5.7: Importing Previously Assigned Metadata

This section describes how to import previously assigned metadata: metadata assigned to documents before they were added to the collection.

If metadata in a form recognized by the Librarian Interface has been previously assigned to a file -- for example, when you choose documents from an existing Greenstone collection -- it is imported automatically when you add the file. To do this, the metadata must be mapped to the metadata sets available in the collection.

The Librarian Interface prompts for the necessary information. The prompt gives brief instructions and then shows the name of the metadata element that is being imported, just as it appears in the source file. This field cannot be edited or changed. Next you choose what metadata set the new element should map to, and then the appropriate metadata element in that set. The system automatically selects the closest match, in terms of set and element, for the new metadata.

Having checked the mapping, you can choose "Add" to add the new metadata element to the chosen metadata set. (This is only enabled if there is no element of the same name within the chosen set.) "Merge" maps the new element to the one chosen by the user. Finally, "Ignore" does not import any metadata with this element name. Once you have specified how to import a certain piece of metadata, the mapping information is retained for the collection's lifetime.

For details on the metadata.xml files which Greenstone uses to store the metadata, see Chapter 2 of the Greenstone Developer's Guide -- Getting the most out of your documents.