Wk3: Introduction to Metadata
-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)
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!)
