Learn the bare bones of metadata for your academic digital project. Explains the basics of metadata and data curation for a faculty audience.

1. Practical Metadata:
Where do I start for a digital
project?
Digital Humanities Workshop
Carleton College
September 22, 2012
Jill Strass

2. Metadata is information
about Data
“Descriptive metadata helps users find and obtain
objects, distinguish one object or group of objects
from one another, and discover the subject or
contents.” – NISO Framework of Guidance for
Building Good Digital Collections
If you do your own collection, this is the primary
type of metadata you’ll create.
http://www.niso.org/publications/rp/framework3.pdf

3. What’s in there?

4. I see metadata everywhere…
Bibliographic citation example for an electronic
book from a library database:
Kornblum, William. At Sea in the City. Chapel
Hill: Algonquin Books, 2002. NetLibrary. Web. 23
June 2006.
Author Title Year of Pub.
Note that metadata is implied by your data.

5. Bibliographic Citation Example
MLA
Author
Title
Publication Place
Publisher
Year Of Publication
Source - NetLibrary
Where found - Web
When accessed – 23 June
2006

6. Now we’ll do a “crosswalk”
• A crosswalk is a matrix that allows you to
look at the data fields you have and match
them as best you can to an existing
standard.
• We are going to see how MLA fits into the
Dublin Core of 15 basic terms.

7. MLA vs Dublin Core

8. Inventing Metadata Fields
• Metadata concepts for a project rarely match
perfectly to a standard.
• Some standards allow you to combine concepts –
a metadata mashup.
• Sometimes you need to add special fields that
are outside the standard.
• User need is more important than a standard.

9. What is a Data Dictionary?
• A Data Dictionary lists terms used, reasons for
use, samples and context for use.
• Shared document that shows all involved parties
the data fields.
• Reminds project participants of decisions made.
• Makes consistency in data entry possible.

10. Manitou Messenger Data Dictionary

11. Selecting Metadata Concepts
Summary
• Find a role model
• Construct a Crosswalk from the role model to the data in
use
• Add in a few field concepts that the model doesn’t have
• The resulting list of terms is the data dictionary.

12. Metadata role model: Claremont
College

13. Note differences between our
model and our collection

14. Common Metadata Standards in the
Humanities
• Dublin Core (Libraries and Museums)
– http://www.bridges.state.mn.us/dcore.html
• Visual Resources Association (VRA and
Museums)
– http://www.vraweb.org/projects/vracore4/
• EAD aka Encoded Archival Description
(Archives and Museums)
• MODS aka Metadata Object Description Schema
(Library of Congress)

15. Tracking Rights in Metadata
• Consider your copyright message to users
• Consider what permissions you’ve obtained and
how/if you wish to share them with your users
• Consider where this information fits in with your
metadata scheme
• Note that in Dublin Core, there is a Rights
concept

16. Next Steps
• Consider your audience
• Find where you fit with other
collections
• Find a role-model collection
• Talk to your campus resources
about metadata

17. Data Curation and Content Selection
• Data Curation is in its infancy:
processes and standards are being
formed now
• Your campus may have a digital
policy already in place, like the
University of Utah
– http://www.lib.utah.edu/collections/digital/dig
ital-preservation.php
• For more info on Digital Curation
– http://digital-scholarship.org/dcrg/dcrg.htm

18. Project Afterlife
• Exit Strategy
– Do you want your collection to live on?
– Migration
– Control over your content
• Creative Commons License
– Define how you want others to use or re-use
your work
– http://creativecommons.org/choose/

19. Digital Daze
We’ve thrown a lot of info at you; this
presentation is available at
Slideshare.com for future reference….
Jill Strass strass@stolaf.edu