Introduction What is metadata Types of metadata Examples of metadata usage Metadata for everyone! Questions and wrap-up Metadata 101 Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 While programming languages are the engines which run the web and the software we use, metadata is akin to street signs or maps – communicating to people, software, and other computer languages. This communication can be information about the content (descriptive), about its technical specifications or creation. Metadata is truly everywhere – often hidden behind the tools and online products we use. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

APIs are programming interfaces which facilitate communication MARC can be exported as XML and Non MARC metadata is often written in XML, a flexible programming language.

Metadata 101 Types of metadata: Descriptive Structural Administrative Many forms of metadata include elements of each of these; however it is dependent upon the schema. A schema is a set of rules covering the elements and requirements for coding. Examples of schemas include Dublin Core, TEI, EAD, and others. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 Karen Coyle 2004, METS is a standard which includes administrative, descriptive & structural metadata. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 Descriptive metadata describes a resource for purposes such as discovery and identification. It can include elements such as title, abstract, author, and keywords. Keywords can include tags (generally uncontrolled vocabulary) and/or controlled vocabulary such as LC subject headings. Keywords is probably one of the most used terms on the web and its meaning is context based. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 Examples of descriptive metadata include MARC bibliographic records; Tags, titles, and notes in flickr, del.ici.ous, and other social networking sites; metadata embedded in the code of websites; and other tagging projects such as steve.museum, OCLC worldcat.org, LibraryThing, some digital library projects; … really any website where a user (or authorized user, such as a cataloger or member participant) can create or edit description, keywords/tags, title, creator information and more. Let’s look at just a few of these focusing on the descriptive metadata… Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 A few examples: A MARC bib record from the OPAC view of a GIL catalog. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 The metadata generated by catalogers within a MARC bibliographic record is considered descriptive metadata. It provides information about the item, from its title and creator to its format to appropriate LCSH or Sears subject headings (controlled vocabulary keywords) assigned by the cataloger. How that metadata is interpreted is dependent upon the software or programming language. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 Many digital projects from databases to websites allow (and even require) the cataloger to create or edit administrative or structural metadata. Archivists’ Toolkit is one software used by catalogers which creates all types of metadata. Metadata from these databases can often be cross- walked. An example of cross-walking is creating a MARC record from a non-MARC format and then importing the derived record into a MARC based library catalog, such as GIL. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 Let's look at one simple example of cross-walking For the Electronic Theses & Dissertations at UGA, an appropriately coded metadata record from a MySQL database can be translated into a MARC record and loaded into a Voyager catalog, with the end result being an acceptable MARC bibliographic record. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Note: The MARC designated fields. Cataloger’s workform interface to the MySQL db. Note: The MARC designated fields. Cataloger’s workform interface to the MySQL db.

Note: The indicators and field tags are populated.

Metadata 101 Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net The record imported into GIL.

Metadata 101 Although catalogers create, edit and use metadata everyday, metadata goes far beyond the library catalog or even the library website. Metadata generation and editing beyond the library catalog is a common place activity for many internet users these days, including you! If you are not creating metadata on the Internet, you are using it to search google and other search engines. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 Metadata for a website is either created by the user when building the website or hand- coded into the HTML. Some search engines use these keywords to varying degrees. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net Web designers also create metadata to describe the website and its content. LC Subject headings can be coded into the meta tags. Many websites now carry rights metadata (administrative).

Metadata 101 A steve museum record. Steve.museum is open to art educators and others; membership is required to tag. This is user generated metadata. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Worldcat.org offers both user contributed metadata (tags) and authority contributed controlled metadata (subject headings, authorized forms of names & entities, etc.)

Library thing – user generated cataloging Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 Microsoft has been adding metadata to the its documents for years; often based upon which user created the document. Newer versions allow this information to be changed more easily. PDF creators also allow the creation and editing of metadata. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 Structural metadata defines the relationship between whole and parts. Structural metadata can also be used for navigational purposes. Structural metadata would include links to related files. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Descriptive metadata Administrative & Structural Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 Administrative metadata provides information to help manage a resource, such as when and how it was created, file type and other technical information, and who can access it. Subsets of administrative metadata exist but two commons ones are Rights management metadata, which deals with intellectual property rights, and preservation metadata, which contains information needed to archive and preserve a resource. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Descriptive metadata Administrativemetadata

Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 Many different tools are available for users to create metadata – help for flickr users Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 Note: The association of tagging as metadata Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

DC Metadata generator -- help for web editors & designers Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net Other fields in the generator include Date of coverage, copyright & format.

Metadata 101 We can rate, tag -- add keywords (even use controlled vocabulary in some cases), assign or flag for appropriate audience level, define genre, and more. User generated metadata is generally created through an interface on a website and primarily descriptive; however, many sites are beginning to allow and encourage rights statements (administrative) as well as other elements of administrative and structural metadata. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 Concerns and thoughts Much of the current discussion about metadata (tagging/keywords, controlled headings vs. non-controlled headings, keywords, OCLC Community Expert Experiment) centers upon the potential differences in quality of user generated metadata. As with any user group, there are varying levels of expertise and understanding of the subject. Metadata can be good or bad. Keywords have been terribly misused in the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) community – leading not only to false results when searching but also spam and phishing attempts Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 Many collaborative websites (social networking) such as Wikipedia rely on the collective expertise of the group -- the “true” or accurate information will rise to the top. Untrue or unsubstantied information will either sink to the bottom (fewer hits, bad reviews, marked for review, etc.) or will be revised by more expert opinions. For the most part, this works fairly well; however, there are drawbacks and quality control is an ongoing issue. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 Taking the human element out (beyond the programmers who wrote the scripts for harvesting) Machine derived metadata offers the opportunity to create large chunks of metadata with minimal human effort However, machine derived metadata may not be able to distinguish subtleties perceivable to the human eye and mind – at least, until AI is truly viable Duplicates and erroneous information may occur Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 There are many issues to ponder related to topic of metadata, including the impact of user generated metadata. Food for thought: David Weinberger of Everything is Miscellaneous writes in response to Thomas Mann’s response to Karen Calhoun “...there is a crucial distinction that is being swept under the rug: the difference between quick information seeking and scholarship.” Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 Metadata to the world ! All of the metadata we (the world) creates is mined in some form or another. Search engines, document processing software, library catalogs, websites, digital portals, even our desktop computer’s indexing is mining our information The Web provides endless possibilities to share resources and digital objects Library catalogs mirror general practices on the web; as more sites not only allow users to create metadata, sites are beginning to create user created resources, too. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101: Wrap-up Types of metadata: Descriptive Structural Administrative Many forms of metadata include elements of each of these; however it is dependent upon the schema. A schema is a set of rules covering the elements and requirements for coding. DC (Dublin Core) is one example of a metadata schema. Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net

Metadata 101 All presentation materials will be available at robinfay.net Robin Fay, Univ. of Georgia, Metadata 101, robinfay.net