Metadata Application Profile

For LIS 5703 each student completed a Metadata Application Profile. Here is mine about my ever growing pen collection.

INTRODUCTION

The collection examined for the purposes of this Metadata Application Profile is a menagerie of pens in my household. The pens have been gathered over years of purchasing, some online, some in brick and mortar stores locally, and some abroad while traveling; some have also been gifts or freebies. The resources are pens of different manufacturers, colors, ink bases, and tips. This will not include other art supplies in my household, such as wax crayons, markers, or watercolors; every Metadata Application Profile must have a scope, such as the Encyclopedia of Iranian Architectural History who created their own MAP only for “the representation of the resources of the history of Iranian architecture” (Khazraee & Park, 2010, p. 473). Note that Khazraee and Park only use “historic monuments and sites” as their focus for their MAP, not contemporary architectural sites, or sites outside Iran (2010, p. 473). To create a proper MAP, some homogeneity is needed amongst the resources because a MAP is “for a particular user community” (Joudrey et al., 2018, p. 200).

FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

There will be three types of users searching for resources in the pen MAP; myself, family, and visitors to the home. The primary way people will search for pens is color; often black or blue ink is required for paperwork, and when it comes to artistic endeavors, various colors may be required. Further, when working on a particular project, the ink base (oil, alcohol, or water) may be a consideration as well. For fun, the inks also come from the manufacturer in various sheens such as shadow, glitter, metallic, and matte. If a user needs to add a pop to their project, ink sheen may also be a way they choose to search for the proper pen.

To meet the needs of the users, they must be able to use key terms to search for pens in several ways. This is not a pen collection for being a pen collection; it is a functional collection meant to be used. Considering this, actual use of the pen is of highest order, not its history, provenance, or unwieldy technical specifications. Most users will choose a pen by its ink color, though the sheen a manufacturer applies to the ink will also be a consideration as glitter ink is harder to read than matte ink. Users may also have major brands they prefer to others, so this must be a searchable field as well. Roller ball vs ballpoint vs felt tip all create different writing sensations in the hand, and a user may prefer one over another. The line width the pen writes could be a consideration if space in the project is an issue. Also, pens are closely guarded by their owner (Emily) and some pens have restricted access. Once the correct pen is identified by any combination of the above descriptors, the pen must be found in the house so a location will also be included; this location field can also help identify, say, the closest pen of any kind. Or, if the user pines for a pen from a foreign land, the pen’s origin and inscription will also be included. The major ways to search: color, sheen, brand, tip type, line size, user rights, location, pen’s origin, inscription.

DOMAIN MODEL

The IFLA Library Reference Model will be the domain model used for this MAP because Joudrey, Taylor, and Wisser believe IFLA’s LRM “is to supersede the previous three [Functional Requirements] models” (2018, p. 215) and because IFLA’s LRM “is primarily concerned with the data and functionality required by end-users (and intermediaries working on behalf of end-users) to meet their information needs” (Riva et al., 2017, p. 15). As mentioned, this pen collection is one for use on projects by the end user; so that things like “intellectual rights data, preservation data, or acquisitions processes” are not included (Žumer, 2018, p. 311). There are five user tasks associated with IFLA’s LRM which are: Find, Identify, Select, Obtain, Explore. The objective of this pen MAP’s metadata records is to help users find, identify, select, obtain, and explore the pens in the collection. This is done through the careful selection of which descriptors of the pens must be included to create a metadata record that is full enough to complete the user tasks, yet not so large as to be cumbersome.

FIND

According to Riva, Le Bœuf, and Žumer the user task of Find means “to bring together information about one or more resources of interest by searching on any relevant criteria” (2017, p. 15). For this MAP, relevant criteria includes ink color, ink sheen, pen brand, tip type, line size, user rights, location, pen’s origin, and inscription. When a user searches any of those criteria with a keyword, the user will find information about multiple pens in one place. Hence, accumulating information about resources the user is interested in based on search criteria.

IDENTIFY

According to Riva, Le Bœuf, and Žumer the user task of Identify means “to clearly understand the nature of the resources found and to distinguish between similar resources” (2017, p. 15). For this MAP, the nature of the resources will be understood because of the 9 elements chosen to describe each pen. Every pen will have enough specifications so the user will know how and when to apply that certain pen to a project. The pens will also be distinguishable from one another because enough data has been collected about each so that each is unique.

SELECT

According to Riva, Le Bœuf, and Žumer the user task of Select means “to determine the suitability of the resources found, and to be enabled to either accept or reject specific resources” (2017, p. 15). The user will have a project they are interested in completing, either filling out a form or perhaps creating a piece of art, and the pen selected must fulfill the needs of that project. The 9 pen descriptors will enable the user to find a pen suitable for their project, as well as reject ones that are not needed.

OBTAIN

According to Riva, Le Bœuf, and Žumer the user task of Obtain means “to access the content of the resource” (2017, p. 15). The user will be able to find the pen in the house amongst the different places because a clearly labeled location has been included with the metadata to do so. Without this critical piece, all of the other metadata would be just about useless because actually getting the pen in hand to use is essential.

EXPLORE

According to Riva, Le Bœuf, and Žumer the user task of Explore means “to discover resources using the relationships between them and thus place the resources in a context” (2017, p. 15). Because the pen metadata includes manufacturer and country of origin, the user will be able to tell pens related to each other either by brand or origin. A user could even compare the shade of red of one manufacturer to another creating more relationships to explore.

METADATA TERMS AND STANDARDS

The metadata schema used for this pen MAP will be the Visual Resources Association Core, or VRA CORE. VRA CORE will be used because it “is uniquely able to capture descriptive information about works” (2007, question 1). Furthermore, the Library of Congress describes VRA CORE as “a data standard for the description of works of visual culture as well as the images that document them” (2014, p. 1). Although VRA CORE does make special consideration for images of works, that part of VRA CORE is not made use of for this MAP; instead, it is VRA CORE’s unique ability with describing objects that is used.

The list of 9 descriptors from earlier (color, sheen, brand, tip type, line size, user rights, location, pen’s origin, inscription) must now be muscled into the VRA CORE elements. The following table includes my own descriptors and how they translate into the following VRA CORE elements:

Lay descriptor	VRA CORE element	VRA CORE element definition	Reasoning
color	material	The substance of which a work or an image is composed¹	as a practical collection, ink is the material being used whereas the body of the pen is merely a carrier of the ink
sheen	technique	The production or manufacturing processes, techniques, and methods incorporated in the fabrication or alteration of the work or image²	manufacturers use special techniques to add various sheens to ink
brand	agent	The names, appellations, or other identifiers assigned to an individual, group, or corporate body that has contributed to the design, creation, production, manufacture, or alteration of the work or image³	the manufacturer of the pen
tip type	work type	Identifies the specific type of WORK, COLLECTION, or IMAGE being described in the record⁴	the type or style of pen it is
line size	measurements	The physical size, shape, scale, dimensions, or format of the Work or Image⁵	as a practical collection, the ink line width is being used not the pen's body
user rights	rights	Information about the copyright status and the rights holder for a work, collection, or image. The optional notes sub-element may include any justifications, conditions, or restraints on use⁶	who can use the pen
location	location	The geographic location and/or name of the repository, building, site, or other entity whose boundaries include the Work or Image⁷	where the pen is in the house
pen's origin	cultural context	The name of the culture, people (ethnonym), or adjectival form of a country name from which a Work, Collection, or Image originates⁸	the country from which the pen manufacturer resides
inscription	inscription	All marks or written words added to the object at the time of production or in its subsequent history, including signatures, dates, dedications, texts, and colophons, as well as marks, such as the stamps of silversmiths, publishers, or printers⁹	the words on the pen

1 (Library of Congress, 2007, p. 18)

2 (Library of Congress, 2007, p. 32)

3 (Library of Congress, 2007, p. 3)

4 (Library of Congress, 2007, p. 37)

5 (Library of Congress, 2007, p. 19)

6 (Library of Congress, 2007, p. 25)

7 (Library of Congress, 2007, p. 14)

8 (Library of Congress, 2007, p. 6)

9 (Library of Congress, 2007, p. 11)

DELETIONS

The one looming deletion from the above chosen elements is Title, defined by Library of Congress as “the title or identifying phrase given to a Work or an Image” (2007, p. 35). Pens of this collection do not have titles; if given titles artificially, they would be repetitive of the other elements and therefor only bloat the metadata. Description, too, would be repetitive because the pens are simple enough to be captured by the other metadata. Therefore, Title and Description have been eliminated as elements. Other elements eliminated include Date and Style Period; again, this MAP is concerned primarily with the use of pens, not their history or provenance, so both have been eliminated. Relation could potentially be used if the pens in question actually create an art piece for viewing; Relation’s definition is “terms or phrases describing the identity of the related work and the relationship between the work being cataloged and the related work or image” (Library of Congress, 2007, p. 21). So, if a pen were used to create a catalogued piece of art, the two could be linked through the Relation metadata. At the time of writing, no such art piece had come about, but this could later be amended if needed.

CONTROLLED VOCABULARIES

VRA CORE is the content standard, which has always been coupled with XML as the encoding standard. The Art and Architecture Thesaurus proved to be almost helpful as a controlled vocabulary, as it contains color names and descriptors such as metallic, glitter, matte, etc. (Getty, 2017). However, some of the sheen properties of the ink are unusual with non-standard description, such as shadow. Shadow pens create a metallic mark in the middle of the ink line with matte color ink just along the edges. The term ‘shadow’ is contained in the AAT vocabulary, but its definition is nowhere near the same as the ink description above. Therefore, a controlled vocabulary cannot be used for the purposes of the Material or Technique elements. Agent will not have a controlled vocabulary either because the manufacturers of pens are not included in controlled vocabularies. AAT, once again, proved almost useful for the Work Type element because it does include ‘ballpoint’ and ‘felt tip’ pens, but missed just short because it does not include ‘roller ball’ as a pen type, which in the pen world is separate from ‘ballpoint’ (Getty, 2017). Measurements will be given in millimeters. Rights, Location, and Inscription are unique to this MAP and will not be under a controlled vocabulary, whereas Cultural Context will use the AAT controlled vocabulary because it includes the various cultures where the pens were created.

XML EXAMPLES

EXAMPLE 1

<vra>

<agent>Sakura</agent>

<culturalContext vocab="ATT">Japanese</culturalContext>

<inscription>Gelly Roll Med Sakura/Japan XPGB-M#24

Purple</inscription>

<location>upstairs middle room desk top pumpkin spice and chill mug</location>

<material>purple water based ink</material>

<rights>Emily, family, visitor</rights>

<technique>matte</technique>

<worktype>roller ball</worktype>

</vra>

EXAMPLE 2

<vra>

<agent>Pilot</agent>

<culturalContext vocab="ATT">Japanese</culturalContext>

<inscription>Pilot G-2 07</inscription>

<location>upstairs middle room desk top pumpkin spice and chill mug</location>

<material>teal water based ink</material>

<rights>Emily, family</rights>

<technique>matte</technique>

<worktype>roller ball</worktype>

</vra>

EXAMPLE 3

<vra>

<agent>Stabilo</agent>

<culturalContext vocab="ATT">German</culturalContext>

<inscription>Stabilo Greenpoint L0.8 6088/51</inscription>

<location>upstairs middle room desk top pumpkin spice and chill

mug</location>

<material>turquoise water based ink</material>

<rights>Emily, family</rights>

<technique>matte</technique>

</vra>

EXAMPLE 4

<vra>

<agent>Sharpie</agent>

<culturalContext vocab="ATT">American</culturalContext>

<inscription>Sharpie permanent marker ultra fine point</inscription>

<location>upstairs middle room second desk drawer silver box</location>

<material>mint alcohol based ink</material>

<rights>Emily, family</rights>

<technique>matte</technique>

</vra>

EXAMPLE 5

<vra>

<agent>Sakura</agent>

<culturalContext vocab="ATT">Japanese</culturalContext>

<inscription>Gelly Roll Gold Japan XPGB-M#655</inscription>

<location>downstairs dining table rainbow bag</location>

<material>black, gold water based ink</material>

<rights>Emily</rights>

<technique>shadow</technique>

<worktype>roller ball</worktype>

</vra>

References

Getty. (2017, March 7). Art and architecture thesaurus online. Getty.edu. https://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/aat/

Khazraee, E. & Park, J. (2010) Lessons learned from EIAH metadata application profile (EMAP). Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 48(5), 472-485. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/01639371003776582

Joudrey, D., Taylor, A., & Wisser, K. (2018). The Organization of Information. (4^th edition). Libraries Unlimited.

Library of Congress. (2007, April 5). VRA Core 4.0 element description. LOC.gov.

https://www.loc.gov/standards/vracore/VRA_Core4_Element_Description.pdf

Library of Congress. (2014, October 28). An introduction to VRA CORE. LOC.gov.

https://www.loc.gov/standards/vracore/VRA_Core4_Intro.pdf

Riva, P., Le Bœuf, P., & Žumer M. (2017). IFLA library reference model: A conceptual model

for bibliographic information. IFLA.org https://repository.ifla.org/bitstream/123456789/40/1/ifla-lrm-august-2017_rev201712.pdf

Visual Resources Association. (2007, March 9). Frequently asked questions. Core.vra.web.

https://core.vraweb.org/vracore_faq.html

Žumer, M. (2018). IFLA library reference model (IFLA LRM): Harmonization of the FRBR

family. Knowledge Organization 45(4), 310-318. https://www.doi.org/10.5771/0943-7444-2018-4-310

Search This Blog

EmilyBufford

Metadata Application Profile

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Personal Learning Network

Closing the New Digital Divide

Bias in a Picture Book