The Music Library Association (MLA) Bibliographic Control Committee's
(BCC) Metadata Subcommittee is in the early planning stages for an online
"Music Metadata Clearinghouse" that pulls together information that will
help individuals and organizations planning for the discovery and/or
online delivery of musical resources in environments beyond the
traditional library catalog. The Clearinghouse might include information
on metadata tools, metadata standards and their application to music, case
studies, sample implementations, project-specific documentation, and
helpful readings.

This survey aims to collect data that will inform our work; most
specifically, to prioritize the type and level of
detail of information that we should include in this resource. With this
survey we seek to better understand current practices related to the
creation and maintenance of music metadata so that we might match
information in the Clearinghouse to the most well-defined and strategic
needs of the community.

The term "metadata" is used differently in different communities. Since
the goal of the Clearinghouse is to
provide information to implementers working outside of traditional library
catalogs, please interpret "metadata" in this context to mean any
descriptive, technical, structural, rights, preservation, or other data
needed for the discovery or management of musical materials in any
implementation other than a library catalog. This definition would include
MARC when used in systems other than an ILS or OPAC. Similar imprecision
can exist surrounding the term "library." Here "library" should be
interpreted to mean an administrative unit that identifies itself as a
library, archive or museum, which may be a part of a larger institution of
higher education or stand alone as its own organization (for example a
public library, state library, or historical society).

This survey is presented on a single page so that you might review (and/or
print) the questions in order to compile your answers, then return to the
online survey to submit the information.

The survey is being issued in February 2011. Please respond by March 30,
2011. You may visit the survey at <http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/29MBGWC>.


Regards,
Jenn Riley
Chair, MLA BCC Metadata Subcommittee

--------------------------------
Jenn Riley
Head, Carolina Digital Library and Archives
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
http://cdla.unc.edu/

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http://www.lib.unc.edu/users/jlriley
(919) 843-5910