Taking on the content discovery challenge: The NLB Case Study

Abstract

This paper discusses four major projects undertaken by the National Library Board (NLB) to implement content discovery solutions that enhance discovery and accessibility to digitised archived content such as geo-referenced maps, photographs and audio-visual recordings. This paper falls under the “Libraries, archives and museums in dialogue: Improving access to complementary collections” topic.

In November 2012, NLB’s role expanded beyond offering library collections when the National Archives of Singapore became an institution of NLB. Besides inheriting a treasure trove of primary research material about Singapore government’s corporate memory, public and private records, its role expanded to include collection, preservation and management of those collections.

First, NLB had to consolidate the vast collections across its libraries and the archives to offer a unified research experience. A cross functional team consisting of content specialists and technologists was formed. The team’s first priority was to harmonise content.

The Archives uses ISAD-G (General International Standard Archival Description) to describe archival records while NLB uses Dublin Core standard to describe its library collection. Harmonisation is needed to enable a common search interface that offers normalised search results and relevant facets to refine search results.

This paper will cover the harmonisation process as well as the user research studies to ensure that the labels speak the users’ language,...