Technology, Scalability, Metadata (or not)

Research Challenges for Digital Libraries

Carl LagozeCornell Information Science

Paradigm Mapping (or distorting!)

Suppliers(Publishers)

Intermediaries(Librarians) Consumers

Assumptions

• Clear definition of roles• Feedback mechanisms are limited, well-defined,

and mediated based on role• Scale is an issue but not THE issue• Control is important• Collection boundaries are well-defined and

distinct• Users are mainly humans• Expertise is proprietary

…Towards a participatory information environment

Shared Information

Context

Prod

ucer

s

Consumers

Experts

Novices

Professionals

Assumptions

• Roles are fluid and ambiguous• Scale is THE issue• Anarchy is encouraged, control and order

are overlaid• Collection boundaries are fluid• Machines and humans are users• Everyone is a potential expert

NSDL Phase I

Questioning Educational Impact• Is access to resources the resources the

solution?– The Web?– Google?

• What about quality?– Single measures?– Amazon, Epinions?

• How does it match current norms?– Chat?– Blogs?– Smart Mobs?

NSDL as it might be?

Equiva lenc e

P eople and O rganizations

Col lec tion (Semantic )

B randing

A nnotations

Desc riptive Metadata

B ase Web G raph

NS DL S e lec tions

DataStores

DocumentRepositories

Databases

WebResources

PublisherRepositories

Harvesting

Gathering

Norm

alization

Digital Sources

NSDL Data Warehouse:Entities and their

Relationships(wholesale)

Diverse Network of Specialized Partners

(retail)

SpecializedM

ining

Annotation

Augm

entation

Portals

So what does this have to do with metadata?

• Review original (DC) metadata assumptions– Metadata is essential for good resource discovery– “Jane Sixpack” could create metadata

• Account for current realities– 2003 is not 1994– Jane Sixpack and her librarian friends create bad

metadata– Google, etc. keeps getting better

• Rethink the role of metadata – not for discovery but refinement, etc.?

Metadata Triage