Strategies for sustainable funding: a metadata review of the independent library district model

ABSTRACT

Public libraries have seen a decline in public funding, relying on a mixture of external types of funding to keep services running. With state and local governments continuing to face financial pressures, some libraries have explored alternative ways to maximize funding, by forming library districts. This report aimed at exploring library districts in three states, Colorado, Michigan, and Oregon, which have similar funding structures. The report found more stable and predictable funding patterns in library districts versus their counterparts and provides evidence that is a strong alternative for public libraries seeking a change in the way they obtain funds.     

Usability of a metadata creation application for resource authors

This article analyzes resource authors' use of a metadata creation application at the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Users' behavior was observed as they created metadata, and feedback about the application was solicited. Data analysis focused on usability—specifically task structure, duration, user perceptions, and researcher observations. Developing a conceptual understanding of metadata and its use in retrieval was challenging for users. The study identifies particular interface elements (e.g., input fields) as well as element semantics and syntax that impact application usability and metadata creation. Implications for information architecture and interface design include the need to incorporate metadata creation into user-centered design processes and develop advanced applications that reduce the burden on authors.     

试论MARC元数据向DC都柏林核心元数据的转换

论文论述了MARC元数据向DC元数据转换的必要性和可行性，介绍了国内外在这方面的研究现状，并对其技术实现作出展望。     

A metadata initiative for global information discovery

The Global Information Locator Service (GILS) encompasses a global vision framed by the fundamental values of open societies. Societal values such as a free flow of information impose certain requirements on the society’s information infrastructure. These requirements in turn shape the various laws, policies, standards, and technologies that determine the infrastructure design. A particular focus of GILS is the requirement to provide the means for people to discover sources of data and information. Information discovery in the GILS vision is designed to be decentralized yet coherent, and globally comprehensive yet useful for detailed data. This article introduces basic concepts and design issues, with emphasis on the techniques by which GILS supports interoperability. It explains the practical implications of GILS for the common roles of organizations involved in handling information, from content provider through system engineer and intermediary to searcher. The article provides examples of GILS initiatives in various types of communities: bibliographic, geographic, environmental, and government.     

Universal metadata standard

Consciousness is based on the association of notions or a neural network. Similarly, the creation of the next-generation Internet (semantic web) is impossible without attributes that allow the semantic association of documents and their integration into an information context. To achieve these goals, the Universal Metadata Standard (UMS) may serve as a basis for documentography and is functionally required for interpretation of documents by automatic operating systems.     

关于制定中文元数据标准的思考

作者认为,中文元数据标准应以DC为基本框架,并完全遵循和保留DC的结构、特点及扩展方式等,坚决防止CNMARC化倾向;中文元数据标准应形成一个完整的体系,对所涉及的相关的中文标准、规则、方案等,按照通用性、易用性等原则进行修改和制定;这一标准体系应成为全球各类中文信息资源著录和检索的标准.     

A universal metadata system for the characterization of nanomaterials

This paper presents a detailed analysis of a newly developed system for the identification of nanomaterials and nanostructures of an arbitrary nature. The system has been created as a result of the joint work of the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) and the International Council for Science (ICSI). It is shown that at its core the developed system is an extended set of metadata that reflect the conceptual framework of a scientific discipline. Their features include a wide coverage of the sum of the properties and characteristics, as well as the possibility of adding new headings, i.e., support for the evolution of the conceptual scheme that meets the requirements of the subject field. Limitations in the possibilities of the representation of certain categories of nanomaterials, especially of macroscopic objects, are found. It is shown that it is possible to overcome them by the active use of existing ontologies in the field of materials science.     

Value-based metadata quality assessment

This article proposes a method that allows a value-based assessment of metadata quality and construction of a baseline quality model. The method is illustrated on a large-scale, aggregated collection of simple Dublin core metadata records. An analysis of the collection suggests that metadata providers and end users may have different value structures for the same metadata. To promote better use of the metadata collection, value models for metadata in the collection should be made transparent to end users and end users should be allowed to participate in content creation and quality control processes.     

Defining functional requirements for acquisitions records: Vendor metadata

Vendor records are one of the key components underpinning the acquisitions record in the integrated library system. Acquisitions and collection development practitioners increasingly need to record, access, and manipulate acquisitions vendor metadata for purposes not foreseen by the architects of current generation ILSs. The authors posit that vendor records can serve as an appropriate metaphor for the entire acquisitions record in the development of standards. The analysis of data elements and proposed grouping into fields, records, and metarecords suggests a direction for further development and enhanced functionality. The authors call on librarians, systems vendors, and materials vendors to engage in a dialog aimed at creating an accepted standard for vendor records that will meet the needs of all parties.     

Defining functional requirements for acquisitions records: Vendor metadata

Vendor records are one of the key components underpinning the acquisitions record in the integrated library system. Acquisitions and collection development practitioners increasingly need to record, access, and manipulate acquisitions vendor metadata for purposes not foreseen by the architects of current generation ILSs. The authors posit that vendor records can serve as an appropriate metaphor for the entire acquisitions record in the development of standards. The analysis of data elements and proposed grouping into fields, records, and metarecords suggests a direction for further development and enhanced functionality. The authors call on librarians, systems vendors, and materials vendors to engage in a dialog aimed at creating an accepted standard for vendor records that will meet the needs of all parties.     

Establishing the value of socially-created metadata to image indexing

There have been ample suggestions in the literature that terms added to documents from Flickr and Wikipedia can complement traditional methods of indexing and controlled vocabularies. At the same time, adding new metadata to existing metadata objects may not always add value to those objects. The potential added-value of using user-contributed (“social”) terms from Flickr and the English Wikipedia in image indexing is compared with using two expert-created controlled vocabularies—the Thesaurus for Graphic Materials and the Library of Congress Subject Headings—without those social terms. Experiments confirmed that the social terms did add value, relative to terms from the controlled vocabularies. The median rating for the usefulness of social terms was significantly higher than the baseline rating, but was lower than the ratings for the terms from the Thesaurus for Graphic Materials and the Library of Congress Subject Headings. Furthermore, complementing the controlled vocabulary terms with social terms more than doubled the average coverage of participants' terms for a photograph. The relationships between user demographics and users' perceptions of the value of terms were also investigated, as well as the relationships between user demographics and indexing quality, as measured by the number of terms participants assigned to a photograph. Participants with more tagging and indexing experience assigned a greater number of tags than did other participants.     

Recordkeeping metadata and archival description: a revisit

Metadata go through an evolutionary process from creation to archival preservation. During this process, some metadata are re-used (inheritance), other metadata are eliminated (extinction) and still others are updated or newly generated (mutation). Unlike other literature that focuses on metadata inheritance and mutation, this evolutionary view highlights the extinction of metadata. As such, it might raise awareness about the appraisal and selection of metadata in digital curation practice.     

Open access metadata: current practices and proposed solutions

Nearly every major publisher offers open access content of some sort, but open access metadata standards are non‐existent amongst content providers. Users, librarians, content providers, and technology vendors who offer OpenURL resolvers and discovery services all stand to benefit from standardized ways to indicate what content is open access and what is not. Additionally, all stakeholders would benefit from a standardized method by which one can ascertain what form of open access any content may be; indeed, there are many definitions of open access. There is ample evidence that every publisher handles their content metadata differently and this creates inefficiencies in the scholarly information supply chain and leads to user confusion. Many initiatives are currently working on solutions to these problems including the NISO KBART workgroup, NISO's Open Discovery Initiative, and NISO's very recently created Open Access Initiative. There are also pre‐existing concepts based on services, such as CrossRef's CrossMark service and discovery systems that hold promise with respect to open access content and metadata.     

数字信息资源的基础管理性元数据初探

论文提出管理性元数据是元数据在信息资源管理层面上的拓展.对管理性元数据的研究应从信息资源管理的总体来把握其特征,信息资源生命周期的基础管理环节为完整地理解、全面地把握、切实地研究管理性元数据提供了符合实际需求的切入点.论文还提出基础管理性元数据的研究将在信息资源管理层面推进信息资源的共建、共享、共管.     

Journals metadata: information about content

Metadata is data about data, or information about content. It is important to have standard ways of describing content for efficient resource discovery on the world-wide web, and to tie this in with information about people and rights to build the foundations for e-commerce. The most significant emerging standard is the Dublin Core, which has recently stabilized its simple (minimum) set as DC 1.0. Various organizations (including Wiley) have already been exploring the use of Dublin Core tags in a number of implementations. Other initiatives are taking place to bring all metadata schemes within an overarching data model. As the industry responsible for managing content from commissioning through to authenticated release, publishing should play a major role in metadata creation and promulgation.     

数字参考咨询自助式服务模型研究

本文建立了以用户为核心的数字参考咨询自助服务模型,并分析了其实现过程.     

GILS metadata initiatives at the state level

Metadata has emerged as a tool for providing access and managing information resources in Government Information Locator Services (GILS) in several states. Various metadata schemes have developed, building on efforts in the federal government, library, and information science communities. Methods of metadata application include incorporation into the resources, metadata wrappers, and development of repositories to store metadata separate from the resources it describe. Metadata use is also developing as a strategy for preservation of resources. Developments in RDF, XML and Z39.50 may provide means for integrating diverse metadata-based resources. At the same time, developments outside the GILS community offer alternatives that have potential to inform or replace GILS as a method of citizen access to government information.