Metadata Becomes Digital

Abstract

This chapter describes the revolution in metadata sparked by the advent of the computer and the move to the digital. The MARC (MAchine Readable Cataloging) standard, devised in the 1960s, revolutionizes metadata in libraries, making it possible to share and transfer it on scales previously impossible. The arrival of the Internet spawns new metadata standards for describing data, including Dublin Core, and new standards for handling the technical information needed to allow digital data to be moved seamlessly around the Internet. Old divisions, including the schism between libraries and archives, continue despite the digital revolution. New metadata standards appear on the scene to this day.