws on existing standards and community input to develop a structured online resource for contributing and locating field book content. This poster provides examples of user needs related to field books; illustrates the use of different metadata schemas within the system and how they have been linked together to bridge collection and item level descriptions; and invites discussion on the potential impacts in terms of establishing best practices, improving access, and leveraging the technological capabilities of XML to expand content and features in the future.