To paraphrase Ecclesiastes 1:9, “There is no new information under the sun”. That is so true of this monograph. Philip Hider, Head of the School of Information Studies at Australia’s Charles Sturt University, synthesizes existing research about metadata to provide a descriptive and an explanatory introduction to the topic focusing on “resource description and its use in the various tools of information organization” for students and practitioners. The reader should not expect groundbreaking research results, for that is not the intent, but rather a solid description of metadata (definitions), information resource attributes, tools and systems (for libraries, archives and museums), metadata sources (who creates it) and quality, how it is shared, the standards used, controlled vocabularies and finally the future of metadata.
Hider writes well and provides a good introduction to metadata for the novice – not too technical or full of jargon (he includes 4.5 pages of abbreviations) – with end-of-chapter references for further information. He avoids becoming bogged down in the minutiae of cataloging yet gives enough of the flavor to help the reader understand the differences among standards.
For those newly minted librarians whose graduate school no longer teaches cataloging, for established librarians switching gears in mid-career from reference to technical services or for faculty who need to teach description, this book is an invaluable introductory resource.
