Metadata Fundamentals For All Librarians

Metadata, or data about data , is used to organize and access information in an effective way. From cataloguing to organizing archives, metadata helps front-line librarians provide customers with a direct path to information. In this text, Priscilla Caplan presents a comprehensive description of the various forms of metadata, its applications, and how librarians can put it to work. Both descriptive and nondescriptive forms of metadata are defined (including the TEI Header, the Dublin Core, EAD, GILS, ONIX and the Data Documentation Initiative) and applied to actual library functions. Illustrations show how different forms of metadata look, the advantages and disadvantages, and where they're best applied in the library. Caplan seeks to provide an unbiased analysis of metadata forms, emerging forms, and current and future applications. She answers questions such as: how does using metadata enhance access?; how can metadata be used to organize and describe a variety of information formats, especially digital resources?; what are the different ways you can use metadata in your library?; and which form of metadata will be most appropriate for your collection?

Metadata is used to organize and access information in an effective way. This is a comprehensive description of the various forms of metadata, its applications, and how librarians can use it. Both descriptive and nondescriptive forms of metadata are defined and applied to library functions.

This book assists information professionals in improving the usability of digital objects by adequately documenting them and using tools for metadata management. It provides practical advice for libraries, archives, and museums dealing with digital collections in a wide variety of formats and from a wider variety of sources. This book is forward-thinking in its approach to using metadata to drive digital library systems, and will be a valuable resource for those creating and managing digital resources as technologies for using those resources grow and change. Provides practical guidance on the key choices that information professionals in libraries, archives, and museums must make when defining and implementing a metadata strategy Provides insight on the new area of metadata librarianship while positions are opening in many organizations and many professionals worldwide are charged with managing and sharing metadata Focuses on metadata usability and the careful definition of what a digital library system must do in order to define a metadata strategy

Keep pace with the constant technological changes you face every day as a library technician Computers in Libraries examines the impact of integrated library management systems, digital resources, and the Internet on the functions and operations of library technicians and assistants. The book provides a practical understanding of library system software, networks, online information and access, portals, open URL linking, and the fusion of digital and print collections. Each chapter opens with definitions of the most commonly used terms and closes with review questions for classroom use, making it equally valuable as a textbook and as a professional resource for updating work skills. The roles of library technicians and assistants have changed dramatically in the past twenty years as computers have transformed every area of day-to-day library operations. And nowhere have those changes been more obvious than when dealing with online data that hasn’t undergone the same quality control and selection processes traditionally used with library resources. As ordering and cataloging processes have been streamlined, and reference and research services have been turned into twenty-four hour help centers, Computers in Libraries is a practical guide to keeping pace with the changes you face—every day, in every aspect of your work. Computers in Libraries examines: how computers work Internet protocols and applications integrated management system structure and administration acquisitions financial management online cataloging standards circulation parameters and policies course reserves serials control the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) resource sharing standards searching online databases creating online content digital libraries and electronic publishing bibliographic standards and practices Computers in Libraries is an important resource for library professionals striving to stay a step ahead in their field and for students who will need to be up to speed on the technological aspects of library work.

This collection of reports from the field is an opportunity for librarians to learn from the experience of others involved in technically diverse digital library archive projects. It offers project planners, metadata librarians, systems and technical services librarians, and catalogers a problem-solving approach and real-world supplement.

This book explores the expectations and resources available to develop a set of important core skills needed for this profession. Leading authorities in the field of librarianship offer their extensive experience and insight to help beginners to understand precisely what actual measurable skills are required to become a successful career science librarian. Librarians currently working in the area will gain the data they need to be able to effectively collaborate with more experienced people. Topics include reviews of key concepts, basic skills, terminology, ACRL instruction competencies, teams, and assessment of services. It also provides the latest knowledge on trends, standards, terminology, professional associations, and a brief literature review, and recommended readings for familiarizing librarians with their job responsibilities. Besides job competencies, the book reviews collection development, reference issues, in-depth research assistance, cataloging and metadata, faculty liaison and outreach, career development concerns, continuing education tracks, and issues in collaboration assistance. This source also provides extensive references and tables and figures to clearly present information. This book is a valuable resource for beginners who wonder what they need to know as they start their careers or are considering this as an area of concentration, and as a refresher and professional development track for current librarians working with more experienced people in the area. This book was published as a special issue of Science & Technology Libraries.

"The processes for acquiring, cataloging, and preserving resources have undergone dramatic changes in the past decade, and library technical services departments have had to evolve quickly in response. Often, librarians asked to take on technical services management roles find themselves both underprepared and without guidance from their institutions"--P. [4] of cover.

Three mavens of the cataloging world tackle the topic of metadata, explaining fundamental concepts and their accompanying rationales, as well as exploring current developments and future innovations in the library world. Part One examines the characteristics of multiple metadata schema, the creation of metadata for both monographic and continuous electronic resources, and its integration into local catalogs and databases. Part Two explores metadata's effect on current developments in online reference, choice of metadata schema, archiving, and digital preservation, and professional education, as well as future innovations yet unborn. A must-read for sophisticated information specialists, as well as for those who aspire to similar heights of intellectual worldliness. We believe that the community of information professionals who have organized and preserved the world's written treasures for thousands of years will not fail to continue to organize and preserve the world's digital treasures in the future, demonstrating their usual sensitivity and creativity, remembering the lessons history has taught them, and keeping in mind the interests of all their user communities, present and future, as they have always done. With these bold words, three mavens of the cataloging world tackle the topic of metadata. Undaunted by its dominance in the lexicon and collective consciousness of the library profession, they deftly anatomize the concept of data about data into discrete aspects (Metadata), then relate those aspects to a miscellany of circumstances in which librarians may increasingly find themselves (Its Impact on Libraries). Part One examines the characteristics of multiple metadata schema, the creation of metadata for both monographic and continuous electronic resources, and its integration into local catalogs and databases. Part Two explores metadata's effect on current developments in online reference, choice of metadata schema, archiving and digital preservation, and professional education, as well as future innovations yet unborn. A must-read for sophisticated information specialists, as well as those who aspire to similar heights of intellectual worldliness.