Synopsis
Find out what makes metadata an exciting addition to resource description
Metadata: A Cataloger’s Primer provides catalog librarians and students with a comprehensive instructional resource on the ongoing convergence of cataloging and metadata. Equally valuable in the classroom and as a professional reference tool, this unique book serves as an introduction to the concepts of metadata within bibliographic contexts, demonstrating the potential for resource description. The book introduces various metadata schemes, including the Dublin Core, Encoded Archival Description (EAD), and Extensive Markup Language (XML), and discusses how to plan and implement a metadata-driven digital library.
Metadata: A Cataloger’s Primer is more than a mere introduction to metadata applications and management. The book’s contributors present basic operational definitions, an outline of the evolution of metadata in the cataloging community, and a discussion of basic metadata techniques, calling on hard-earned knowledge gained from their experiences as educators working in cataloging and metadata applications. They provide work forms, work plans, and practical examples that demonstrate the application of metadata for resource description and depository development.
Metadata: A Cataloger’s Primer examines:
- data structures
- MODAL (metadata objectives and principles, domains, and architectural layout) framework
- literary displacement
- knowledge domains
- discourse communities
- information ecologies
- personal metadata
- electronic resources
- authorship attributes
- cultural information resources
- instantiation
- data modeling
- DTD (document type definition)
- digital libraries
- and much more!
Library Journal
Metadata (from the Greek meta and Latin data) can be simplistically defined as "data about data." But there is much more to learn. This text is intended as a resource that instructs librarians on both introductory and theoretical material. Part 1 introduces essential metadata concepts (i.e., understanding metadata and its schemes; metadata and bibliographical control) plus original research. Part 2 is intentionally instructive and focuses on and demonstrates several metadata schemes, such as Dublin Core, EAD (Encoded Archival Description), XML (Extensive Markup Language), and METS (Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard). The recommendation of basic texts on metadata as additional resources is welcome. The skillful contributors, under the able editorship of Smiraglia (Palmer SLIS, Long Island University), have created a comprehensive resource that introduces not only the basics but also acknowledges and shows signs of the amalgamation of metadata and cataloging. Highly recommended for catalog librarians and cataloging instructors and students.-Susan Ketcham, Long Island Univ.-Southampton Coll. Lib., NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.