Information Resource Description: Creating and Managing Metadata, Second Edition

Customers outside of North America (USA and Canada) should contact Facet Publishing for purchasing information.

ALA Member
$77.39
Price
$85.99
Item Number
978-0-8389-1836-4
Published
2019
Publisher
ALA Neal-Schuman
Pages
288
Width
6"
Height
9"
Format
Softcover
AP Categories
A

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  • Description
  • Table of Contents
  • About the author
  • Reviews

This new edition of Information Resource Description offers a fully updated and expanded overview of the field of information organization, examining the description of information resources as both a product and process of the contemporary digital environment. Through this unifying framework, the book provides an integrated commentary of the various fields and practices of information organization carried out by today’s information professionals and end-users. Key topics and updates to the first edition include

  • discussion of Big Data vs. the traditional database model;
  • an exploration of FRBR-LRM user tasks;
  • expanded coverage of scholarly repositories and questions around Open Access;
  • new section on the history of information organization;
  • expanded discussion of the functions, economics, and management of metadata; and
  • a new section on mobile access.

This book will be useful reading for LIS students taking information organization courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, information professionals wishing to specialize in this field, and existing metadata specialists who wish to update their knowledge.

Examination copies are available for instructors who are interested in adopting this title for course use.

List of figures and tables

Preface to the First Edition

Preface to the Second Edition

List of abbreviations

1 Definitions and scope 
Information resources 
Resource description 
Metadata 
Elements, values, format and transmission 
Managing metadata 
The contemporary information environment 
Information organization 
A potted history 
Search engines, linked data, data mining and granularity 
Overview of this book 
References

2 Information resource attributes 
Introduction 
Describer and user contexts 
Information resource contexts 
The functions of metadata 
From attributes to elements 
References

3 Tools and systems 
Introduction 
Arrangements 
Indexes and databases 
Bibliographic databases 
Library catalogues 
Federated search systems 
Archival finding aids 
Records management systems 
Museum registers 
Content management and repository systems
Search engines 
Online directories 
Bibliographies 
Citation databases 
References

4 Metadata sources 
Introduction 
Resource creators 
Publishers 
Information professionals 
Library cataloguing
Metadata librarianship
Indexing and abstracting 
Archival description 
Records management 
Museum documentation 
Information architecture 
End-users 
Computers 
References

5 Metadata quality 
Introduction 
Functionality 
Comprehensiveness 
Accuracy 
Clarity 
Consistency 
Vocabulary and authority control 
Principles of best practice 
Quality assurance 
Cost–benefit analysis 
References

6 Sharing metadata 
Introduction 
Library catalogue records 
Metadata from repositories, archives and museums 
Interoperability 
Linked data 
References

7 Metadata standards 
Introduction 
Web publishing 
Libraries 
Digital libraries 
Archives 
Records and document management 
Museums 
Book publishing 
Book indexing 
Database indexing 
Research 
Education 
Audiovisual industries 
Registries of standards 
References

8 Vocabularies 
Introduction 
Controlled subject vocabularies 
Subject headings 
Subject thesauri 
Subject classification schemes
Taxonomies 
Ontologies 
Non-subject vocabularies 
Vocabulary mapping and directories 
Identification systems 
References

9 The future of metadata 
Introduction 
Three approaches to information access provision 
Content-based information retrieval 
Social metadata 
Professional description 
Conclusion 
References

Further reading

List of metadata standards 
Archival description and recordkeeping 
Library cataloguing rules 
Principles and models for cataloguing rules 
Indexing and abstracting 
Style manuals 
Museum documentation
Schemas 
Subject heading lists 
Classification schemes 
Name heading lists 
Identifiers 
Encoding and transmission standards 
Registries and directories 

Index

Philip Hider

Philip Hider is Head of the School of Information Studies at Charles Sturt University, Australia. He has worked, taught and researched in the field of information organization in the UK, Singapore and Australia. He holds a PhD from City University, London and was made a Fellow of CILIP in 2004.

"An insightful, well-balanced account of the current state of metadata work across a range of contexts, but with a clear understanding that use is the primary criteria in all cases by which metadata practices should be judged. It will be useful to anyone wishing to get a richer understanding of the diverse roles metadata plays in our complex information-laden environment."
— Technicalities

"While the book does not presume any previous knowledge of the field, neither is it a basic textbook or primer. Relevant illustrations and tables, including screenshots, are well-placed and effectively supplement the text ... [this book] will be useful for LIS students, metadata specialists, cataloging professionals, and anyone interested in the process of proving access to electronic resources."
— Online Searcher

"As a cataloging and metadata librarian of almost a decade, I found much in this monograph that was interesting, new to me, and worth knowing. While this book would be a good introduction to the subject for students or new professionals, it is equally useful for established librarians who have the background knowledge that allows them to build on and contextualize that information with Hider's historical and theoretical sections."
— Technical Services Quarterly

Praise for the second edition

"As we enter the infosphere, and documents in an increasing variety of forms and media become ever more essential for our society, so the problems of organising information increase. This second edition of Philip Hider's book addresses one essential component: the organizing of information resources through their description. Its focus on general principles expressed in different contexts, and its equal treatment of systems, sources and processes, makes it a valuable addition."
— David Bawden, Professor of Information Science, City University London