  The POOL project is the common persistency framework for the LHC experiments
to store petabytes of experiment data and metadata in a distributed and grid
enabled way. POOL is a hybrid event store consisting of a data streaming layer
and a relational layer. This paper describes the design of file catalog,
collection and metadata components which are not part of the data streaming
layer of POOL and outlines how POOL aims to provide transparent and efficient
data access for a wide range of environments and use cases - ranging from a
large production site down to a single disconnected laptops. The file catalog
is the central POOL component translating logical data references to physical
data files in a grid environment. POOL collections with their associated
metadata provide an abstract way of accessing experiment data via their logical
grouping into sets of related data objects.
