Innholdskataloging

Innholdskataloging, or content cataloging, is the systematic process of creating and maintaining metadata records that describe content items in order to support discovery, access, use and preservation. The term is used across libraries, archives, museums and digital repositories to organize both physical and digital materials, including documents, images, videos, datasets, websites and digital assets.

Metadata described in innholdskataloging typically covers core elements such as title, creator, publication or creation date, type or genre, language, subject or keywords, a descriptive summary, access and rights information, and unique identifiers. Authority control for persons, corporate bodies and subjects helps maintain consistent naming and facilitates linking between related records. In digital contexts, additional technical and structural details may be captured, for example file formats, size, provenance, preservation metadata, and rights metadata.

Standards and schemas commonly used in innholdskataloging include the ISBD for bibliographic description, MARC or Dublin Core for metadata encoding, and MODS or METS for structural metadata. Controlled vocabularies and thesauri, such as subject headings or classification schemes, support interdisciplinary search and interoperability. FRBR and related user-task modeling influence how records are organized to support find, identify, select and obtain tasks. Metadata may be enriched with technical, rights and preservation information using sets like PREMIS.

The workflow typically includes resource selection, descriptive cataloging, authority control, subject indexing, classification, metadata encoding, and ongoing quality control. Proper innholdskataloging improves discoverability, enables cross-institutional search, supports reuse and reuse tracking, and underpins long-term preservation and access.