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Descriptive Metadata for Historical Collections Digitization Basics for Archives and Special Collections WiLSWorld, July 22, 2015
Descriptive Metadata for Historical Collections
Digitization Basics for Archives and Special Collections
WiLSWorld, July 22, 2015
Purposes of Metadata
O Description
O Structure
O Discoverability
O Interoperability
O Administration
Standardization
O Adopt a metadata schema: Dublin Core
O Use controlled vocabularies
O Follow a Metadata Style Guide
O Recollection Wisconsin Metadata Quick Guide
O Create a Data Dictionary for each project
O Implement quality control procedures
Levels of Description
O Collection description
O Subcollection description
O Item-level description
O Page-level description
Ex. Kaukauna Memory Project
Required Fields
O Title
O Subject
O Description*
*Not required by RW.
O Rights
O Submitter
O Type (ex. Still image; Text)
O Format (ex. image/tiff)
O Date Digitized (YYYY-MM-DD)
O File Name
Depth of Description
O Who is the intended audience (K-12,
university, etc.)?
O What kind of information do you need to
provide so users can gain access to a
resource through their online searches?
O What do your users need to know about
what the Resource is, where it came from,
who created it, its significance?
Subject Field(s)
O What is this resource about? Consider people, environment,
activity, and objects.
O Select terms from a controlled vocabulary, such as Thesaurus
for Graphic Materials (TGM).
More on describing photos: http://www.slideshare.net/bcshipps/indexing-photographs
When subject terms stink…
Recommended Fields
O Creator
O Date
O Contributors
O Publisher
O Language
O Community
O County
O State
O Medium
O Dimensions
O Digitization
information
O Source
O Contact
O Transcript
Example 4
Descriptive Metadata Provides
O Information about the original physical item
and the digital representation
O Information about context and completeness
O Information about authenticity and authority
O Information about relationships
O Access points for various use cases
O Cues for further research
Questions?
Bradley Shipps, OWLS
920-832-6368
http://memory.infosoup.org
