Metadata and Cataloging Education Web Clearinghouse
Revisions/Wish List
Call for Feedback:
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 15:42:12 -0400
From: cfrost@UMICH.EDU
Reply-To: Discussion List for issues related to cataloging & metadata
education & training <EDUCAT@loc.gov>
To: EDUCAT@sun8.LOC.GOV
Subject: Web Clearinghouse for Metadata Materials
Educatters,
As some of you may know, there is a promising activity currently underway
to develop a web clearinghouse which will be a useful resource for cataloging
and metadata educators.
As a bit of background: The ALCTS/ALISE Task Force for Preparing Cataloging
and Metadata Educators and Trainers was created in response to a report on
ataloging and Metadata Education prepared for the LC Action Plan on Bibliographic
Control for the New Millennium, available at (http://www.loc.gov/catdir/bibcontrol/CatalogingandMetadataEducation.pdf).
One charge for our task force group was to develop a web clearinghouse for
metadata materials and also to develop a Metadata Basics Package, as described
in the Action Plan report. Prof. Marcia Zeng, on the LIS faculty at
Kent State is working on the Metadata Basics Package, and Anita Coleman, LIS
faculty member at the University of Arizona, is serving as consultant for
the Web Clearinghouse project.
Anita has been making excellent progress on the clearinghouse, and has completed
some draft documents for our review. I would appreciate it if you would look
this over and give us your feedback so that Anita can proceed further with
the work.
The documents include:
1) a workplan indicating milestones and deliverables,
2) a proof of concept version of the basic categorical structure for the
clearinghouse web page, and
3) background notes containing some possible topics, formats, and sample
items.
Please send your feedback to our Educat list. We would appreciate
your comments by Sept. 20, so that Anita can keep to her deadline.
Later on, we will also be sending you draft documents from the work that
Marcia Zeng is doing on the Metadata Basics package.
We look forward to your comments. Thanks!
Olivia
Commentator # 1:
You have done so much with this, congratulations! I do like your vision
for the clearinghouse and support your fine suggestion in #3 to solicit
from Educatters exactly what they envision here. Do they want links
to resources or an actual portal to learning objects? You seem headed
down the latter path, which I think is wise, but I have concerns for your
time.
Regarding the acronym: This may be already decided, but "CAME" implies
something past due, something that is in the past. If the words were
flipped and Metadata were first, it could be called "MACE" which isn't great
(connotations of self-defense!) but works for me better than past tense. I
wish I had a better suggestion, but will ponder that.
RE: categories. My first impulse is that they are very broad, yet
for the most part they do seem mutually exclusive, at least to the point that
topics that went through my head I could decide rather easily on the 'most
approriate' placement.
I assume there will be many subcategories. Cataloging, in particular, seems
extremely broad. Would 'cataloging' include catalogs? That is huge in
itself. Then there is description/access, history, principles, as
you know.
Thanks for sharing DLESE, that is really something. It has all that
we might want, and then some.
Pat Lawton
Commentator # 2:
Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2004 11:06:42 -0400
From: Diane Hillmann <dih1@CORNELL.EDU>
Reply-To: Discussion List for issues related to cataloging & metadata
education & training <EDUCAT@loc.gov>
To: EDUCAT@sun8.LOC.GOV
Subject: Re: Web Clearinghouse for Metadata Materials
Folks:
This looks like a good start, but I have some concerns. It seems to
me that in addition to an actual Clearinghouse of Materials, we should be
providing a model of a clearinghouse as well. For instance, if we're
developing a vocabulary, we should follow good practices for establishing
and declaring a vocabulary (definitions, relationships between terms, an
XML schema, perhaps). If we're describing resources, we should be
doing so according to an established metadata schema.
I realize that this is just a start and clearly Anita has worked very hard
at getting these materials up for us to look at. But at this point it's important
for us to come to grips with what it is we're doing and what message we're
conveying in the doing of it.
Regards,
Diane
Commentator # 3:
Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 08:26:51 -0400
From: Bruce C Johnson <bjoh@loc.gov>
Reply-To: Discussion List for issues related to cataloging & metadata
education & training <EDUCAT@loc.gov>
To: EDUCAT@sun8.LOC.GOV
Subject: Web Clearinghouse for Metadata Materials
-----Original Message-----
From: Koh, Gertrude
Sent: Friday, September 17, 2004 7:13 PM
To: Discussion List for issues related to cataloging & metadata
education & training
Cc: Koh, Gertrude
Subject: RE: -----Original Message-----
From: Koh, Gertrude
Sent: Friday, September 17, 2004 7:13 PM
To: Discussion List for issues related to cataloging & metadata
education & training
Cc: Koh, Gertrude
Subject: RE: Web Clearinghouse for Metadata Materials
Olivia (and other Educatters),
Thank you for asking for the input. Indeed, this is a promising activity!
I believe that this is an excellent beginning point for a web clearinghouse
for metadata materials that Anita has developed
Congratulations, Anita! In addition, I look forward to Marcia's work
on Metadata Basics Package in near future.
Here is my initial "wish-list" to your excellent work on a web clearinghouse
for metadata materials. I would like to see more attention given to
the new developments, new experiments, examples, newly emerging issues, etc.
Can we provide a "What's New" section, for instance? I would like to
see the expansion of and the refinement to the "alternative metadata schema."
If the "alternative metadata schema" is retained as one section, I would like
to see it, at least, with a prominent emphasis given equally to the traditional
methods (AACR/MARC, subject headings, library classification schema).
The only place I see these "alternative metadata schema" are stated, for
example, is under the item 10 in the Background Notes, i.e., in the third
URL you have provided. Thank you, again.
Gertrude S. Koh
Professor
Graduate School of Library and Information Science
Dominican University
7900 West Division Street
River Forest, IL 60305-1066
Commentator #4:
Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2004 15:02:08 -0600
From: Sylvia D. Hall-Ellis <shellis@DU.EDU>
Reply-To: Discussion List for issues related to cataloging & metadata
education & training <EDUCAT@loc.gov>
To: EDUCAT@sun8.LOC.GOV
Subject: Re: Web Clearinghouse for Metadata Materials
Dear Educat Colleagues,
The work that Anita has prepared to share with us is a great beginning.
She is making a significant contribution to this important project and is
to be commended for the effort.
Just a couple of questions... For those of us who do not customarily create
and use our own websites, should wconsider doing so?
In the background notes in the "cataloging and metadata topics" section
in these topics...
5. Can we break these two topics into subsections? And then
have an opening section on how these tools are used together?
6. Can brief descriptions and/or links to specific ILS products
be included? Since bibliographic data do not behave in exactly the same way
in each ILS, some explanatory information may prove to be very useful.
7. Is this term broadly defined? Are other older print verification
and tools in American bibliography going to be included?
14. Is it possible to add a brief section for retrospective
conversion?
May we add to the "type/form" section? If so, how does this process work?
Just a few thoughts on Sunday afternoon.
Cordially,
Sylvia
Sylvia Hall-Ellis, Ph.D.
Library and Information Science
University of Denver
21E. Wesley Ave., #107
Denver, CO 80208
303-871-7881 - voice
303-756-0424 - fax
Commentator # 5:
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 09:38:49 -0400
From: "Boehr, Diane (NIH/NLM)" <boehrd@MAIL.NLM.NIH.GOV>
Reply-To: Discussion List for issues related to cataloging & metadata
education & training <EDUCAT@loc.gov>
To: EDUCAT@sun8.LOC.GOV
Subject: Re: Web Clearinghouse for Metadata Materials
I just want to echo Sylvia's comment about those of us who do not have our
own websites. Is there a way to share material which may be available
on a WebCT site for example, but not on a public website?
I'm a little concerned about the splitting of Cataloging and Metadata as
topics. Metadata should be the broad category and perhaps then have
underneath categories of metadata, one of which is AACR2/MARC based
(traditional cataloging) and then others like Dublin Core, ONIX, TEI, etc.
Diane Boehr
Cataloging Unit Head
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894
Adjunct Instructor, University of Maryland
College of Information Studies
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 07:22:23 -0700
From: Brad Eden <beden@CCMAIL.NEVADA.EDU>
Reply-To: Discussion List for issues related to cataloging & metadata
education & training <EDUCAT@loc.gov>
To: EDUCAT@sun8.LOC.GOV
Subject: Re: Web Clearinghouse for Metadata Materials
I agree. Metadata is the broad topic, with MARC and non-MARC related
metadata as separate categories.
Brad Eden, Ph.D.
Head, Web and Digitization Services
University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries
beden@ccmail.nevada.edu
Commentator # 7:
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 09:05:29 -0700
From: Heidi Hoerman <heidihoerman@yahoo.com>
To: EDUCAT@sun8.LOC.GOV
Subject: Re: Web Clearinghouse for Metadata Materials
I second the thanks to Anita and all those involved with this effort!
I have two points to address: one ethical and one pragmatic
THE ETHICAL ONE:
My questions have more to do with ethical questions than with organization
of the site itself. Part of this arises from concerns about self-preservation
and part from watching the recent kefluffle on JESSE about using the teaching
materials of another.
We all make our livings based, to a greater or lesser extent, on our abilities
to create and use good teaching materials. Some of use also publish
versions of those materials as textbooks. Sharing teaching tools is
nothing new. Lord knows, some of the assignments I use now arose from assignments
Monina Abrera let me copy to use when I was a mere wet-behind-the-ears adjunct!
We all want to share but we also don't want to give away the farm.
Like many instances of information sharing, ramping up to this level of
information sharing requires us to determine a set of ethical guidelines
that go beyond the legalities. This might prevent the kind of ever-so-slightly-rabid
discussion the recent JESSE instance represents.
I suggest we draft a short statement of what is or is not ethical use of
this material. For example, many of us must place information representing
evaluation of our teaching in our review files. Certainly use of our
teaching materials by a colleague at another institution represents affirmation
of our performance in this area. What about a simple ethical statement
like "It is expected that those who use materials linked to this website,
either verbatim or as a model for their own materials, will notify the original
author of the materials." A simple email would do the trick.
Those who needed more for their files could ask the user of the information
for something on letterhead or whatever.
Another guideline may expect that we cite our sources for teaching materials
of this type just as we cite the sources of quotes we use from the published
literature.
I'm not trying to be "Use Police" here. I just think that we do need
to think of ourselves while we work toward the greater good. If we don't
protect ourselves and our intellectual output we risk being replaced by inferior
copies of ourselves by those who would overuse us.
THE PRAGMATIC ONE
Can the documents for which the creator has no access to a public server
be stored on the same server as the clearinghouse itself? One problem
with that, of course, is that people tend to forget they send stuff to an
off-site place and the stuff never gets updated. (I have enough trouble
remembering to delete and remove links to stuff that's too old for words on
my own site to worry about stuff I've sent someone else.)
Gratefully to all working on this,
Heidi
(who still is planning to send examples of using chat for AACR2!)
HEIDI LEE HOERMAN
SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, COLUMBIA, SC 29205
PHONE: (803) 777-0485, (800) 277-2035 FAX: (803) 777-7938
EMAIL: heidihoerman@yahoo.com (preferred)
hhoerman@gwm.sc.edu
(second choice)
URL: http://www.libsci.sc.edu/hoerman/basepage.htm
Commentator # 8:
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 11:30:35 -0700
From: Cheryl Boettcher Tarsala <c-tarsala@LINKLINE.COM>
Reply-To: Discussion List for issues related to cataloging & metadata
education & training <EDUCAT@loc.gov>
To: EDUCAT@sun8.LOC.GOV
Subject: Re: Web Clearinghouse for Metadata Materials
Heidi and All--
As a kerfluffler on Jesse, I heartily endorse the ethical
statement.
I'd also add the suggestion that there be a mechanism to post variations/comment
on the materials--So, if I would be sharing my most excellent OCLC derived
search key exercise, Heidi could submit her variation of it and it would be
posted next to the original. (All in a FRBR-like display of related works,
of course ...) Then maybe there could be a message area that would allow posting
of snippets of experience: "I've found the world's most clever derived search
problem"--or "watch out--students tend to misinterpret this aspect of the
assignment!"
I realize that kind of functionality might not be possible for a first version
of the clearinghouse site, but I think it could open the possibility of continuous
improvement/update on the posted materials. Creating good cataloging/metadata
materials is so very time-consuming that the idea of a space where we could
communally work toward a set of "best practice" exercises (particularly on
key topics) is very attractive.
Very few cataloging assignments have reached near-universal, iconic status
(I've met no cataloger who cannot recall "Eighteenth-century Swedish devotional
poetry" as a DDC problem--but what was the answer to that one???), but I think
that there are a few areas where a reliable, shared body of educational experiences
could benefit students moving into the profession and those who provide their
on-the-job training afterwards.
Cheryl
Commentator # 9:
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 14:01:04 -0400
From: Judith Hopkins <ulcjh@BUFFALO.EDU>
Reply-To: Discussion List for issues related to cataloging & metadata
education & training <EDUCAT@loc.gov>
To: EDUCAT@sun8.LOC.GOV
Subject: Re: Web Clearinghouse for Metadata Materials
On Fri, 24 Sep 2004, Boehr, Diane (NIH/NLM) wrote:
> I'm a little concerned about the splitting of Cataloging and Metadata
as
> topics. Metadata should be the broad category and perhaps then
have
> underneath categories of metadata, one of which is AACR2/MARC based
> (traditional cataloging) and then others like Dublin Core, ONIX, TEI,
etc.
I agree with Diane on this point.
*************************************************************************
Judith Hopkins
Phone: 716 645-2796
Central Technical Services
FAX: 716 645-5955
University at Buffalo Libraries
E-mail: ulcjh@buffalo.edu
Buffalo, NY 14260-2200
http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~ulcjh
Listowner of AUTOCAT@LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU
(http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/cts/autocat)