The Metadata Manual: A Practical Workbook presents a concise guide to some of the basic concepts of and practices with metadata. This practical manual provides clear descriptions of and helpful applications for metadata, specifically for the collections and materials of cultural heritage institutions. Although the focus is on cultural heritage institutions, this manual’s guidance could also be of assistance to a diverse array of professionals and practitioners in various settings who may work with metadata. The book, therefore, serves as a workbook or a training manual that introduces, instructs and guides beginners in the world of metadata including its different kinds of applications, languages and schemas.
The authors’ stated goal is to “give the reader a flexible how-to guide, and to provide enough background and practice to understand the context and utility of several popular metadata languages” (p. 2). They achieve this goal of contextual and flexible practicality by designing a manual that allows readers to interact with it in a personalized, or tailored, manner. Although one can certainly read the book in its entirety, it is not necessarily a requirement that they do so; instead, one can select certain chapters or sections, picking and choosing the information, examples or exercises of particular interest or relevance to them. The reader, in other words, is not constrained by the manual’s format; rather, the manual’s format provides a kind of open and elastic space in which the reader can approach and maneuver in their own preferred way.
The manual is divided into seven main chapters. The first chapter introduces metadata, presenting useful descriptions of the term, part of its history and background and the different types, structures and languages of metadata. It also introduces the concepts and practices of metadata’s quality control and interoperability mechanisms in which to maximize efficiency and exposure of one’s resources and collections. The authors’ aim is to provide context to metadata and show its tangible benefits for both the context of particular collections and resource discovery and retrieval for users.
The next five chapters are divided by specific metadata languages and schemas that are of interest in cultural heritage institutional settings: XML, Dublin Core, Encoded Archival Description, Categories for the Description of Works of Art (CDWA) and CDWA Lite and VRA Core 4.0. This division by specific schemas helps clarify, distinguish and guide the reader regarding each kind of metadata’s function, structure, application, use and so on. The aim is to describe and explain “some key standards so [the reader finds] them manageable, the implementation is eased and [the reader] can minimize the time and resources spent on this important activity” (p. 13) of metadata use.
The final chapter, The Big Picture, presents a strong overview of the advantages and benefits of shareability and interoperability of metadata, for instance, showing how such qualities help maximize exposure to an institution’s collections and resources, increase the effectiveness and efficiency of information retrieval, establish context for collections and resources and direct users to other related or similar items. It further describes how shareability and interoperability can be harnessed for best results, including illuminating discussions about the so-called six C’s (context, consistency, coherence, content, communications, and conformance to standards) and lots of S’s (various standards), mapping and cross-walking. This section not only gives the reader specific details on these issues but also neatly brings together the previous chapters’ various metadata languages and schemas by showing the need for shareability and interoperability regardless of the kind of metadata used.
The manual also presents relevant reading and learning aids, including lists of figures, tables and abbreviations) in addition to a detailed index and both cited and consulted references that are appropriate and current. There are practical exercises in which the reader can apply the knowledge and lessons learnt from each chapter, permitting one to work directly from the book on actual examples. Clear answers and insightful comments to these exercises are provided. The reader, therefore, can gain a more solid understanding of metadata through these hands-on features. The manual, therefore, functions as a kind of print tutorial in which the reader can learn the basics of metadata, including its creation and application.
This book is neither a conceptual or theoretical approach to metadata nor is it a discussion of some of the implications of metadata and its possible uses and potential abuses; for example, it does not address important issues such as privacy or security insofar as metadata is concerned. Admittedly, these implications are not necessarily within the purview of this manual’s stated goals or approach. Nevertheless, a section in either the introduction or concluding big picture chapter that touches upon some of these implications could have provided the reader with a brief introduction to these important issues. Indeed, as this manual is about practical application and use, having some awareness of these implications would also help to inform one’s practices with metadata.
The manual provides a solid foundation on which beginners – including those practicing cultural heritage professionals and students – can start engaging with metadata. It provides illuminating descriptions and explanations, sound advice, clear instructions, insightful commentary and useful examples and exercises in which one can begin learning about and practicing with metadata. Although it is geared toward a cultural heritage institutional audience, the manual is nonetheless a coherent and flexible training instrument for any individual interested in understanding and approaching metadata fundamentals.
