Metadata Crosswalking: Repurposing a Legacy Database for Use in CONTENTdm

Since 1965, the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library has photographically recorded the contents of over 140,000 manuscripts.

HMML also has a number of databases. Two major database systems available online

Oliver: Manuscript metadata

Vivarium: Digital objects online (CONTENTdm)

Oliver: HMML’s Manuscript Database

Contains records for over 105,000 manuscripts for which HMML has either microfilm or digital copies.

Oliver: HMML’s Manuscript Database

Complete manuscript record is a hierarchical nested structure, with data presented in layers going from general to specific information.

Oliver: HMML’s Manuscript Database

Order of information in complete manuscript record:

ManuscriptPart

Text

ManuscriptPart1

Text1Text2Text3

Part2Text1

Crosswalk:

Mapping the database fields of a source database schema to the fields of a destination database schema.

Potential Pitfalls of Data Conversion:

Loss of information—not bothering to migrate some of the data if it won’t fit the destination.

Loss of meaning—clarity and specificity lost when information is simplified or when multiple fields are combined.

www.hmml.org

wtorborg@csbsju.edu

Thank You For Your Interest