Designing data for use: from alphabetic order to linked data

This article describes the evolution of library metadata from the card to the internet. A functional analysis shows that library metadata has changed as the technology that carries and uses that metadata has changed. Library data also carries with it legacy practices, like the emphasis on headings designed for alphabetical discovery which has however been replaced by keyword access. Linked Data is an emerging technology that will allow data to directly use the World Wide Web as a storage and access platform.To prepare library data for that platform new concepts, described here, must be integrated into library data practices, and some legacy practices must be re-evaluated.