Metadata for Digital Content

Jane Mandelbaum, Ann Della Porta,

Rebecca Guenther

Charge• Recommend one common set of

metadata elements for all digital content

• Analyze existing descriptive metadata

• Recommend methods for creation of metadata for existing digital objects that lack metadata

Why do we need this?

• Provide access to LC’s digital content which may be stored in separate environments

• Share the content and the metadata • Provide additional services to users, e.g.,

Web 2.0 functions• Improve LC’s Metasearch service

Building on Existing Foundation

• Metadata schemas from various digital projects (e.g. American Memory, Performing Arts Encyclopedia, Web capture)

• Search requirements and use cases are to be supported

• WDL search and discovery vision – metadata elements and presentation options

• Relationship (if any) to ILS records needs to be understood

Use Cases

• Concrete examples of “what we could do if we have better metadata”

• Examples: • Navigation by place, date, type of item, topic• Reuse for different audiences, in different

combinations and delivery mechanisms• Better access to the content in web pages

Doing Something Useful: Next Steps

• Search and Discovery– Improve Data for Faceted Searching

– Add More Content for Federated Searching

– Migrate Towards More Access Points for External Search Engines

Doing Something Useful: Next Steps

• Targeted Improvements

– Create standardized metadata for videos for internal use and external providers

– More options for presentation and delivery

– Access to more content in LC web pages

How are we doing it?

• Establish a master set of metadata elements commonly used among digital projects

• Annotate the list with preferred practices for metadata content

• Create metadata profiles for each initiative, detailing which elements are used and how they are encoded

• Identify where metadata remediation is needed and attempt to improve existing records

LC metadata profiles

• American Memory• Performing Arts Encyclopedia• LC Web pages• LC Web Archives• National Digital Newspaper Program• World Digital Library• LC Webcasts• LC Exhibits

Example: LC Web Archives

• Title• Alternative Title• Abstract• Name (Personal or

Corporate)• Date captured

– Start date– End date

• Language• Resource type• Genre (“Web site”)

• Subject (Topic, geographic, temporal, name, title)

• Original site URL• MIME type/digital origin • Collection title/URL• LC repository• Electronic location (URI)• Identifier• Rights• Record information

LCWA Profile

Future goals

• Use the metadata profile for newly described digital content so that there is consistency

• Use common rules for metadata content• Remediate existing metadata where possible• Establish a common search interface to

provide seamless access to LC digital content

Metadata remediation: geographic

• Best practices– Supply hierarchical form– Prefer controlled form

• Remediating existing data– Translate coded form into controlled textual form for

presentation– Translate uncontrolled form into controlled form– Translate into hierarchical form (e.g. Country—State—

City)– Extract geographic subdivisions from subject strings

and make searchable– Extract state information

Questions?

• Thank you!