Citation: Riley, Jenn and Michelle Dalmau (2007). "The IN Harmony Project: Developing a Flexible Metadata Model for the Description and Discovery of Sheet Music." The Electronic Library 25(2): 132-147.
The primary focus for all metadata creation should be providing access to an end user. Sometimes this goal is obscured, especially in traditional MARC cataloging. The IN Harmony project consulted subject and domain specialists, user studies, and evaluated the current research in the music field to inform the creation of a set of standards for implementing MODS. Seeking the opinions of people with varying degrees of music expertise demonstrated that this project was attentive to all users, not a specific set of highly trained music scholars. This work has produced a rich and useful set of guidelines to describe individual titles that can be applied in other sheet music collections.
Although the primary goal of metadata should be to provide access, great care should be taken to create data that can be exchanged between institutions. The guidelines specified only two required elements and only limited a few repeatable elements. A simple, conservative approach to cataloging will enable numerous partners with various cataloging histories to create a standard uniform record. The IN harmony project developed a user interface to guide the entry of information into a database.
Although a user interface is very desirable for data consistency, there is concern among MARC catalogers that this type of system will de-professionalize cataloging. Their concern is valid and must be addressed as the library profession moves toward incorporating other metadata processes.
This article demonstrates the importance of consulting various stake holders while developing a metadata implementation for a digital library project. Most importantly this article highlights the value of user input, which, when one considers the purpose of cataloging, should be a primary informant.
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