Metadata (review)

Metadata was written as a textbook for metadata-related courses in library and information science programs and for practitioners who wish to update their knowledge on the topic. Marcia Lei Zeng and Jian Qin serve on the teaching faculty at School of Library and Information Science at Kent State University and the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University, respectively. Each author has taught courses on metadata and digital libraries. In the preface, Zeng and Qin state that the book is not intended to serve as a how-to manual on various metadata schemas and their applications but rather an overview of various metadata schemas and larger considerations and decisions. For more detailed information on the application of various metadata schemas, see Priscilla Caplan's Metadata Fundamentals for All Librarians (Chicago: American Library Association, 2003).

The book is divided into four sections: fundamentals of metadata, metadata building blocks, metadata services, and metadata outlook in research. Appendix A includes references to numerous metadata standards. Appendix B details various value encoding schemes and content standards. Additional readings, exercises, and quizzes for the book may be found at: http://www.neal-schuman.com/metadata.

What makes this book different from others on the topic is its coverage of metadata services. Here metadata services refer to the "systems and tools supporting the creation and maintenance of metadata schemas and records." (p. 211) The remaining third of the book focuses on metadata services, and the authors go to great lengths to show how all of the various metadata decisions (for example, metadata exposure) can influence the long-term success of a digital project and/or digital library. Specific decisions involving the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) and other digital projects are often cited. A thorough, somewhat technical, explanation of how the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) works is also included.

Metadata services such as metadata registries and metadata repositories are the means of ensuring quality control and consistency. Details are provided about how to measure quality control within and between objects by addressing the issues of completeness, correctness, consistency, and duplication analysis. Beyond measuring quality control, the authors provide steps for remedying quality control shortcomings in a repository.

Interoperability issues are still viewed as some of the most challenging within the metadata community. Interoperability is crucial, since it ensures the exchange of data between disparate systems. The authors go into considerable detail about how interoperability may be built into a digital library or repository. Techniques to achieve interoperability at the schema level, record level, and repository level are treated separately.

Interestingly for a text book, it concludes with a section on current metadata research and suggested topics for further study. Though the title is not particularly creative, Metadata is a solid contribution to the literature for library and information science students as well as practitioners. The holistic approach to the topic serves as a reminder that metadata efforts should not occur in isolation. The book is well written and offers numerous practical suggestions for managing the metadata in digital projects and things to consider when constructing a digital library. Although a text book might seem like an unlikely recommendation for a practitioner, this one is highly readable and worth consideration.