The Wonderful World of Metadata!!! Week 4 Readings

Metadata, everyone is talking about it! This week I decided to comment on Anne J. Gilliland. "Introduction to Metadata, pathways to Digital Information", Stuart L. Weibel, “Border Crossings: Reflections on a Decade of Metadata Consensus Building” and Witten 2.2.

Witten 2.2: Bibliographic Organization

This was a very straightforward account of bibliographic organization. The only comments/thoughts I have was for the necessity to change the organization steps from 3 (find, collocate, choice) to 5 (locate, identify, select, acquire, navigate). I understand the need to make things more clearly defined but sometimes more steps cause more confusion and is just a matter of semantics. The only other thing i have to say about this reading is that I'm not crazy about LCSH and kinda hate that they are what most people use/think of when it comes to subject headings. Also, is it really that difficult to define subjects?
Overall, I think this reading did a nice job of clearly defining all aspects of bibliographic organization as well as pointing out the benefit of digital libraries may hold over physical libraries due to their physical constraints.

Border Crossings by Stuart L. Weibel
After reading this and the Intro to Metadata reading, my head was filled with all the metadata talk I could take. My main thoughts about this reading are

• The real impact of DCMI
• Why are people so reluctant/unqualified to create their own metadata (especially as they are the creators of the original work)
• Controlled vocabulary vs. uncontrolled vocabulary
• The effect of folksonomies on metadata......is it beneficial or a catastrophe?

• The absolute needs for standards when it comes a Metadata model that is both diverse and inclusive.
• Are standards even feasible? Why aren't people working on them?

Introduction to Metadata-Anne J. Gilliland
My thoughts....

• Ambiguity of metadata---it means so many things to so many people, it seems that is nearly impossible to find consistency across disicplines/professions
• Automated metadata vs. human made metadata
• Which is better, cheaper, more consistent, more accurate?
• Again, no single metadata standard for describing all matierals
• Adding even more to the mix, user created metadata----good or bad?
• how bad will it be to manage quality control with user made metadata?
• Metadata categories...types, functions...a lot to know and remember!

Overall, good metadata today ensures good information in the future...is this absolute?