Week 3 Notes

Introduction to Metadata: Setting the Stage by Anne J. Gilliland

Ever since I heard the term, metadata has confused me. I was given the definition—“information about information”—and not much else. The term is just so vague. Even Gilliland’s “big picture” way of thinking about metadata doesn’t make much sense to me. The term itself also encompasses so much that it’s difficult to grasp, at least in my opinion. The table near the middle of the chapter cleared things up a little, though.

From what I gather, metadata allows people to easily locate other information; it helps with the search. How do people create the standards so that people can seamlessly switch between programs? Do they create committees?

Why do museums and archives seem to resist creating a uniform standard? Wouldn’t such a standard only help them? What could the cons to this decision be?

I like the idea of user-created metadata, which seems to give the users more freedom. If they control the metadata, they should, in theory, be able to find what they’re looking for faster. What happens though when something is tagged inappropriately? Who is responsible for policing the results?

An Overview of the Dublin Core Data Model by Eric J. Miller

This resource dates back to 1999. Has anything happened with the DCMI since then? Was it implemented? If so, how successful was it?

Creating a universal model seems like a good idea, but as the previous reading mentioned, language does create a problem. How does this international model offer allowances for different languages? Is it only for English-speaking countries?

Also, I’m lost every time I see a tan box with code in it.

Working with Endnote

Endnote and Refworks seem remarkably similar (and are very similar, according to the website). However, the main benefit of Refworks is that it’s free. Why would I want to pay $79 for a comparable service that won’t charge anything?

Also, the website even admits that Refworks is easier to use and is able to be accessed anywhere. The only benefit seems to be that Endnote has more output styles and reference types. It can also save images.

I think I’ll stick with Refworks. It’s free, and I know how to use it.