Marty Kurth will describe the most recent CUL developments in mapping MARC metadata to Dublin Core elements. To open a discussion of MARC mapping's practical applications, Marty will demonstrate a tool developed by the Library of Congress and enhanced at CUL that converts raw MARC to Dublin Core XML. CUL staff will use the conversion tool in the e-Reference Collection project to import Voyager records into ENCompass. Please join us to participate in a conversation to generate ideas for using MARC metadata for other applications outside the library setting.

MARC to DC XML at CUL

At the December 2001 meeting of the MD-WG, in which the Cornell ENCompass project was discussed, a need was identified to focus attention on making some decisions about how to map MARC metadata into Dublin Core, taking into account existing crosswalks and the DC-Library Application Profile. An ad hoc, cross-functional group was formed in the spring of 2002 to work through the problem, the product of which is available

Marty's presentation described the steps that were taken to create a semi-automated system for moving MARC formatted descriptive metadata into the XML-based ENCompass system. he began with a description of the utility of mapping elements from one metadata standard into another; the product of such mapping is called a "crosswalk." Marty emphasized the importance of grounding a crosswalk in practical applications. The approach taken with this project was to design a tool that could convert a MARC record into XML. The XML formatted version of the record then acts as a "bus" for moving the record into other formats, including a Dublin Core version that is compatible with ENCompass.

Presentation Outline

Good Crosswalks Matter

1. Crosswalks make retrieval systems work
2. Broadly speaking, Voyager indexes are crosswalks
3. Any amount of detail helps, though more detail is better
4. Crosswalks make interoperability possible

Liberating MARC

1. MARC XML makes MARC more syntactically interoperable
2. It serves as a "bus" for further transformations
3. It preserves the richness of the MARC record

CUL MARC Transformations

1. The CUL ENCompass Team sought to meet E-Reference Needs
2. We created a Web interface for system-wide access
3. We enhanced LC's DC XML stylesheet

Applications

1. Transform MARC records to DC XML for E-References in ENCompass
2. Other possibilities for MARC XML in delivering CUL Services?