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----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Linda, et al., Rumors fly! I have not heard the rumor that OCLC is changing MARC tags to use a hypertext model using SGML. There has, however, been work in various camps toward developing an effective SGML shell for MARC records. I think your use of mapping is instructive, as that is where the research and development seems to be happening these days. No one seems to harbor the illusion (?) that all the databases of the world can talk the same language. The discussion on many lists (here on ARLIS-L, VRA-L, InterCat, museum lists) show that there are advocates for many many database structures. Often the database decision has little to do with what's "best" -- partly because I don't think any of us realistically expect to have the same database structure in ten years. Navigation from one database to another, and the ability to migrate your data from one to another, are perhaps more important than whether you're in MARC or SGML or FileMaker or Embark or whatever. One good discussion of data models is "Digital image collections: cataloging data model and network access" by Stephen Paul Davis in _RLG Digital Image Access Project: proceedings ..._ (RLG, 1995). Of course this is a couple years old already and who knows if even Stephen would build the same model today. The proceedings cited here also include an essay on the Berkeley involvement in DIAP and SGML, etc. I don't know: is this "plain language"? I look forward to the comments of others on the topic you bring up, Linda. Sherman Clarke NYU Libraries