Applying the Levels of Conceptual Interoperability Model to a Digital Library Ecosystem--A Case Study

This paper applies the Levels of Conceptual Interoperability Model to a case study of two cultural heritage institutions with disparate but related collections in an effort to define a maturity model for interoperability between presentations of digitized cultural heritage materials. The Levels of Conceptual Interoperability Model (LCIM) is a progressive model developed by Dr. Andreas Tolk within the field of Modeling and Simulation and systems engineering to be used in determining potential for interoperability between systems. This paper applies the LCIM through a descriptive model to a digital library ecosystem that includes digital collections, digital libraries, and meta-aggregators. This paper seeks to determine if this model is sufficient as a method of measuring the potential for interoperation between systems, metadata, and collections within a digital cultural heritage ecosystem. A maturity model for interoperability within a digital library ecosystem can aid metadata operations specialists in determining the potential for interoperability between systems and collections