Standards and Metadata

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Standards and Metadata

• in the University of Washington Digital
  Initiatives Program

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Metadata

• Data about data
• Metadata are data that describe the attributes
  of a resource characterize its relationships
  support its discovery, management, and effective
  use and exist in an electronic environment.
• Sherry Vellucci, LRTS 44 (1) (1999)

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Metadata Sets

• Some of the choices
• General Use
• Dublin Core
• Specialized Use
• Encoded Archival Description (EAD)
• Core Categories for Visual Resources (VRA)
• CIMI Standards

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Metadata Sets

• Data structure data elements, categories, or
  fields and their relationships
• Dublin Core
• Text Encoding Initiative (TEI)
• Core Categories for Visual Resources
• Categories for the Description of Works of Art
• Encoded Archival Description (EAD)

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Metadata Sets

• Dublin Core Metadata Element Set
• Broad application and use
• Consists of 15 elements
• No rules governing content
• Extensible
• Qualifiers
• Subject Term Japanese Americans Source
  lcsh

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Metadata Sets

• How do we choose?
• Mission of your institution
• Resources
• Staffing
• Funding
• Users

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Enhancing Metadata Effectiveness

• Incorporating content standards

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Content Standards

• Consistency
• Increases coherence and intelligibility of
  description
• Enhances reliability of retrieval
• Enables interchange/communication of information

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Content Standards

• Consensus on best practice
• Broad community of practitioners
• High level of knowledge and experience

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Content Standards

• Insurance against obsolescence
• Probably the most compelling reason for using
  standards is protecting the long-term value of
  data.
• Developments in Museum and Cultural Heritage
  Information Standards, 1995

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Content Standards

• Data content standards Description
• Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2nd ed., 1988
  revision.
• Graphic Materials Rules for Describing Original
  Items and Historical Collections, 1982 1996
  revisions incorporated into Catalogers Desktop.
• Archives, Personal Papers, and Manuscripts A
  Cataloging Manual for Archival Repositories,
  Historical Societies, and Manuscript Libraries,
  2nd ed., 1989.
• Cataloging Internet Resources A Manual and
  Practical Guide, 2nd ed., 1997.

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Authority Control

• Data value standards
• Library of Congress Subject Headings
• Thesaurus for Graphic Materials I and II
• Art Architecture Thesaurus
• Library of Congress Name Authority File
• Union List of Artist Names
• Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

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Content Standards in Metadata Creation

• ltNameDC.Creator Content Sandy Kroupagt
• ltNameDC.Coverage Content The Northwestgt
• ltNameDC.Subject Content Bumbershootgt

• ltNameDC.Creator Source lcnaf Content
  Kroupa, Sandra, 1958-gt
• ltNameDC.Coverage Source lcsh Content
  Northwest, Pacific -- Description and travelgt
• ltNameDC.Subject Source lcsh Content
  Bumbershoot Festival (Seattle, Wash.)gt

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Living with Limitations

• Sharing expertise, resources
• Planning metadata projects
• Crosswalks
• http//www.getty.edu/gri/standard/intrometadata/cr
  osswalk.htm

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Resource Discovery

• Z39.50
• Enables retrieval from a variety of systems
• RDF
• Defines a framework for understanding and
  processing various kinds of metadata
• NKOS
• Vocabulary incompatibilities, metathesauri

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UW Libraries and metadata

• Traditional cataloging units
• Product UW Libraries Catalog
• Cataloging books, videos, internet resources,
  etc.
• Standards well-established for academic libraries
  (MARC format, AACR2, LCSH, LC Classification)

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UW Libraries and metadata

• Digital Initiatives Program (http//content.lib.wa
  shington.edu/)
• Product image collections stored and viewed with
  CONTENT software (http//content.engr.washington.e
  du/)
• Cataloging digitized images and texts
• A variety of standards, some established, some
  evolving

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Metadata Implementation Group

• (http//www.lib.washington.edu/msd/mig/)
• Formed in March 1998
• Volunteers mainly catalogers, paraprofessionals
  and librarians
• Our charge develop and promote metadata
  standards

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Scope of DIP projects

• Microcosm of the different communities and
  different approaches to information
• UW Libraries collections (Special Collections
  historical photographs, Fish-Ocean Library book
  illustrations)
• UW Libraries grant projects (Thai Journal
  Indexing, Central Eurasian Information Resources)
• Faculty teaching slide collections (botany,
  architecture, astronomy)

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Metadata development process

• Each project has metadata liaison who works
  with database owner
• Liaison consults with MIG on metadata decisions
• Pre-existing metadata schema and content or
  starting from scratch
• Challenge guidelines that leverage years of
  cataloging expertise, but avoid the complexity of
  traditional standards

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Metadata development process

• More challenges
• Meet needs of diverse databases and users
• Metadata consistency within and between databases
• Metadata standards in an evolving software
  environment

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Software context

• A given CONTENT software
• Distributed input of images and metadata
• Database fields can be mapped to simple Dublin
  Core
• Dublin Core mapping enables cross-database
  searching (metadata crosswalk)

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Dublin Core mapping Creator

• Cities and Bldgs architect/builder, photographer
• American Indians author, photographer, original
  creator
• Freshwater artist/photographer
• Central Eurasian artist/architect, photographer
• Densho person interviewed

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Data dictionaries

• (http//www.lib.washington.edu/msd/mig/datadicts/)
  
• For each project data dictionary documents
• Database-specific field labels
• Mapping of fields to DC elements
• Data formatting instructions
• Authority file recommended (if any)

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Authority files recommended

• For proper names LC National Authority File
• Largest file of headings, highest hit rate
• Consistency across DIP databases and UW Libraries
  Catalog
• Familiarity staff already have skills and
  knowledge to use or train others

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Subject authority files

• Library of Congress Subject Headings
• Large file, universal coverage
• Consistency across projects and UW Catalog
• Familiarity
• LC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials
• Complements LCSH
• Created especially for images (LCs historical
  photographs)
• Art Architecture Thesaurus
• Large file, more detailed specialized coverage
• True thesaurus, excellent structure

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Metadata conflicts?

• Consequences of different thesauri used in same
  DC element not yet tested
• DC Subject LCSH vs. AAT
• Church buildings vs. Churches
• DC Coverage LC Authority File vs. Board of
  Geographic Names
• Moscow vs. Moskva

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Cities/Buildings project example

• MIGs initial learning experience--need for
  standards revealed
• Size of file
• Search platform differences
• Metadata for display vs. metadata for retrieval

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Lessons learnedso far

• Beware of influence of legacy databases on
  metadata choices
• Need for constant review and evolution as our
  understanding of standards change, as new
  databases are added
• Need for reengineering when we change our minds
  or when standards change (flexible software,
  ability to remap DC, do global updates)