Summary reaction to: Sound Footings: Building a National Digital Library of Australian Music.

Citation:
Ayres, Marie-Louise, Toby Burrows, and Robyn Holmes. (2004). "Sound Footings: Building a National Digital Library of Australian Music." Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 3232. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer, 281-291.

Developing a delivery system for discovery of music resources is a very complex task due to the varied formats of materials in typical music collections. Digital music collections have the potential to encompass a variety of audio formats, digital score formats, and text formats. Additionally these objects require a rich metadata schema in order to provide access to the collections. This article discussed some of the key points for consideration during the development and implementation of a digital library. I've listed below some of the key elements of the design plan that I considered vital to the success of the project.

• MusicAustralia was designed to provide access to Australian music resources. This project was modeled after a similar successful project called PictureAustralia. The developers of MusicAustralia utilized the work of the previous national level project to improve upon and provide access to a more complicated corpus of resources.
• Sought to provide cost-effective methods. They allowed contribution and distribution of MARC records through an established national database & non-MARC metadata through harvesters.
• Incorporated the use of existing records & automated processes

MusicAustralia is in the position to be the framework for any similar project within the music subject area. The work accomplished on this project will benefit other initiatives like the PASH project mentioned in the article. The greatest benefit of this type of work will be seen when tested models can be implemented across subject areas.

Prior to the implementation of this project two separate institutions held similar music materials, but with different cataloging practices and access. A web-portal that brings together resources held by different institutions will be of great use.

Many institutions have collaborated to form our current cataloging practices and resource discovery. Although there are obvious limitations and recurring problems with the current system, there is a consistency in the way libraries present their resources. A MARC cataloging department does not need to research which metadata schema to use or how to display the information online. Digital projects must consider what type of metadata, what type of online delivery, and the entire workflow. This must consume a great deal of resources to develop a workflow for each project. Endeavors like MusicAustralia are needed to develop standards for the field.