Users need subject and keyword access, relevance ranking, comprehensive coverage, and awareness of collections. To meet these needs, metadata should support controlled vocabularies, semantic search, and arrangement of items. Metadata should also be shared outside library systems through APIs, linked data, and data dumps to increase awareness of collections.

1. Designing
Metadata to
Meet User
Needs for
Special
Collections
Allison Jai O’Dell
Image: Special Collections Reading Room,
Library East, University of Florida, Gainesville
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UFHistoricBuildingSmathersLibraryEastInteriorSpecialCollectionsRoom.JPG
#/media/File:UFHistoricBuildingSmathersLibraryEastInteriorSpecialCollectionsRoom.JPG

2. What do users need?
(the question that answers all the other questions)

3. Schaffner’s synthesis of user studies
• Users search by subjects and keywords
• Users expect results ranked by relevance
• Users expect comprehensive coverage
• Users know how to scan and scroll
• Users lack awareness about collections
Schaffner, The Metadata is the Interface.
http://www.oclc.org/programs/publications/reports/2009-06.pdf

4. Users search by
subjects & keywords
Let’s buff up subject and keyword access!

5. Better Indexing
• Appropriate hierarchies & subdivisions
match the granularity of user searches and browses
• User-supplied “tags”
added value
show how users want to access and organize library resources;
data that libraries can use to inform better metadata and services
• Control (and publish!) local vocabularies
• URIs

6. Things, not Strings

7. Abstracting
• Support keyword access
• Provide context
• Let users know:
What it features
What it is
What it can be used for

8. Topic Modeling
• Cluster related subjects together
ID collection strengths (“shop your closet”)
Let users surf related things
• Lets us get away with iffy data
Does not require that every item in a subject area has the
exact same heading

9. Users expect results
ranked by relevance
Let’s support appropriate results!

10. Relevancy Ranking
• Based on: where the search term appears
Subject headings Title
Abstracts Author-supplied keywords
Full text
• Based on: what it is
Current publication Peer-reviewed
Type of material Length of material
… We can do better

11. Semantic Search
Semantic search technology relates user search
queries to their probable intent, thereby offering more
relevant results. This technology is built on a
combination of understanding humans (e.g., natural
language processing, concept matching) and
understanding data (e.g., easily-parsed, uses URIs).

12. Understandable Data
Linked Data = Data that machines understand
• BIBFRAME
• Microformats
Schema.org
Bib Extend

13. Users expect
comprehensive
coverage
Let’s describe all the things!

14. Aggregate Description
• Collection records in catalog
• Finding aids
• Landing pages
• Subject guides
Greene & Meissner, More Product, Less Process
http://www.uiowa.edu/~c024120/Readings/Greene-Meissner.pdf

15. Iterative Description
• Content upgrades
• Cooperative description
• User-supplied content
• Links to external resources
• Ingest external data
Ascher, Progressing toward Bibliography
http://rbm.acrl.org/content/10/2/95.full.pdf

16. Users know how to
scan and scroll
Let’s support browsing!

17. Arrangement
• Classification & call numbers
• Shelflists
• Series
• Controlled access points
Subject & genre headings
Creators & other names

18. Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs)
Controlled access points … For the interwebs!
• Connect library collections
• Let users surf library resources alongside the Web

19. Guided Search
Orientation, Inspiration & Interpretation
• Subject guides
• Saved searches
• Bibliographies
• Pathfinders
• Visualization

20. Visualization

21. Users lack awareness
about collections
Let’s put collections in their face;
Let’s get the metadata out there!

22. Put Your Metadata Other Places

23. Let Folks Access Your Metadata
• OAI-PMH & OAIster
• APIs
• SPARQL endpoints
• Data dumps
• Export options
• Linked Data: expose data
to the Web
• URIs: create links between
library metadata & other
resources

24. Create Shareable Metadata
• Content is optimized for sharing
• Metadata … reflects consistent practices
• Metadata is coherent
• Context is provided
• The metadata provider communicates with aggregators
• Metadata and sharing mechanisms conform to standards
Shreeves, Riley, and Milewicz, Moving Towards Shareable Metadata.
http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1386/1304

25. More Considerations
Internationalization
• Use clear, concise language
• Cultural relevance
• Character encoding
Policy
• Explicit CC license
• Own the data you share

26. Thank you!
@AllisonJaiODell | ajodell@gmail.com