For Contributors

Resources for Contributors

PPC Metadata Guidelines for DPLA Participation

The PPC metadata guidelines include Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and Plains to Peaks Collective (PPC) requirements, recommendations and best practices for preparing your collection’s metadata for participation in the PPC Service Hub and the DPLA. These guidelines are not meant to be a comprehensive cataloging guide but rather a guide for sharing data for participation in the DPLA. The PPC does not recommend a particular metadata schema, as every institution’s needs are different. However, we do offer crosswalks to MARC, MODS, and Qualified Dublin Core.  

PPC Ingest Process & OAI-PMH

The PPC ingests data from our partners, most commonly via OAI-PMH. See Sharing via OAI-PMH for tips about setting up your feed.

If OAI-PMH is not possible for your collection, we do have other options that we are happy to discuss this with you.

Once you share your data it is then normalized and aggregated into a single output, which in turn is harvested by the DPLA. All metadata contributed to the PPC and the DPLA will carry a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) Public Domain Dedication (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). However, the item being described can carry different rights.

Ingest Schedule

The PPC will share digital collection items with the DPLA four times a year; late October, January, April and July.  If you are a new partner please contact the PPC two months prior to the ingest month.  If you are an existing partner and would like to make changes to your metadata please contact the PPC a month prior to the ingest month.

DPLA Resources

The DPLA makes resources available via their website to assist potential contributors.