Quinkan Matchbox Project: challenges in developing a metadata application profile (MAP) for an indigenous culture

[Extract] The Quinkan Matchbox Project is developing a cataloguing system suitable for small, generally-skilled cultural communities. A metadata application profile (MAP) is a catalogue record of an on-line cataloguing system and is used to classify on-line distributed resources. It is the recommended name for a record based on the Dublin Core structure. Given the aim of the Matchbox Project, it is important that Matchbox can be customised suitably and the methodology for this customisation can be made explicit. This paper reports progress towards a MAP with which to describe Quinkan Culture. Specifically, it reports the first part of this process that aims to make the local catalogue interoperable, sharable with others, and anticipates the local cultural customisation.