The document summarizes four case studies of selecting metadata fields for digital collections at St. Olaf College. For each collection - the Manitou Messenger newspaper, Viking Yearbook, archival photographs, and art museum works - the project team considered user needs, evaluated existing metadata standards, and chose a role model to develop an appropriate data dictionary. Key findings were that user needs should be the top priority and that metadata supports collection maintenance and control. Descriptive metadata was determined after other decisions.