Application of semi-automatic metadata generation in libraries: Types, tools, and techniques

Analysis of a survey of the types and extent of tools and techniques related to semi-automatic metadata generation applied in real-world library settings indicates that practical applications in libraries seem to be at an incipient stage. More than half (n  = 149, 52.5%) of the survey participants (n  = 285) specify that semi-automatic metadata generation has not been utilized for metadata creation and management in their libraries. This figure becomes even higher when adding the response “don't know,” constituting an additional 13.7%. The results of the survey also show that the semi-automatic metadata generation tools described by participants mostly concern metadata format conversion (38.6%) and metadata templates and forms (27%) for populating certain metadata values. Complex tools and the generation and extraction of metadata directly from the content and context of the digital objects are rarely applied in libraries. This indicates that more research is needed on the development of automatic metadata generation for semantic metadata in usable and practical settings.