Metadata for Collections as Data in a Multi-Institutional Digital Library

Abstract In the fall of 2019, Collections as Data: Part to Whole awarded a grant to the Louisiana State University (LSU) Libraries for the “Louisiana Digital Library (LDL) as Data” project. This funded project allowed LDL institutions to collaboratively explore policies and practices for creating digital collections and associated metadata that are computationally usable and ethically grounded. This case study, which is informed by guiding principles from the “Santa Barbara Statement on Collections as Data,” describes how LDL metadata policies along with developments that resulted from this project encourage and enable the creation of metadata that supports collections as data within a multi-institutional digital library. Some of these developments are technical in nature, such as the revision of LDL documentation to encourage the use of standardized rights statements and the addition of a Harmful Content Notice field. Others are community-focused, such as programming to facilitate shared learning among LDL collection administrators. Ultimately, this case study illustrates that digital libraries with a multi-institutional structure can effectively develop their metadata strategies by providing resources to and fostering dialogue among all library contributors.