John MarquisSCEC Digital Products Manager

October 14, 2003

Introduction to Metadata:

Technology to Support Catalogingand Exporting of Metadata to NSDL.org

The Main Issue:

How do I go from having a nifty bunch of stuff to being an NSDL-usable collection?

Nifty stuff from Darryl Hudson,http://darryl.hudson.home.mindspring.com/

And what tools exist to get me there?

Assess Your Project !

Metadata• “Do I have (all of my) metadata in some format?”• “Am I still only dreaming about metadata records?”

Nature of the Collection• “Is my collection ‘closed’ or open-ended?”• “Do I want my own portal, or is a ‘brand name’ enough?”

When Metadata Exists…

…you need an OAI Data Provider!http://www.dlese.org/oai/docs/index.html

offers version 2.0.9 of a free, easy-to-use data provider and harvester.

(Small collections can even use a Static Repository URL (still in Beta).)

With OAI as your goal, you first need to:• Create digital versions of your metadata records• Crosswalk to NSDL-recognized metadata format• Get “branded” -- submit a collection-level metadata record• Generate schema-based, well-formed XML records

If You Don’t Have Metadata…

…Rejoice! Recent developments have made your life easier:

the Collection Workflow Integration System http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ (follow “CWIS” under “Current

Projects”)

The Collection Workflow Integration System (CWIS) is an open-source turnkey software package designed especially for the NSDL community. CWIS will allow NSDL collections to streamline integration of their resources into the NSDL metadata repository.

• Version 0.9.3 (Beta) available for download

(Based on the Scout Portal Toolkit, still available at above URL)

If You Don’t Have Metadata (cont.)…

“Umbrella” organizations may also provide cataloging tools• DLESE has its own Catalog System (DCS, for download) and

Resource Cataloger (online) for contributing/creating metadata, even while retaining your collection’s “brand”

http://www.dlese.org/libdev/dcs_overview.html

OAI again?!• Yes, for harvesting from other collections! (open-ended case)• DLESE OAI software includes harvester• OAI can also respond to requests, support queries

Reasons Why Pre-Made ToolsWill / Won’t Help

On the Plus Side: • Easy to get your project “off the ground” quickly• Reduces costs of development -- allows your budget to focus

on more project-specific issues

On the Down Side:• May not help with “oddball” projects, or projects that want very

specific features for their portals

Parting Advice to “Fledgling” Collections

You haven’t got time for the pain!

• Use the results of past (and present) NSDL-funded research -- don’t be too proud to build on others’ work

• When in doubt, seek technical suggestions from “similar” collections -- someone’s likely been down that road before

Send “Get Well” Cards to:

John Marquis [MAR-kwis]

Southern California Earthquake Center

University of Southern California

3651 Trousdale Parkway

Los Angeles, CA 90089-0742

213-740-9615

marquis@usc.edu