Unlocking the value: a metadata strategy for the British Library / Alan Danskin
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The British Library published a Collection Metadata Strategy in 2015 to address challenges around legacy metadata and increase the value of its metadata assets. The strategy aims to make the Library's metadata comprehensive, coherent, authoritative and sustainable by 2020. This will be achieved by driving efficiencies, improving asset management, and increasing open access to metadata. Since 2015 the Library has created new processes to enhance e-book metadata, assessed metadata assets, added data to its linked open data platform, and increased the number of open metadata sets available.
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Unlocking the value: a metadata strategy for the British Library / Alan Danskin
- 1. Unlocking the Value A metadata strategy for the British Library Alan Danskin Collection Metadata Standards Manager CIG Conference 2016, Swansea
- 2. www.bl.uk 2 British Library The National Library of the United Kingdom London Boston Spa Stockton on Tees
- 3. www.bl.uk 3 British Library Metadata Services The British Library Act records our role as “national centre for… bibliographical & other information services” BL Metadata Services: • Originally offered priced services & evolved through many technologies • Began to offer open data in 2010 & Linked Open Data in 2011 • Collection Metadata Strategy published in 2015
- 4. www.bl.uk 4 Collection Metadata Strategy Why?
- 5. www.bl.uk 5 New Challenges 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 1949 1970 1973 1978 1980 1982 1984 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 Ebooks by Year of Original Publication No.of Items 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 Ebooks by Publication Location No. of items
- 6. www.bl.uk 6 Legacy Challenges Hidden Metadata • Printed catalogues • Superseded electronic media • Uncatalogued resources • Legacy metadata
- 7. www.bl.uk 7 Legacy Metadata Challenges 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 2013 2014 % Records containing Language of Content Foundation catalogues Integrated Catalogue Annual Production Discovery Research Bibliometrics Management Information Visualisation Collection Management
- 8. www.bl.uk 8 Legacy Challenges Hidden Metadata • Printed catalogues • Superseded electronic media • Uncatalogued resources • Legacy metadata Metadata Silos • Responsibility • Workflows • Systems
- 9. www.bl.uk 10
- 10. www.bl.uk 11 Collection Metadata Strategy How?
- 11. www.bl.uk 12 Collection Metadata - Uses Internal External Direct To record: Resource description & availability for discovery & access Collection inventory Preservation requirements Licensed content rights Legal deposit & purchased claims Representation of BL holdings in shared catalogues Re-use in 3rd party commercial services Derived cataloguing by other libraries Identification of candidate material for collaborative digitisation Indirect Preparing exhibitions Responding to FOI requests Website organisation Content identification for collaborative initiatives Management information Confirmation of UK publication status Identification of last resort copy for collection disposal initiatives Open data contribution
- 14. www.bl.uk 15 Collection Metadata = Strategic Asset Collection Metadata identifies: • Attributes & relationships • Location & availability • Status & rights Collection Staff Metadata Estates
- 15. www.bl.uk 16 Collection Metadata = Strategic Asset Collection Metadata requires • Stewardship • Leadership • Resourcing Collection Staff Metadata Estates
- 16. www.bl.uk 17 Collection Metadata = Strategic Asset Collection Metadata delivers • Efficiency • Improved services • More value for money Collection Staff Metadata Estates
- 17. www.bl.uk 18 Representation Senior management Strategic direction Expert Advice Business Representation Business Cases
- 18. www.bl.uk 19 Responsibilty Head of Collection Metadata
- 19. www.bl.uk 20 Communications • Strategy published externally • Established & communicated best practice via new CM Wiki • Implemented: • Centralised support mailbox • Horizon scanning function • Workshop on 2016/17 plans
- 20. www.bl.uk 21 Collection Metadata Strategy What?
- 21. www.bl.uk 22 Vision “Our vision is that by 2020 the Library’s collection metadata assets will be comprehensive, coherent, authoritative and sustainable, enabling their full value to be unlocked for improved content management, greater collaboration and wider use of the collection.”
- 22. www.bl.uk 24 Objectives • Drive efficiencies in the creation, management and exploitation of collection metadata to support delivery of the Library’s strategic priorities and programmes • Improve the Library’s return on investment in its collection metadata assets by ensuring their long term value is maintained for future activities • Open up more of the Library’s collection metadata to improve access to Library content and promote wider re-use
- 23. www.bl.uk 25 Collection Metadata Strategy 2015-18 Implementation Roadmap MetadataManagementStandards Preservation, Maintenance & Enhancement Open Metadata Discovery & Delivery 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Metadata assets register available ISNI integration into key metadata Licensing&RightsManagementProcessEfficienciesCommunications Technical Infrastructure Collection metadata available via global cross domain delivery channels Assessment and prioritisation of enhancement requirements Automated E-book metadata enhancement process implemented Establish horizon scanning function for metadata Undertake Options appraisal for linked metadata platform replacement Aleph v22 Implemention Metadata strategy workshop Development of new metadata visualisation tools Redevelopment of AMED Service metadata Undertake investigation of DRM metadata solutions Convergence on agreed metadata standards portfolio Standardise solutions for derived collection metadata Internal communication of strategic priorities Completion of website redevelopment Large scale batch enhancement solution implemented Harmonisation of existing metadata licensing practice IAMS data release Create metadata based collection analysis tools Undertake review of national library metadata systems options Non standard systems migration completed Assessment and prioritisation of metadata systems migration requirements All collection metadata held in centralised master metadata repositories SAMI Metadata assessment Persistent Identifier infrastructure for metadata and related content Implementation of comprehensive DRM metadata solution Promotion of agreed standards portfolio Preparatory work for ILS replacement Ongoingrationalisationoflegacysystems&migrationtosupportedmastermetadatarepositories Improved user access options available Implementation of PSI directives for metadata sets Complex rights & license metadata solution available New staff intranet and wiki resources on collection metadata Optimised metadata management processes Efficient international standards engagement process Undertake review of new metadata creation & processing options Establish annual collection metadata audit processes Collaborate with international partners on core metadata standards Ongoinginfrastructuredevelopment Migration to supported standards BNB Linked data service improvements Printed music metadata release New open researcher format metadata capability established Fully representative range of metadata sets available Hidden collection metadata assets exposed for re-use Centralised metadata license storage implemented Undertake audits of metadata assets & licenses Governance & internal support functions established Investigate deriving options for sound recordings Migration complete Collection Metadata best practice resource available for staff New linked data platform implemented JISC national shared metadata service platform options appraisal External publication of strategy External user support functions centralised Preparatory work for Google digitisation phase 2 Implementation of new external sources metadata Linked data exploitation options implemented Undertake review of metadata standards & develop engagement plan Investigate BL on Demand requirements Comprehensive open metadata service offering Unified, standardised metadata management infrastructure
- 24. www.bl.uk 26 Collection Metadata Strategy Where?
- 25. www.bl.uk 27 Collection Metadata Strategy Implementation Roadmap 2016
- 26. www.bl.uk 28 Efficiencies Reducing Cost & Complexity We created new: • E-publisher metadata assessment & ingest processes • Automated enhancement processes for Western European Languages & e-book metadata • Spread sheet data capture & crowd source workflows • Core metadata specification for digitisation initiatives • FAST Consultation
- 27. www.bl.uk 29 Asset Management Maintaining Long Term Value We implemented: • Collection metadata audit & assets register • Centralised metadata licensing store • Metadata impact assessment for business programmes • Record of ‘hidden’ metadata assets % Metadata in Strategic Repositories %Metadata in Other Repositories 52.7 47.3 59.9 40.1 2014-15 2015-16
- 28. www.bl.uk 30 Open Metadata Increasing Access, Reuse & Relevance 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 2014/15 2015/16 Downloads 177 countries use services New open ‘researcher format’ option Created open metadata sets for printed music, manuscripts & archives Events – CILIP, Cabinet Office Data Science… Student research collaborations 1550+ users
- 29. www.bl.uk 31 Open Metadata Linked Open Data Linked Data Analytics Project • Who is using our data? • Which data? • How to optimise publication? Visitors - Government Visitors - Academia Visitors - Libraries 745K ISNIs added to Linked Data BNB
- 30. www.bl.uk 32 Conclusions Raised awareness Improved communications Influencing Delivering corporate strategic objectives Increased Demand Convergence creates new synergies
- 31. www.bl.uk 33 Links: strategy Unlocking the value: the British Library’s Collection Metadata Strategy, 2015-2018 http://www.bl.uk/bibliographic/pdfs/british-library-collection-metadata- strategy-2015-2018.pdf Collection Metadata Strategy Roadmap, 2015-2018 http://www.bl.uk/bibliographic/pdfs/british-library-collection-metadata- strategy-roadmap-2015-2018.pdf Living knowledge: the British Library 2015-2023 http://www.bl.uk/projects/living-knowledge-the-british-library-2015- 2023
- 32. www.bl.uk 34 Links: metadata Contact metadata@bl.uk Free data services http://www.bl.uk/bibliographic/datafree.html Downloads: linked data; open data; researcher format http://www.bl.uk/bibliographic/download.html
Editor's Notes
- Apologies if the colour is a bit blinding. Metadata is one of those things that people take for granted until it goes wrong, so we wanted something eye catching. And the future is bright for metadata.
- The British Library is the U.K.’s national library and also a legal deposit library. The Library currently has around 1,500 staff operating on three sites in Stockton on Tees, Boston Spa and London. The main cataloguing department is based in Boston Spa, but there are many specialist cataloguers in London
- The Library was created in 1973 as the result of an Act of Parliament to amalgamate many existing institutions. Under the Act, the Library is “the national centre for bibliographical & other information services” From an external perspective, the Library has charged for many of its bibliographic services, but over recent years in line with government policy, barriers to access have been removed. We began to offer open data in 210 and Linked Open Data form 2011. In 2015 we published our first Collection Metadata Strategy. I’ll come to what the strategy actually is, a bit later, but first, why did we decide that we needed a strategy.
- “Why” was the hardest question to answer. In fact, it needed a separate document to justify the need for a strategy.
- The Library faces new challenges. In 2013 the scope of legal deposit was extended to non-print material. This means that publishers can be switched from deposit of printed books and serials to deposit of the e-book or e-journal. The rate of transition is under the Library’s control, which enables us to develop our infrastructure. However, we are already seeing interesting challenges. Based on the contribution from a very small subset of publishers over May 2015 to January 2016 we received 50,000 e books. This corresponds to about 50% of annual intake of printed books. Closer analysis of what has been deposited shows that we are receiving materials which are in effect re-issues of printed books and because of the international scope of publishing, we are receiving materials which have no UK imprint, but are distributed in UK. For much of this additional material we may already have records for the print manifestation, which we should be able to reuse and adapt.
- There are also long standing challenges. We still have printed catalogues. Around 2 million items can only be found by consulting a printed catalogue in the reading room. There is a smaller but unquantified number of catalogues and finding aids on electronic media that need to be migrated to strategic repositories. There are some collections that remain uncatalogued. A pervasive problem is that a lot of legacy metadata, particularly retrospectively converted metadata falls far short of current standards.
- Here is legacy meetadata: this record was retrospectively converted from the British Museum catalogue. As the cataloguers among you will recognise, there are some omissions. Where is the language of content? Where is the country of publication? Where is the subject data? This information wasn’t recorded in the original catalogue. Taking language as an example, the orange line shows that for current processing 100% of published resources are coded for language of content. However, if we look at the foundation or legacy catalogues, this drops to under 30%, which has implications for services and for the metadata to inform research and collection management or to visualise the collection. How can you build a linguistic picture of the collection, if the language is not explicitly recorded. This metadata is not capable of answering the questions posed by users and staff.
- Metadata is increasing in importance but it was recognised that within the organization responsibility for metadata was divided and the boundaries were unclear. Addressing the challenges would be impossible unless we could also break down silos.
- This is a functional overview of our metadata architecture. Metadata for various resource types is sourced externally or created internally and comes in a variety of schema. The library manages the metadata and it supports discovery and we disseminate it through various channels. It looks relatively straightforward, but if we overlay the systems we reveal a lot of complexity.
- In effect each content stream has its own input format and its own system. Each content stream is therefore a distinct silo, usually with its own workflow and specialist staff. The persistence of silos at the discovery layer prevent cross searching of the whole collection but the complexity they create at every level is a barrier to efficiency. In 2004 we implemented Aleph, which removed significant long standing silos based around printed collections. This has created much more uniform metadata and more efficient processes, but many content streams and processes were out of scope and thus silos have been perpetuated. To some extent these silos reflect historic divisions between different components of the Library and responsibility has been distributed between different services and departments.
- “Why” was the hardest question to answer. In fact, it needed a separate document to justify the need for a strategy.
- The following diagram gives an overview of the range of external stakeholders
- And internal stakeholders who are increasingly dependent on metadata to deliver services, and the Library’s strategic objectives.
- The fundamental idea behind the evolving strategy was to treat Collection Metadata as a strategic asset of the Library, on a par with the collection, the staff and the estate. We deliberately limited the scope to metadata about the collection. Collection metadata identifies attributes and relationships of collection resources; location and availability of collection resources and status and rights associate with them
- Like the collection or any other asset collection metadata needs careful stewarship over time and this in turn needs clear leadership and adequate resourcing.
- Like any other asset, investment should be rewarded by improvements in efficiency, better services and more value for money. An important contention is that the metadata should be made to work much harder.
- “Why” was the hardest question to answer. In fact, it needed a separate document to justify the need for a strategy.
- The vision provides a view of where we want to be in 2020, which aligns closely with the Library’s Strategy, Living Knowledge and its core programmes.
- There are three core objectives: Drive efficiencies in the creation, management and exploitation of collection metadata to support delivery of the Library’s strategic priorities and programmes Improve the Library’s return on investment in its collection metadata assets by ensuring their long term value is maintained for future activities Open up more of the Library’s collection metadata to improve access to Library content and promote wider re-use
- And a plan…
- So where have we got to.
- We have raised the awareness of collection metadata within the institution. We are also better informed of new requirements and receive earlier notice which allows us to influence as well as respond. It is clear that metadata is central to the delivery of many corporate strategic objectives. This has increased demand, but also substantiates bids for additional resource. Convergence creates new synergies. The vision to bring our metadata together informs decisions about system architecture.