Working with metadata in a tabular format can be of advantage, especially if you are more comfortable working with spreadsheet software like Excel or Google Sheets, and if you are working with sets of material that share metadata information. We provide two ways to create a template for transforming tabular data to XML, which will differ for instance with respect to the naming conventions for spreadsheet columns.

Step 1: Pick a templating method

Option: Generic template

The generic template should work 'out of the box' for most default cases. It does not involve the DAMS GUI web form and is fully extensible. Extending the template for more complex metadata use cases requires some experience with MODS XML. 

Option: Custom template

For the custom template you first need to create a model of the assets you want to ingest in the DAMS Test system. This templating method can also be extended for use with all types of assets that can be described via the DAMS GUI.

Step 2: Populate the metadata table

Here are some general recommendations for organizing metadata in tabular form when you plan to transform this data to XML for batch ingest to the DAMS.

1. Join all information going into the MODS metadata on one sheet (tab).
2. Arrange all data pertaining to one asset in no more than one row.
3. Give each column a unique name in the first row of the spreadsheet: follow the naming conventions of the templating method you chose.
4. Do not use spaces in your column names.
5. Enter data for all of the required/mandatory MODS elements
6. include the filenames of the digital files to be ingested. If you don't know the filenames yet, include a column with a unique identifier for each asset, e.g. the OCLC number that can later be used to link an image file name to the corresponding metadata record. If in doubt which identifier to use, consult with the DAMS management team (click here to create a DAMS service request)
7. the special XML characters &, ", ', <, > must not occur inside metadata values like titles or names (cf. https://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/#dt-markup). Replace them with the following escape strings:
   • & → &amp;
   • " → &quot;
   • ' → &apos;
   • < → &lt;
   • > → &gt;

Step 3: Convert tabular metadata to XML