Merging Metadata – Building on Existing Standards to Create a Field Book Registry

The Field Book Project is a cross-disciplinary project to develop an online registry for field books and other primary source materials related to biodiversity research. Led by Rusty Russell and Anne Van Camp, this project is a joint initiative of the Smithsonian Institution Archives and the National Museum of Natural History. This paper presents the metadata structure established for building the Field Book Registry. The project team is committed to involving members of the library, archives, museum, and biodiversity communities in the development of the Field Book Registry. We invite your comments and discussion regarding the work presented here.