Mixing and Mapping Metadata to Provide Integrated Access to Digital Library Collections: An Activity Report

This paper provides a report of work in progress to implement integrated access to multiple digital collections that are described using a variety of metadata formats. Using the emerging resource discovery and digital library management system, ENCompass, a team at Cornell University Library is experimenting with a new discovery system model. The model uses simple, “pidgin” metadata at the collection management level, but combines this simple layer with other metadata for describing specific resources, to enable users not only to discover relevant collections, but also to conduct deep searches. The authors frame their ENCompass activity report to illustrate the principle of modularity—as described by Lagoze—in which a metadata format tailored for simplicity (Dublin Core) is used alongside other, more complex metadata formats.