A data model for cross-domain data representation - The "Europeana Data Model" in the case of archival and museum data

This paper reports on ongoing work about heterogeneous and cross-domain data conversion to a common data model in EuropeanaConnect. The “Europeana Data Model” (EDM) provides the means to accommodate data from different domains while mostly retaining the original metadata notion. We give an introduction to the EDM and demonstrate how important metadata principles of two different metadata standards can be represented by EDM: one from the library domain (“Bibliopolis”), and one from the archive domain based on the “Encoded Archival Description” (EAD) standard. We conclude that the EDM offers a feasible approach to the issue of heterogeneous data interoperability in a digital library environment.