Collaboration on Creation and Reuse of Metadata in Iceland

In Iceland the path that has been followed is to operate selected cataloguing and management systems and related metadata databases on a national level. This has been done successfully in the field of libraries and cultural heritage institutions have also used this arrangement. It is maintained in the article that this arrangement has been of great benefit for the Icelandic society, which currently has about 330,000 inhabitants. The article discusses the ways in which cataloguing of metadata in libraries, museums and alike has been conducted, and also the reuse thereof, especially in connection with establishments in Iceland but also in other countries, with particular emphasis on the Nordic countries. The benefit from reusing metadata largely depends on the accessibility thereof and the quality of the cataloguing. Standardized and coordinated cataloguing is a key factor when it comes to the ability to provide the best possible access to data in an integrated search portal. Combining metadata across different institutions in the search portal leads to certain challenges as there are different cataloguing rules in place in each separate sector. The article touches on the societal benefit that may result from establishing authority databases on a national level containing Icelandic names, placenames and even subject headings which Icelandic institutions could share.