Re: [ARSCLIST] Memorex CDs and more!

[Jon Noring <jon@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Steven C. Barr wrote:
> Karl Miller wrote:

>> Which, brings me back to my concern over a "universal" database for audio
>> recordings. We have so much to do, so little time and resources. If we
>> don't know what has been preserved, we might very well be duplicating
>> effort.

> In fact, we don't even have a universal database FORMAT! Information on
> existing sound recordings, insofar as it is kept, is usually in the
> format of whatever program the collector/institution uses to catalog
> his/her/its collection(s)...and, in many cases, these are kept in
> "hard copy" form (i.e. my 78 collection is partially catalogued on
> about 15,000 typed 3x5 cards, using my own system!).

What is really needed is not a database format, but a data model for
discographical information that can be expressed in XML so the data
may be exchanged between different database systems.

There's a lot of issues involved with designing such a data model,
including understanding the scope, what's been done already, other
data models for related information (such as for contemporary
recordings, song composition databases etc.) Designing such a data
model is definitely a "committee" effort requiring a group of people
who really know their stuff in *several* areas. One needs a couple
people with general data modeling experience, one or two XML wonks,
the usual experienced record collectors who understand all the
"exceptions and oddities" (which is what really makes a 78rpm
discographical data model complicated), experts of digital metadata
archives, discographical researchers, etc., etc.

It's also a good idea to build an *open source* and *cross platform*
reference implementation database application that will import/export
the XML data, so it can shake out the data model itself. The key thing
is that the data model should not be tied to any particular platform or
proprietary application.

Jon Noring