Meeting the Descriptive Metadata Challenges at ENC Judith S. Ridgway Assistant Director of Instructional Resources, ENC Assistant Director, Learning Matrix

What is ENC? Eisenhower National Clearinghouse  ENC Online ENC Online  Online Database of Curriculum and Professional Development Resources  Focus and Classroom Calendar NSDL Projects  The Learning Matrix The Learning Matrix  Gender and Science (EDC) Gender and Science  Technology Literacy (ITEA) Technology Literacy  Ethnomathematics (PREL) Ethnomathematics  FEDRL (Federal Education Digital Resources Library) FEDRL

Challenge 1 – Legacy Systems from the Predigital Era ENC choices began in the predigital era Format of resources were predominantly print, video, and kits USMARC works well with traditional formats ENC has historically felt free to add extensions

Challenge 2 - The Digital Era Arrives ENC adds fields to USMARC to accommodate web resources New descriptions of formats New identifiers for browsing

Challenge 3 – Cataloging Learning Objects Needed to follow a standard to support interoperability Needed to be able to reflect the different levels of granularity Needed to convey the educational nature of the resource Need to think about reuse, reassembly, and repurposing learning objects.

Challenge 4 – Avoiding Drift Needed accurately and consistently assigned metadata Needed to maintain a shared understanding among the team members Needed a mindset to accept massive revision when drift occurs

Discussion Points Cost of each record  Richness of the description versus time spent cataloging  Value to the users Level of granularity Maximize interoperability Dublin Core versus IEEE LOM

Decisions Go for rich description  It is worth it since it meets the user’s needs  Use system-supplied data when possible Granularity that makes sense  Content specialists make the call  Catalog only what has clear value Catalog in LOM in DL cataloging tool and crosswalk (another challenge) for interoperability

Crosswalk between Native Metadata, XML Record Format, and Search Interface for ENC Digital Library Collections CollectionNative MetadataXML Record Format Search Interface Learning Matrix, ICON, GSDL, FEDRL IEEE LOM LM, ICON, GSDL, ENCdl.org ENCUSMARC ENC Online FEDRLIEEE LOMUSMARCENC Online Learning Matrix, ICON, GSDL, FEDRL IEEE LOMDC-EDNSDL.org ENCUSMARCDC-EDNSDL.org

Searching Across Collections

Lessons Learned The conceptual well for metadata is very deep Choose a schema that matches your collection and user needs There is no need to reinvent the wheel A shared understanding is key It is important to involve technical, content, and library experts Be prepared to be flexible, patient, and willing to redesign

Lessons Learned Crosswalking is like the telephone game

Contact Information Judith S. Ridgway Eisenhower National Clearinghouse The Ohio State University 1929 Kenny Road Columbus, OH (614)