U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Research-Based Metadata Requirements for a BLS Reports Archive Scott Berridge John Bosley Daniel W. Gillman US Bureau of Labor Statistics

14 September 2006 / UN Dissemination 2 Current Historical Archive Situation Publications date to 1886 For many publications – 1 copy exists Many publications irreplaceable – no disaster recovery

14 September 2006 / UN Dissemination 3 Relevance to BLS Unique historical archives –120 years of publications –10 years systematically available online User expectations are rising Standards are evolving Mandates are under discussion

14 September 2006 / UN Dissemination 4 Meeting Emerging Standards File Format –Adobe Acrobat PDF/A Labeling –Adobe’s Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) Metadata Schema –Data Documentation Initiative (DDI)

14 September 2006 / UN Dissemination 5 Archive on Bureau’s Website Servers inside and outside firewall Public domain Accessible thru BLS Home Page

14 September 2006 / UN Dissemination 6 Choosing Metadata Elements Schema Choice –DDI Subset Schema Useful? –Dissemination and Preservation –Perform user studies – 2 phases Phase 1 -- Initial studies (3) –What users want / need –Relatively open-ended, exploratory Phase 2 -- Focused studies (2) –Expose users to DDI subset –Obtain feedback

14 September 2006 / UN Dissemination 7 Reasons for DDI Want BLS Minimize capture burden Unknowable metadata –Old documents (back to 1886) –DDI allows level of granularity Conformance –Easy with DDI

14 September 2006 / UN Dissemination 8 Potential Problem Dissemination and Preservation? Is DDI suitable for preservation? Preservation elements Looking at other standards

14 September 2006 / UN Dissemination 9 User Studies--Overview Adopt techniques of – focus groups – group interviews Recruited members of general public –Screened for familiarity w/ Gov’t Stats Five groups, 2-6 members per group –3 groups -- initial, exploratory –2 groups – review DDI elements

14 September 2006 / UN Dissemination 10 User Studies Results Initial exploratory groups (3) –Descriptors consistently identified title, date, and geographic coverage Descriptors essential and informative –Members – generalize in abstract - hard Difficulty imagining other descriptors If personal need does not exist a priori, then –“What can I do with this information?” –“How is it useful to me?”

14 September 2006 / UN Dissemination 11 User Studies Results DDI-focused groups (2) –Descriptors verified Keywords also very important However, very large sets of keywords –Counterproductive or Confusing –“TMI” – information overload

14 September 2006 / UN Dissemination 12 User Studies Results DDI-focused groups (2) –Some want title or subtitle to answer “How is this report useful to me?” “How can I put it to use?” Example – Title includes “A guide” –More useful than the formal title/name –Criterion for acquiring a document Action, use of information Not subject matter

14 September 2006 / UN Dissemination 13 Conclusion Questions Contact –Scott Berridge –John Bosley –Dan Gillman