A Preliminary Crosswalk from METS to IMS Content Packaging

As educational technology becomes pervasive, demand will grow for library content to be incorporated into courseware. Among the barriers impeding interoperability between libraries and educational tools is the difference in specifications commonly used for the exchange of digital objects and metadata. Among libraries, Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard (METS) is a new but increasingly popular standard; the IMS content‐package (IMS‐CP) plays a parallel role in educational technology. This article describes how METS‐encoded library content can be converted into digital objects for IMS‐compliant systems through an XSLT‐based crosswalk. The conceptual models behind METS and IMS‐CP are compared, the design and limitations of an XSLT‐based translation are described, and the crosswalks are related to other techniques to enhance interoperability.