The future of cataloguing: a CIGS World Cafe Workshop
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Alan Danskin from the British Library gives a scene setting presentation, including the history of cataloguing, the longevity of good metadata, and the British Library's Metadata Strategy (2019-23). This put everyone in the right frame of mind before the interactive discussion workshop on the Future of Cataloguing.
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The future of cataloguing: a CIGS World Cafe Workshop
- 1. The Future of cataloguing: a world café workshop Alan Danskin British Library CIG Scotland. 7th June 2019 @ National Library of Scotland
- 2. www.bl.uk anyone who has never before attended an event called: 2 Hands-Up
- 3. www.bl.uk 3
- 4. www.bl.uk It’s a continuing existential crisis …but cataloguing has evolved… 4 …and its product is metadata
- 5. The British Library Collection Metadata? Collection metadata is structured data used to manage, access & preserve our collection Collection metadata captures: • Key properties • Relationships • Location & availability
- 6. The British Library Collection Metadata – Strategic Asset • Metadata’s value in a web environment transformed it into a key asset • Like other assets metadata requires effective management to maximise return on investment • If metadata isn’t adequate or available via appropriate channels content is invisible to users
- 7. www.bl.uk 7 “metadata ages like a fine wine… …software ages like fish”
- 8. Good metadata…British Museum title slip, May, 1842
- 9. Good metadata… Author: William Shakespeare, 1564-1616, author. Uniform Title: Works Title: Comedies, histories, tragedies, and poems of William Shakspere / edited by Charles Knight. Edition: Second edition. Publication Details: London : Charles Knight & Co., 1842-1844. Physical Description: 12 v. ; 23 cm. (8º) Contributor: Charles Knight 1791-1873, editor. Language: English (eng) Country of Publication: England (enk) Shelfmark(s): General Reference Collection 11763.cc.20. Explore the British Library, May 2019
- 10. …doesn’t just endure… Author: William Shakespeare, 1564-1616, author. Uniform Title: Works Title: Comedies, histories, tragedies, and poems of William Shakspere / edited by Charles Knight. Edition: Second edition. Publication Details: London : Charles Knight & Co., 1842-1844. Physical Description: 12 v. ; 23 cm. (8º) Contributor: Charles Knight 1791-1873, editor. Language: English (eng) Country of Publication: England (enk) Shelfmark(s): General Reference Collection 11763.cc.20. Explore the British Library, May 2019 Information in blue has never been amended
- 11. …it evolves to meet changing needs Author: William Shakespeare, 1564-1616, author. Uniform Title: Works Title: Comedies, histories, tragedies, and poems of William Shakspere / edited by Charles Knight. Edition: Second edition. Publication Details: London : Charles Knight & Co., 1842-1844. Physical Description: 12 v. ; 23 cm. (8º) Contributor: Charles Knight 1791-1873, editor. Language: English (eng) Country of Publication: England (enk) Content Type: text; Media Type: unmediated; Carrier type: volume Shelfmark(s): General Reference Collection 11763.cc.20. Information in red is evidence of metadata stewardship
- 12. …it evolves to meet changing needs Author: William Shakespeare, 1564-1616, author. Uniform Title: Works Title: Comedies, histories, tragedies, and poems of William Shakspere / edited by Charles Knight. Edition: Second edition. Publication Details: London : Charles Knight & Co., 1842-1844. Physical Description: 12 v. ; 23 cm. (8º) Contributor: Charles Knight 1791-1873, editor. Language: English (eng) Country of Publication: England (enk) Content Type: text; Media Type: unmediated; Carrier type: volume Shelfmark(s): General Reference Collection 11763.cc.20. Collection management/ visualization Collection management/ discovery Fulfilment Collection management
- 13. 13 Collection metadata is a key asset representing centuries of effort but: • Uncoordinated development means it can appear inflexible & confusing • Inadequacies are apparent as we migrate to online/digital services • Despite strategic importance its potential is largely untapped Collection Metadata Challenges Delivering processing efficiencies Legacy metadata unfit for current needs Skills maintenance & development Improving access to metadata Supporting strategic partnerships Opening up ‘hidden’ metadata Complex, incompatible standards & systems Creating standard solutions for complex issues
- 14. The Collection Metadata Strategy Addresses these challenges & aims to: • Enhance our ability to exploit metadata assets to deliver our strategic priorities, portfolios & programmes • Ensure the value of our metadata investment is maintained by effective stewardship • Enable open access to metadata to improve discovery & promote wider community re-use
- 15. The Collection Metadata Strategy 2019-23 Objectives: • Reduce complexity of collection metadata infrastructure • Develop a target metadata model for use in next generation systems • Create sustainable workflows matching the growing scale & complexity of content • Support key strategic metadata collaborations e.g. National Bibliographic Knowledgebase
- 16. www.bl.uk Reduce complexity of collection metadata infrastructure • Metadata is only part of the solution • Systems and metadata have to work in partnership • Business processes have to change • Standards and skill sets have to evolve
- 17. www.bl.uk Develop a target metadata model for use in next generation systems The target metadata model will: • Focus on commonalities (& NOT obsess about differences) • Library Reference Model • RDA: Resource Description & Access 17
- 18. www.bl.uk Develop a target metadata model for use in next generation systems The target metadata model will: • Break down silos • Enable integration of different workflows • Enable re-use of metadata by different workflows 18
- 19. www.bl.uk Develop a target metadata model for use in next generation systems The target metadata model will: • Put the added value on the screen • Facilitate reuse of metadata • Encourage development of more generic skill sets 19
- 20. www.bl.uk Create sustainable workflows matching the growing scale & complexity of content Identification Matching and merging Clustering Transforming Exception handling 20 2257… 84581, 21% 212230, 52% 57937, 14% 31895, 8% eBooks Records Upgraded 14/05/2019 Upgraded manually Upgraded via eCIP auto merge Upgraded by CM batch upgrade Un-upgraded no longer in BUP workflow Un-upgraded still in BUP workflow 72.5% of 409,219 received
- 21. www.bl.uk Support key strategic metadata collaborations Open Metadata National Bibliographic Knowledgebase Aggregation/enhancement of trade metadata Living with machines (Turing Institute) ISNI RDA: Resource Description & Access FAST (Faceted Application of Subject Terminology) 21
- 22. Links - The British Library Collection Metadata http://www.bl.uk/bibliographic/main.html Email: metadata@bl.uk Foundations for the future http://www.bl.uk/bibliographic/pdfs/british-library-collection-metadata-strategy-2019-2023.pdf British Library Open Metadata http://www.bl.uk/bibliographic/datafree.html BNB Linked Open Data http://bnb.data.bl.uk/faqs http://bnb.data.bl.uk/getting-started http://bnb.data.bl.uk/docs https://data.gov.uk/dataset/the-linked-open-british-national-bibliography Papers http://www.bl.uk/bibliographic/pdfs/publishing_bnb_as_lod.pdf http://research.microsoft.com/pubs/193076/Whitepaper%20on%20Linking%20Structured%20Data.pdf
Editor's Notes
- I’d like to thank CIG Scotland for inviting me to set the scene for today’s workshop. I’m going to talk about our metadata strategy, which was published last month and will give some context for today’s discussions. However this event is going to be about your ideas, so I want to start with a bit of audience participation.
- How many of you have never previously attended an event called the
- It’s a continuing existential crisis ….but don’t panic cataloguing has changed and its product is metadata
- Our first metadata strategy communicated the idea of creating metadata to serve multiple purposes, rather than catalogue records for discovery and access. We defined a term “collection metadata” to make explicit the connection between the Library’ collection and the metadata necessary for its management and use .
- We asserted the value of the collection metadata as a key asset of the institution. We emphasized that metadata is not a by-product but an essential tool for enabling processes and delivering services. That it has to be managed if it is to maintain its value to the Library and
- I came across a quote recently…it’s funny, but is it true? Like fine wine, metadata has to be cared for and stored appropriately other wise it may become corked!
- Here is one of the original title slips from the British Museum, which are still held in Boston Spa. If we zoom in a bit, we can see that it is initialled by the cataloguer. and dated May, 1842. This metadata was created nearly 200 years ago. This metadata is nearly 200 years old. It is good metadata, because it is accurate and sufficient for the needs of the day.
- …and here is the record in Explore the British Library (note that I have changed the order of elements to ISBD). If I apply a highlight, you can see R.E.G’s contribution
- But that doesn’t mean it has stood the test of time. It has been curated to meet new needs: conversion to MARC 21, alignment of headings with LCSH. Decimalisation of the dimensions. Assignment of language codes and country codes Increasingly we are able to use the power of computers to enhance our metadata. ISBD punctuation has been supplied and the data has been converted to MARC. Headings have been aligned with the Library of Congress Name Authority File to improve access and interoperability. Relationship designators have been added for author and editor, in accordance with RDA. Controlled terms have been added to identify the language of the content and the country of publication. These are important attributes for collection analysis and visualisation. A number of these enhancements were made in advance of last year’s exhibition, when the Collection Metadata Quality team reviewed all the Shakespeare records. Hopefully the data you add will stand the test of time a well as RLG’s has.
- …and here is the record in Explore the British Library (note that I have changed the order of elements to ISBD). If I apply a highlight, you can see R.E.G’s contribution
- …and here is the record in Explore the British Library (note that I have changed the order of elements to ISBD). If I apply a highlight, you can see R.E.G’s contribution
- We need a strategy in order to coordinate and priortis management of the collection metadata assets. The challenges are numerous and daunting. Large parts of the collection are inadequately described or not described at all. Non-print legal deposit, digitization pose challenges of scale and complexity and volatility and require a new skills base. Transformation of data is more significant than data creation. User expectations change more quickly than our infrastructure. Neither cataloguing standards nor our catalogue were not developed to meet contemporary needs and their deficiencies are exposed by the demands of new technology. However, the metadata is rich and there is a lot of potential to unlock. The Library’s metadata assets are the result of largely uncoordinated
- The strategy aims to address these challenges and articulates three broad aims:
- I don’t have time today to go through the whole strategy; The aims for 2019-23 are as you can see on the slide. I’ll look at each of these in a little more detail..
- The target metadata model encourages us to focus on the commonalities between metadata from different sources rather than obsessing about the differences. Orderable unit; dependent unit; contextual
- The target metadata model encourages us to focus on the commonalities between metadata from different sources rather than obsessing about the differences. Orderable unit; dependent unit; contextual
- We spend a lot of money creating or enhancing metadata. We need to show a return on that investment. It should be up there on the screen and we should be able to point to the functionality that depends on specific pieces of metadata. We want to reuse metadata or generate it from content rather than create it. We need to enrich skill sets so that professional cataloguers can deal with a much wider range of content and carrier types.
- I