Digital Images Metadata Management
Digital Image’s Metadata Management in Museums, Archives or Libraries
Created by Chris Wisswell
Definition of Project
The topic is the management of digital image metadata in museums, archives and libraries. Metadata, the data that describes images, makes files, records and other objects, including digital images, easier to find. Because it is easier to find, less time will be wasted by users and the image being searched for is more likely to be found and used. Types of metadata include object title, descriptions, themes, keywords, license, publisher and references.
To find the literature for this annotated bibliography, a search of scholarly journals published between 2005 – 2018 was performed using the keywords metadata, library, museum, archive and digital imaging.
Annotations
In this journal article, the author discusses metadata schemes, metadata mapping and the use of structured vocabularies to increase precision and recall in end-user retrieval (p.48). Having knowledgeable people create these items will make it possible for end-users to find their records easier. The article is divided up into sections explaining each item listed previously. The author gives examples and explains how they work. The information is helpful because the examples can be applied to any metadata in any circumstance. It will help the beginner to become more familiar with the processes involved.
Developing a digital system to store images for retrieval can be a tedious process. Beisler describes how the University of Nevada, Reno produced The Campus Images Collection, a CONTENTdm database designed and developed to archive photographs to make them accessible online. The database is used by multiple campus agencies to describe and store images. To easier ingest older print photographs, it incorporated the old indexing system that was used for organizing those prints. This was done to make it easier to find older images while introducing new images to the collection. The numbering system the staff developed makes allowances for name changes, new subject matter, etc. For example there was a building that had it's name changed various times through the history of the school. In order to pull all the images together a way to design a single heading needed to be created. To do this a chain of names, separated by a slash are entered into the building name field. The names are listed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent name first. Dates are added to the name for further clarification. Metadata and controlled vocabularies examples are given and are helpful for anyone developing a system for their collection. The numbering system can be adapted for their own collections.
This article views metadata from accessibility and usability perspectives, concentrating on people with print disability. Print disability can be caused by cognitive, visual, motor or other impairments (p.2). The authors obtained their information from an online survey filled out by library patrons. The results obtained are helpful because they give insight on the difficulties that end users might encounter when searching for a record. Problems discussed in the article, such as software’s intolerance to spelling errors and limited searching capabilities, can frustrate an end-user. Another problem is that if the reader/narrator metadata is not properly identified as a human or a voice synthesizer program, it can hamper the end-user's accessibility to the metadata. By being aware of the problems, libraries and other entities can properly structure their metadata software to the needs of everyone in the community.
Why would archivists and catalogers create metadata by themselves when they can partner up to produce standards-based and efficient metadata for both archival collection management and bibliography catalogs? This article, focusing on University of Denver, discusses the reasons why it is good to partner up and the best practices that were used, which can be adapted by other entities for similar projects. By working together, images can be cataloged and digitized and made available to users faster and more efficiently. Using the guidelines presented in the article, the reader can create their own protocol system of creating metadata.
This article describes the working relationship and lessons learned between librarians and archivists when building a 13,000 image digital collection at Colorado State University. Because they worked as a team, they were able to share their knowledge and expertise to create a metadata system that could adequately describe each artifact for future use. The authors state, “[c]reating the metadata for this project became an opportunity to combine the principles of archival description and detailed bibliographic control” (p. 99). Of particular interest in this article is Appendix A that describes the Metadata elements that were used for the project. It lists the element and the description of each element. This information is helpful because it gives a starting point to someone putting together a digital project at their place of employment.
This article studies how metadata has been applied in GLAM institutions in New Zealand and the quality of that metadata. It provides a look at different institutions and discusses some of the weaknesses with the way metadata is created. Institutions use different aspects of metadata to make it work with their systems and protocols. Even among the same institution, metadata is not used in a consistent manner. Because of this, metadata for digital images might not be as descriptive or complete as it should be. This causes end users to have a harder time finding objects. Inconsistent metadata use is also an indication that institutions are using “cataloging practices to accommodate collection management systems instead of meeting the requirements for long-term preservation” (p. 484).
Metadata categories are becoming standardized as time goes on but the descriptions are not. The information produced and maintained are developed based on the thinking of the people in charge of the creation of the metadata. At every step in the process, different opinions and feedback are given which influences what is actually used as metadata in the final form. In this article, the authors “argue for the importance of a documentation approach to metadata standard creation and revision that swerves to make design decisions explicit” (p. 107). When something is documented, it is showing users that the choices were made based on what, why and when at a point in time. It helps the users understand the reasoning behind the process. By applying this protocol, curators and other producers of metadata, can help standardize the metadata descriptions. This article helps the reader understand why the documentation process is important.
For those who are using ArchivesSpace for their archival collection management, this article suggests updating MARC record cataloging by using the metadata from ArchivesSpace. The author discusses the process of using ArchiveSpace to import metadata into OCLC Connexion at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The “creation of the MARC record is crucial to the discovery of Special Collections materials (including images)” (p. 24) in a library’s system. Based on the results, this method could be implemented at other facilities that have ArchiveSpace. Because metadata has already been produced, it saves time and the metadata that is produced is more descriptive, which helps future users find the images easier and that will save time for them also. This article lists the protocol for implementing this program. They are easy to follow and readers can implement them easily.
Before metadata can be assigned to an image or any object, the creator must understand what metadata is and how it is used. This article, a publication of the National Information Standards Organization, explains this and more. It is a must read for anyone who works with metadata, including end users. Information is presented in a logical order, broken down by different metadata subjects. After reading this article, the user will feel more comfortable with the choices they make for the metadata they use. Whether a beginner or an expert, the information presented will help the user make the correct decisions.
Having a standardized approach to metadata that describes images in more detail would help future users find and use images easier. This article proposes a semantic description framework for content description. The authors describe the relationships between the semantic levels, tests the theory and provides strategies for implementing the system. By providing descriptions of objects, object space, scene, behavior and sentiment of the image, the end users will be able to find images they are looking for based on different categories and at a faster rate. Assigning metadata attributes properly will help the curator set up a good digital preservation program and also allow images to be linked together for clarity.
