Article Summary: "The Importance of Interoperability: Lessons from the Digital Public Library of America"
Digital libraries like the DPLA , Europeana , the World Digital Library , and the National Library of France's Gallica (just to name a few) are trying to make cultural heritage not only accessible to those looking for it, but also something one could stumble upon during a web search. Metadata gives institutions the ability to make the DPLA's record of a 1983 interview with Elie Wiesel just as discoverable as his interview with Oprah on YouTube. Don't get me wrong - I love Oprah and I love YouTube. But YouTube videos aren't made and published with longevity in mind. The DPLA fosters a better balance between preservation and access - it gives PR to smaller cultural heritage institutions and their collections across the country. The DPLA increases the number of "hits" institutions receive on their websites by means of good, interoperable metadata. Interoperability - "The ability of multiple systems with different hardware and software platforms...