Transcript Module 4b
Module 4b: Description and Access IMT530: Organization of Information Resources Winter 2008 Michael Crandall Recap • Metadata schemas are used to present a consistent view of an information object (content) to users and administrators • Schemas are built to satisfy particular aspects of object management and description – Administrative, structural and descriptive • The model has to be instantiated in syntax before it can be used, and the semantics have to be defined for use • Mixing metadata elements is the norm rather than the exception – What’s important is documenting and managing your schema so your assumptions are visible IMT530B- Organization of Information Resources 2 http://www.tbssct.gc.ca/imgi/index_e.asp Descriptive metadata •Facet labels Descriptive/ Administrative metadata •Navigation labels Descriptive metadata Descriptive metadata •Subject access •Topic labels Administrative metadata •Version Descriptive metadata •Subject labels IMT530B- Organization of Information Resources Descriptive metadata •Format labels (headers) •Content labels (under resources) 3 Module 4b Outline • • • • • • Description Description vs. Access Why is Access Important? Some Assumptions Decisions Examples IMT530B- Organization of Information Resources 4 Description • Metadata is used to describe information objects for use – May be for end users or administrators • As we’ve seen, it’s important to think about that use prior to building your metadata schema • The metadata elements you decide upon will provide the system and user’s view of your information objects • It’s important to get these elements right, so that users can find what they need IMT530B- Organization of Information Resources 5 What are you Describing? • The question of what it is that you describe is a difficult one, and has impact on your metadata choice • We mentioned FRBR in the first class- distinguishes four levels of abstraction surrounding an information object – The work: exists in the mind of the creator – The expression: a physical realization of the idea, may be multiple versions – The manifestation: a particular version of the expression in a physical format – The item: a specific instance of the manifestation • Each of these levels can be described, and may have value for a user – In practice, usually deal with the item (e.g., a web page or a part of a web page, a particular copy of an edition of a book) IMT530B- Organization of Information Resources 6 More Questions • Is an object a single event or a series? – Important in the library world because of monographs and serials – In other environments may have continuous publication (blogs, wikis) – Describing these for use (through RSS or other services) depends on clear description and access points • Does an object have multiple parts? – Do you describe the container or the items inside it? – Periodicals (academic journals, newspapers, etc.) are a good example in the library world – A web page (or a web site) is another example • Each of these questions requires decisions about the metadata used for description and access – Need to make these decisions before designing your schema IMT530B- Organization of Information Resources 7 Description vs. Access • As we’ve seen, virtually any metadata element may hold descriptive data about an information object – Generally, metadata elements used for description derive their values from the object itself (intrinsic metadata) – Some elements provide a unique description of the object, so it is important to make sure that those values are distinctive and clear • In library catalogs, these descriptive elements are called out for special treatment as access points – Important because a user needs to have some entry into the domain being managed – Facilitates retrieval or collocation of documents – Other descriptive elements give information about items after retrieval and aid user selection or choice – Can be equally important in non-library environments as well IMT530B- Organization of Information Resources 8 Why is Access Important? • Users don’t know what’s in your information system unless you make it explicit • Information objects may have many manifestations (PDF file, Word doc, video, sound file) or components (multi-part web pages) of interest to a user • Without a way to bring similar objects together under a single access point, it’s difficult for a user to know when they’ve gotten what they need • For the most part, these access points are through names and subjects – Enabled through establishing rules for form and creating relationships between values in metadata elements IMT530B- Organization of Information Resources 9 Libraries vs. the Wild Web • In a library catalog, the access points are chosen to get users to the items they are looking for- Cutter’s Objects of the Catalog – To enable a person to find a book where the author, title or subject is known – To show what the library has by a given author on a given subject in a given kind of literature – To assist in the choice of a book as to its edition or its character • On the web (used broadly as an interface to nonlibrary information), these same objects still apply – But there are generally not consistent name or subject authorities to guide users – In fact, there may be no control over these values at all – So satisfying the objects becomes difficult without some form of controlled metadata in areas where this is important IMT530B- Organization of Information Resources 10 Some Assumptions • Users will look for objects based on information they have available – May not match what is in the system – May be starting with partial information • Users will want to see all the information objects that relate to their search grouped together – They may not know that more is available – The item they are looking for may not be the most appropriate for their needs IMT530B- Organization of Information Resources 11 Decisions to Make • What are the most important access points for the user? – This will determine where you put your efforts • For these access points, what do you know about the objects you’re managing? – This determines how you will build your control for the access point • What do you know about user needs related to these access points? – This determines the relationships you will have to establish to meet the users needs for retrieval and collocation of objects IMT530B- Organization of Information Resources 12 Some Examples in Practice • Information Management Resource Center – http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/im-gi/index_e.asp • WebJunction – http://webjunction.org • Monash University Library Web Content Management System – http://www.lib.monash.edu/metadata/cmsmetadata.html • National Library of Australia – http://www.nla.gov.au/metadata.html IMT530B- Organization of Information Resources 13 Questions? • Take a break and spend a few minutes looking at the examples in the last slide, thinking about how the sites use metadata to facilitate access and management of the site content • We’ll discuss your observations before launching into the exercise for today IMT530B- Organization of Information Resources 14 Exercise 4 • Purpose is to examine differences between library authority control and that used in other systems • Spend the next 30 minutes exploring the examples in Exercise 4 • Ask questions and talk!!! • Be sure to hand in completed work at the end of class for credit IMT530B- Organization of Information Resources 15 Next Week • More on authority control and encoding schemes • A start on subject analysis • Remember to read assignments BEFORE class • Next steps in building out your MSIM schemas IMT530B- Organization of Information Resources 16