The explosion of standards building on the 1998 XML specification from the World Wide Web Consortium has been slow to reach academic and library information science applications. While part of this is certainly due to cost, argues that adequate attention to architectural design, when considering XML technology, can make new forms of information management possible. Provides a survey of tools and relevant technology for working in Z39.50 with XML and MARC records, based primarily on a major undertaking by the ATLA‐CERTR (American Theological Library Association – Center for Electronic Resources in Theology and Religion) group at Emory University with 50 years of 50 journals digitized from philosophy, ethics, and religion.