Summary reaction to: Using the Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS) for resource description: guidelines and applications

Citation:

Guenther, Rebecca. S. (2004). "Using the Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS) for resource description: guidelines and applications." Library Hi Tech 22(1): 89-98.

MODS will be easier for the library community to embrace because of the origin and support of the schema from Library of Congress. Guenther points out LC’s history of maintaining standards and providing outstanding documentation to ensure the viability of supported formats. I’ve found that people are pleasantly surprised that MODS is maintained by the MARC Standards Office.

Guenther outlines the need for MODS and user guidelines. Her article serves as an excellent road map and preparatory reading before examining and using the MODS user guide. The second half of the article addresses MODS implementations at various institutions and the Minerva project. Reading about a specific MODS implementation is very helpful in gaining an understanding of how MODS interacts with MARC in a library setting. MODS is derived from MARC, but it’s hard to conceptualize the interoperability without a detailed description of a live implementation. This article will be very helpful in planning the MODS implementation for the Hope Library.