Does the modularity of EML mean that one description can be shared by many documents?
In a previous version, EML packages (via RDF like triples) supported linking across packages, so you could re-use the same document in multiple packages. In EML 2.0.0 Release Candidate 1 we redesigned the packaging structure to only allow linking within a single package. Thus, one could re-use a party description or attribute list within a package, but not across several. This is a compromise that keeps some reusability but has fewer management problems. Along with this change is an ability to put all metadata and data in a single document for transport — while still not limiting ourselves to a monolithic structure. This has benefits (akin to db normalization) and costs (access control, ownership, and multiple update problems).
