WkEnd:Last Post

Database: my subject topics have all been verified through the Library of Congress Authorities for Subjects. (http://authorities.loc.gov/ ) It seemed the obvious route to take. I also loosely based my categories on Dublin Core ( http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/dcmi/collection-ap-summary/2003-08-25/) This link is to the Proposed Collection Properties that I found on the Dublin Core website, but I felt that since many databases are created and fine tuned to the specific needs of an organization, that I would make the list specific to the photos that I was dealing with. I also added a Record Creator field with my initials (jrg) because I felt that it is necessary to know who created the record.  It is taken from the MARC Records format. I could have also included a date for when the record was created but at this point it would be overkill. I based myself on what I know and learned. Obvious things that are missing that would be found in a photographic collection database are access rights (copywright, etc…) to the work, donor names (i replaced that with organization), location (where you would find this in the storage/vaults) / location on my database is according to town where the subject was taken in photo, the actual accession # should actually have its own category, but in this case I used the number that corresponds to the individual records as the accession record # (simplify things for myself).

Record Creator: please note that on my viewall page, instead of having a {Recordset1.recordcreator} it has a {php}….not sure why that happened, but the info is showing up on the viewall.

Photographs: I did both Recto and Verso…though it may seem to you that there is not much on most of the versos, I decided to scan and include every verso that had writing on it, even if it was only one word. There is only one that does not have a verso since it was completely blank.

Note: my viewall.php has an image that I found on-line with all the photos I was using for the project. I know it is a student from last year and I hope that you won’t mind that I appropriated the image since I found it through google images. http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://bp1.blogger.com/_1bnH7DwMHN4/RgQbs34Yn2I/AAAAAAAAAGo/MGPLmHGSWos/s200/webimage.gif&imgrefurl=http://utatanekko.blogspot.com/2007_03_01_archive.html&h=197&w=200&sz=63&hl=en&start=63&um=1&tbnid=Ym5zfOqFSz2xqM:&tbnh=102&tbnw=104&prev=/images%3Fq%3DCatholic%2Bnew%2Btimes%26start%3D60%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3DrmS%26sa%3DN I was actually searching for a logo for the Catholic New Times but that was a no-go!

Note: I did the entersearch and results pages. I tried them out and they work. The only thing is that when you enter a word and submit it, it doesn’t matter what word is entered, the same two images (records) show up as the result. I know that a few others were having the same problem. I have no idea how to fix that, so I am leaving them as is.

So I just want to finish off the course by saying that it was great to “practice working with a complex metadata standard“. It helped me clarify how precise you should be with information in order to make it clear for searching. It will be very useful to help with cataloguing and organising information for a collection.

I also enjoyed learning how to work (or basics anyways) with dreamweaver and building a basic website. It has encouraged me to continue learning this in order to get my own website up and running.

The combo of the both made it clear to me that knowing both aspects will help me (one day) when working in an organisation (ex: I use to work at a non-profit gallery and their database was on-line. they had to pay a guy to come in and work with dreamweaver to put around with the website…..) At least I will know what I want and it will be easier to understand what is needed and how to do it.

I was not a big fan of the blog posts since I mostly used my actual notebook for note taking. I find it too complicated to take notes on the blog while using the internet to view sites during the lectures and class work. It was easier for me to follow by taking notes in my book, so hopefully there are enough entries on the blog to make it worth your while. (here’s an example: I lost this last entry I included in this post so I had to come back and re-edit my post — not fun!)

http://www.imagearts.ryerson.ca/jguillemette/CatholicNewTimesWsite/viewall.php

http://www.imagearts.ryerson.ca/jguillemette/CatholicNewTimesWsite/insert.php

http://www.imagearts.ryerson.ca/jguillemette/CatholicNewTimesWsite/entersearch.php

http://www.imagearts.ryerson.ca/jguillemette/CatholicNewTimesWsite/results.php

http://www.imagearts.ryerson.ca/jguillemette/phpmyadmin/index.php?db=jguillem

Thanks for all your help!

Joanne

Wk10: SQL

Defining data

-have a better idea of what kinds of data you want to store and ways of catagorizing it

create categories, use them for data : ex first name, last name

(columns and rows)

database=container that holds info organised into tables

-all tables in databases should be connected somehow

-sql requires all tables to be inside of databases

-good to use descriptive names for databases, tables, columns

-drop table deletes your table and any data in it

-you need to match up column names and values before writing ‘insert’ statement

-NULL is an unidentified value

alright, so I’m starting to feel like I need to be doing the work instead of just reading because I’m not 100% sure I’m following all this info……

***I really need to learn by doing and following along for this kind of stuff….reading it doesn’t cut it for me.***

Chap.2

= is SQL speak for ‘is’

use ‘*’ to select all columns in table

can combine 2 queries with ‘or’ – when you want any of conditions to be true

when you want all conditions to be true use ‘and’

% stand-in for any unknown number of caracters

_ stand-in for one unknown carcter

Wk10: Dublin Core and Metadata…..

okay, not sure what I should be reading specifically…..

kind of browsing through to find relative info

Wk10:common +useful information elements for cataloging pictorial materials

consult Graphic Materials (GM) and Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) for more detail

-useful descr. of pictorial materials

-use word that identifies broad type of material, such as “pictures”

-state the physical media/format and quantity

-express the subject and specific work type, media, or genre

broad:photographs — specific:trees, landscapes, cyanotypes

-favor names of creators

helps researchers gauge nature of visual info (amateur, commercial, ….)

-undertake rights statements

linked to descriptive record even if it says unknown

-link to digital reproductions

try to show what the picture looks like (this helps to convey info beyond reading verbal descrip.)

Wk4: Understanding MARC Bibliographic

I am not in love with MARC…he has too many issues.

Just kidding.  I learn better when I can actually try out the system.   So I’d rather wait and try it out than pull notes out of the reading and have to come back to it and change everything.  I like to keep things simple.

I’d looooove to be learning Multi Mimsy and FileMaker Pro since many of the museums and galleries I’ve worked for actually use these systems…perhaps a workshop overview would be cool.

Wk3: Introduction to Metadata

(Notes)

By Murtha Baca / Head, Getty Standards Program

Intro

-Anne Gilliland, an internationally-recognized expert in archival organization and preservation and electronic recordkeeping

-Tony Gill (worked UK and US) on making cultural heritage information available on line

-Mary Woodley, experienced cataloger, bibliographer, reference librarian

(e.g. Dublin Core Qualified, VRA Core 3.0)

Setting the Stage

By Anne J. Gilliland

http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/standards/intrometadata/setting.html

In general all information objects, regardless of the physical or intellectual form they take, have three features – content, context, and structure – all of which can be reflected through metadata.

• Content relates to what the object contains or is about, and is intrinsic to an information object.
• Context indicates the who, what, why, where, how aspects associated with the object’s creation and is extrinsic to an information object.
• Structure relates to the formal set of associations within or among individual information objects and can be intrinsic or extrinsic

-applying the term metadata to the value-added information that they create to arrange, describe, track and otherwise enhance access to information objects.

-MARC (MAchine-Readable Cataloging format), as well as authority forms such as LCSH (Library of Congress Subject Headings) or the AAT (Art & Architecture Thesaurus)

-Archival and manuscript metadata includes accession records, finding aids, and catalog records.

-metadata:

• certifies the authenticity and degree of completeness of the content;
• establishes and documents the context of the content;
• identifies and exploits the structural relationships that exist between and within information objects;
• provides a range of intellectual access points for an increasingly diverse range of users; and
• provides some of the information an information professional might have provided in a physical reference or research setting.

-Repositories also create metadata relating to the administration, accessioning, preservation, and use of collections. (ex:Acquisition records, exhibition catalogs, use data)

Paul Conway alludes to this metadata capability when he discusses the impact of digitization on preservation:

The digital world transforms traditional preservation concepts from protecting the physical integrity of the object to specifying the creation and maintenance of the object whose intellectual integrity is its primary characteristic.⁵

(see charts)

Why is metadata important?

-Increased accessibility

-Retention of context

-Expanding use

-Multi-versioning

- Legal issues

- Preservation

- System improvement and economics

(why does everyone use accounting as a metaphor or examples??? metadata and chemistry….drive me crazy! I’ve suffered through enough accounting courses already!)

Wk2: Introduction to imaging

(Notes)

by Howard Besser

Part I: Key Concepts and Terms

-The digital image defined

pixels=set of dots or squares arranged in a matrix of columns and rows, color or shade of gray=continuous tone image

scan – sample at reg. intervals/more samples more accurate

-digi-no material existence / data or binary code

-image hard to search for if not associated to metadata

-Standards

natl and intrnatl standards exists / allows precise search and retrieval

-choose open standards rather than proprietary

The National Digital Library Program of the Library of Congress, the California Digital Library, and the Colorado Digitization Program are some examples of groups that have made available their own standards, guidelines, and best practice recommendations

-file formats and technical metadata schemas

(Q:what about Unesco standards?-unsure if its also about metadata…) will check notes-VAM

-Metadata

prescribed list of elements, or fields, known as a metadata schema / physical card-catalogue entry, a set of fields for a database or collection management system record, or an XML (Extensible Markup Language) document—and still convey the same meaning

-Good metadata: appropriate to the materials digitized and their current and likely use; supports interoperability; uses standard controlled vocabularies to populate elements where appropriate; includes a clear statement on the terms of use of the digital object; supports the long-term management of digital objects; is persistent, authoritative, and verifiable.

-images without appropriate metadata will quickly become useless—impossible to find, view, or migrate to new technology

-Metadata: allows collection managers to track, preserve, and make accessible digital images and enables end users to find and distinguish between various images; allows digital image collections to be reused, built upon, and become part of larger cultural heritage offerings within and across institutions

-three broad types: descriptive, which describes content (; administrative, which describes context and form and gives data-management information; and structural, which describes the relationships between parts and between digital files or objects.

-Controlled vocabularies, thesauri, authorities, and indices provide accurate and consistent content

The image

-eeeek! will have to re-read when it’s not so late at night…need fresh brain and eyes.

-Networks, System Architecture, and Storage

-dig. image collections distributed over networks

-extremely important to keep redundant copies of digital assets on different media—for instance: CD-ROM, magnetic tape, and hard disk—under archival storage conditions and in different locations

(imagine if the internet would cease to exist? just like the good ol’ paper trail days..what then? – can’t even imagine)

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