Numismatics & Bibliographic Description: How Rutgers University Libraries Described Coins with MODS

Abstract

Realia pose challenges when utilizing bibliographic metadata standards. Rutgers University Libraries, in collaboration with Rutgers University’s Classics Department, created a large digital library collection of ancient Roman coins in RUcore, Rutgers University’s Community Repository. RUcore records use Metadata Object Description Standard (MODS) for descriptive metadata and many custom fields. Therefore, it was necessary to adapt numismatic description to fit this structure. During the planning stage of the project, Numismatic Description Standard (NUDS), a numismatic database standard implemented and maintained by the American Numismatic Society (ANS), and VRA Core, an art-centered XML metadata standard created by the Visual Resources Association, provided valuable insights. However, this project faced challenges in terms of interoperability and time constraints that required altering the team’s approach to this unique set of resources in a digital library environment. Key issues were encoding B.C.E. dates in a machine-readable format for optimal searching and browsing, developing local controlled vocabularies, providing subject access to the iconography on coins, and the research-intensive work of metadata description. This article provides “how to” information, as well as a critical analysis of lessons learned and opportunities for improvement as the linked data landscape has changed both bibliographic and numismatic description.