clsc555 webliography

CLSC 555 INFORMATION SYSTEMS WEBLIOGRAPHY: Metadata
by
Thomas H. Webster

| Metadata Introductions | Metadata Clearing Houses | Metadata Templates |

Introductions to Metadata
- Introduction to Metadata: Pathways to Digital Information
  edited by Murtha Baca
  This paper is a good introduction to metadata and its utility in facilitating search of documents on the Internet. Its chief strength lies in the presentation of sections on crosswalks between different databases, a glossary of technical terms, and an extensive list of acronyms and URLs. The main weakness of this paper is that it lies outside the scope of other disciplines.
- An introduction to metadata
  by Chris Taylor
  This paper is an introduction to metadata written specifically for librarians, museum curators, and archivists. Its chief strength lies in its clear, concise presentation on how and why metadata is created to achieve greater facility of discovery of documents on the Internet. It also covers the various metadata schemas. Its primary weakness is that the paper is not relevant to other disciplines outside the library community.
- A Gentle Introduction to Metadata
  by Jeff Good
  This paper is a good introduction to metadata from the perspective of the linguistics community. Its chief strength lies in its clear, concise presentation of a basic meaning of metadata, the reasons for metadata creation, its possibilities and limitations, and its future development. It also includes links to other introductions of metadata. While the chief weakness of this paper lies in its scope outside the library community, it is nevertheless helpful to beginning library school students in their understanding of metadata.
- Metadata: An Overview
  by Warwick Cathro
  This paper is a very good introduction to metadata from the vantage of the Dublin Core and the Warwick Framework. Its primary strength is in its concise, simple presentation of the Dublin Core elements and also its discussion on the minimalist/structuralist issue in the semantic use of metadata. While it is dated material from September 1997 which may be its chief weakness, it is however a classic introduction to metadata.
- Metadata for the Masses
  by Paul Miller
  This paper is a good introduction to the Dublin Core. Its major strength lies in its presentation of the Dublin Core elements and how this schema can be extended. Even though this paper's dated material (from September 1996) is its chief weakness, it is still a good introduction of metadata for the beginner.
Metadata Clearing Houses
- Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI)
  This web site is the central clearing house of the Dublin Core. It includes an overview of the Dublin Core, with ready reference, DCMI registry, and resources sections. A strength of this web site is its helpful, annotated list of Dublin Core projects listed alphabetically by title, subject, and location of project. Its main weakness is the extensive clicking required to find relevant materials
- Metadata
  by UKOLN (The UK Office for Library and Information Networking)
  This web site is a clearing house for metadata projects, resources, initatiatives,and registries in the United Kingdom as well as the rest of the world. Its special strength is the its web page section, Mapping between Metadata Formats, an extensive lists of mappings or crosswalks between the various metadata formats. Its chief weakness lies in its brevity of presentation, but the web site is well laid out and easy to use.
- Digital Libraries: Metadata Resources
  by IFLANET (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions)
  This web site is a clearing house for digital libraries with an exhaustive list of metadata standards, schemas, and projects. It includes a list of reports, conferences, and books on metadata and its implementation. Its strength lies in the descriptive annotations for some of its entries. However, the chief weakness of this web site is the persistent clicking required on items to find relevant information, but overall it is a good web site for its completeness.
- Metadata.Net Home Page
  by DSTC (Distributed Systems Technology Centre), Australia
  This web site is a clearing house for metadata initiatives, projects, tools and services, and schema registries. Its chief strength lies in the detailed descriptions of both the metadata initiatives and projects. A major weakness of this web site is its brevity of presentation, but its conciseness is also a great plus for the novice of metadata.
- Metadata
  by FGDC (Federal Geographic Data Committee)
  This web site is a clearing house for Digital Geospatial metadata. Its strength lies in its extensive metadata standards and tools. Nonexistent pages on the web site demonstrate its weakness. For example, the Metadata-L Discussion List no longer exists, but the link takes the visitor to helpful information for careers and jobs in geospatial metadata.
Metadata Templates
- Dublin Core Metadata Template
  by Traugott Koch and Mattias Borrell
  This metadata template is a Dublin Core Template "provided by the Nordic Metadata Project". Its primary strengths are general helps, guidelines, and reference sources for metadata creation. Also included are links from the metadata elements with examples for metadata imput and also drop-down variable menus. A possible weakness of this web site is that it was last updated March 1997.
- Curtin Metadata Template
  by Curtin University of Technology in Australia
  This metadata template is one produced for the technology community by the Curtin University in Australia. Its greatest strength is the simplicity of interface for the imput of metadata elements. Its major weakness is the paucity of metadata imput examples given in the links from the various elements.
- DC-dot Dublin Core metadata editor
  by Andy Powell, UKOLN, University of Bath, UK
  This metadata editor is a template developed by the UK Office for Library and Information Networking (UKOLN) for the creation of metadata records from Internet web sites. Its primary strengths are the creation of metadata records with HTML or RDF/XHTML meta tags and the capability to convert such records to the formats of USMARC, TEI, GILS, RDF, etc. Also helpful are links to the Dublin Core and RDF metadata schemas. However, a possible weakness lies in the fact that superabundance of such detail may be a hindrance to the beginner.
- IPSMS Metadata Template
  by Irish Public Service Metadata Standard
  This metadata template was constructed by the Irish Public Service Standard for the creation of metadata records for government policy documents, legislation, press releases, reports, and speeches. Its strength lies in the simplicity of its interface for the creation of metadata. The major weakness of this template is that one has to go to the home page to locate the user guide to the template.
- The EULER Dublin Core Metadata Template
  by European Libraries and Electronic Resources in Mathematical Sciences
  This metadata template was developed for the mathematics community by the European Libraries and Electronic Resources in Mathematical Sciences. Its primary strength lies in the user-friendly design of its template with helpful drop-down menus. Also beneficial is the Introduction/User Guide with links to other European mathematical metadata templates. Its major weakness is that it lies outside the general library community.