Maintaining Legacy Metadata in CONTENTdm: The Metadata Upgrade Project at the University of Houston

To ensure robust, reliable, retrievable and sharable metadata, the University of Houston (UH) Libraries initiated a Metadata Upgrade Project in 2013 to systematically audit and refine the quality of the metadata in the University of Houston Digital Library (UHDL). The Metadata Upgrade Project has produced significant improvements in the UHDL’s legacy metadata. The final stages of the Metadata Upgrade Project required time- and labor-intensive analysis and remediation of controlled vocabulary terms for every object in the UHDL. To improve efficiency and accuracy during the data entry process, the UH Libraries developed name and subject authority applications that automatically transform legacy controlled vocabulary terms into authorized forms. This presentation will provide an overview of the University of Houston’s Metadata Upgrade Project, key recommendations and strategies for upgrading existing UHDL metadata, a discussion of how the UHDL's upgraded metadata improves discoverability of collections, and a brief look at the tools that automate the authority alignment process in the CONTENTdm Project Client.