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* Introductory :
Iannella, R. &
Waugh, A. 1997, Metadata: enabling the Internet, URL: http://www.dstc.edu.au/cgi-bin/redirect/rd.cgi?http://archive.dstc.edu.au/RDU/reports/CAUSE97
(March 28, 2002).
To find introductions
to metadata for the Internet, one often needs to turn to articles
written a few years ago when such schemes were first developed and
released. The Australian university researchers who wrote
this highly useful introductory article on metadata schemes
emphasise the value of metadata in Web searching as it will make
such searching faster and more precise. Schemes given
particular attention include Dublin Core and PICS. It is
foreshadowed that some metadata schemes may need to merge with
others to maximise their usefulness. Any information
management professional interested in metadata should read this
article before proceeding to more specialised applications of this
topic.
Iannella, R. &
Campbell, D. 1999, The A-Core: metadata about content
metadata, URL: http://metadata.net/admin/draft-iannella-admin-01.txt
(March 28, 2002).
A university
researcher and a librarian describe what is known as A-Core.
This term is defined as "metadata about metadata". It is
clear from this article that metadata may be applied in an
hierarchical fashion. Thus, A-Core metadata is used to
describe content metadata (such as Dublin Core) which in turn in
used to describe a particular resource. Some fictional
examples of actual HTML and XML where A-Core is used are
provided. In these examples, the differences between A-Core
and content metadata may readily be seen. This article
provides an easy to understand introduction to this little known
form of metadata and directs interested readers to other Websites
for more detailed discussions.
Weibel, S. 1995,
Metadata: the foundations of resource description, URL: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/July95/07weibel.html
(March 28, 2002).
While this article is
significantly older than most of those listed on this page, it is
still quite valuable as it was written by an OCLC researcher in
the early days of the deployment of Dublin Core. It outlines
the nature of this scheme plus ideas and recommendations for
future expansion. The author concedes that a limitation of
Dublin Core is that in concentrates upon intrinsic, at the expense
of extrinsic data - an issue of concern to later researchers such
as Rust (1998). Thus, the most discussed metadata scheme,
Dublin Core, is placed in an historical perspective that provides
useful background for the understanding of the issues raised in
most of the other articles analysed on this page.
* Metadata for
corporate Websites :
Drott, M. C. 2002,
"Indexing aids at corporate websites: the use of robots.txt and
META tags", Information Processing & Management, vol.
38(2), pp. 209-219.
Website designers can
assist search engines to index their Web pages in a useful fashion
through the creation of a robots.txt file that does not unduly
hinder this process, and through the use of informative meta tags,
particularly "keywords" and "description". Out of the sixty
Websites belonging to large corporations visited by the author of
this article, 37% used both these meta tags in 2000, rising to 43%
in 2001. Some of these sites seemed to used meta tags for
internal indexing purposes as well. The author considers the
increased use of such tags to be a positive trend in bringing some
order to the chaos of the Web. A simple article in terms of
scope and complexity, but one that reports on an encouraging trend
in metadata.
Green, D. 2000,
"The evolution of Web searching", Online Information
Review, vol. 24(2), pp. 124-137.
Amidst discussion of
the nature and development of Web directories and search engines,
this article written by an information consultant mentions the
various roles of metadata contained within Web pages. He
outlines how meta tags can be used to hinder as well as assist
automatic page indexing. This need not worry Web searchers
as most hindrances are implemented to avoid the indexing of
temporary pages. Effective metadata creation requires proper
tuition in the complexities of the latest schemes. Although
metadata is not an exceptionally prominent topic in this article,
it is placed in an informative context of trends in Web searching
and indexing as a whole.
Kammerdiener, T.
& Smith, L. 1999, "Supporting a Web based curriculum with a
diverse mix of authoring competency", Society for Information
Technology & Teacher Education International Conference,
Site 99, San Antonio, Texas, pp. 1-7.
Metadata may be used
in corporate Web page development situations where several authors
might work on the same page or where one person might design
templates for the use of other page authors. In these cases,
metadata indicates where particular sections begin and end.
Particular authors may then modify just one or more sections of
each page. Sometimes, these sections can be changed via
automated means such as the AutoHTML Web design software package
which is aimed at novice users. This all means that Web
pages can be easily modified and updated and have a consistent
feel throughout the corporate Website. The American computer
science lecturers who wrote this article have shown the value of a
little discussed application of metadata.
Lombardi, V. 2002,
"Designing for Web services", New Architect, vol. 7(4), pp.
26-29.
US information
architect Victor Lombardi emphasises the importance of the use of
metadata in Web sites designed for e-commerce. Standardised
terms in the form of taxonomies and controlled vocabularies need
to be developed and entered as metadata. He recommends the
creation of easy to use user interfaces for the purposes of fast
and accurate entry of metadata into Web pages. Most
importantly, a user oriented approach is recommended owing to the
fact that metadata must be useful to those who are considered the
end users of the Web pages. Anyone involved in designing Web
pages for e-commerce should read this article for useful tips on
how to maximise sales through the use of metadata.
Rust, G. 1998,
Metadata: the right approach. An integrated model for
descriptive and rights metadata in e-commerce, URL: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july98/rust/07rust.html
(March 28, 2002).
A British information
management consultant and researcher supports the improvement of
existing metadata schemes for the benefit of copyright
holders. He believes that such improvements will lead to
easier business transactions concerning the rights to use material
as well as for easier identification of the parties that own the
rights to a particular item. Dublin Core comes under
considerable criticism for its allegedly imprecise handling of
copyright concerns. This article is of primary interest to
those who wish to protect their intellectual property, but is also
useful to alert information management professionals to the risks
of placing excessive faith in one particular metadata
initiative.
Thelwall, M. 2000,
"Commercial Web sites: lost in cyberspace", Internet Research:
Electronic Networking Applications and Policy, vol. 10(2), pp.
150-159.
This British
information technology lecturer surveyed over 60,000 commercial
Web sites for their ability to be located using major search
engines. He found that many were not properly registered
with search sites and were likely missing out on many potential
customers as a result. Meta tags are proposed as the
solution to this issue. Currently, these tags are not used
by the majority of sites, but they are known to prove invaluable
in getting search engine spiders to find and correctly index
Websites. Without meta tags, pages may be indexed under
worthless headings such as "untitled document" or "home
page". Web designers of all experience levels should read
this article to make sure their work can be found and properly
indexed by search engines.
* Dublin Core and
beyond - implications for librarians :
El-Sherbini, M.
2001, "Metadata and the future of cataloging", Library
Review, vol. 50(1), pp. 16-27.
This author, head of
cataloguing at Ohio State University, suggests that new metadata
efforts dealing with electronic formats, such as Dublin Core,
should be compared to MARC 21 metadata to see if they are as
effective as that older standard. Various new metadata
standards are evaluated and found wanting. She recommends
the widespread adoption among libraries of the Library of Congress
PCC standard which is based on MARC 21. PCC provides the
depth and flexibility that is lacking in its rivals. This is
a thought provoking article that should cause librarians to
rethink the current faith they may place in the Dublin Core or
similar metadata initiatives.
Helfer, D. S. 2002,
"OCLC's march into the 21st century", Searcher, vol. 10(2),
pp. 66-69.
According to this
librarian from California State University, the OCLC (Online
Computer Library Center) global library co-operative wishes to
expand its capabilities to capture, organise, and deliver
metadata. It also wants to develop new types of metadata to
properly catalogue the increasingly diverse nature of the
resources in its database. Although the Dublin Core metadata
standard is preferred, other schemes (such as those based on MARC
21) will be used in conjunction with it as necessary. With
these changes in place, the OCLC should be well equipped to handle
the challenges posed by the increased complexities of information
management in this new century. This is an excellent example
of the practical application of metadata in a library
environment.
Thornely, J. 2000,
"Metadata and the deployment of Dublin Core at State Library of
Queensland and Education Queensland, Australia", OCLC Systems
& Services, vol. 16(3), pp.
118-129.
The Metadata Librarian
at the State Library of Queensland presents two case studies of
the introduction of the Dublin Core metadata scheme into a
corporate environment. She recommends that organisations
should ask themselves various questions about their motives and
planned procedures concerning metadata prior to actual metadata
deployment in order to avoid wasting time and money and
inconveniencing their end users. Metadata may be either
simply embedded as it is in the State Library, or used in a
complex fashion such as in Education Queensland's Oracle
databases. It is rare to find an article that provides
actual detailed case studies of the implementation of metadata, so
this item should be valued at least for that reason
alone.
Torok, A. G. 1999,
"Indexing and metatag schemes for Web-based information
retrieval", World Conference on the WWW and Internet
Proceedings, Webnet 99, Honolulu, Hawaii, pp.
1-6.
Within a paper
presented to a conference of Internet professionals that begins by
reviewing the criteria for effective indexing, this US academic
laments the fact that Web search engines cannot retrieve relevant
articles with as great a degree of precision as most types of more
traditional retrieval systems. XML and Dublin Core are
proposed as solutions to rectifying this situation. They can
be used in conjunction with traditional indexing criteria to
ensure end users will find the information they seek. A case
study of the implementation of Dublin Core is provided as are
suggestions on the efficient and effective entry of this
data. An informative and well written article that should
further empahsise the use and value of metadata.
Vellucci, S. L.
1997, Options for organizing electronic resources: the coexistence
of metadata", Bulletin of the American Society for Information
Science, vol. 24(1), pp. 14-17.
Professor Vellucci
remarks that past efforts to bring some order to the vast mass of
information available on the Internet have mirrored the nature of
the Internet itself in that they have been decentralised and
uncoordinated. She proposes a solution through the creation
of a metacatalogue which will enable end users to search across
multiple catalogues in order to readily and seamlessly access the
information they require regardless of its file format or language
of publication. Dublin Core metadata can assist in this
objective because it is sufficiently flexible as to allow for user
customisation as needed. An ambitious proposal, but one that
is well reasoned and quite thought provoking.
Weibel, S. L. 1996,
The Warwick Metadata Workshop: a framework for the deployment
of resource description, URL: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july96/07weibel.html
(March 28, 2002).
A UK academic reports
on the proceedings of a metadata conference. The conference
decided to expand usage of the Dublin Core metadata scheme to
ensure its inclusion in documents other than HTML, undertake
further developments on the Warwick Framework, and to produce a
guide for the creation and maintenance of metadata. Even at
this relatively early stage, it was clear that Dublin Core could
not always be used on its own owing to certain limitations, and as
such would have to be used in conjunction with more traditional
MARC records. This is not an introductory article like
Weibel's earlier work, but it is still valuable for providing
historical background for important later developments in the use
(particularly the expansion) of metadata.
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