Courses

Detailed examination of issues and problems relating to the creation and application of metadata in various information environments. Major metadata schemes, encoding standards, and container architecture are examined with emphasis on functions, syntax, semantics, quality and evaluation. Additional topics for examination will include resource identifiers, controlled vocabularies, and metadata project management.

Students will gain an overview of the primary metadata schemes used in digital library environments with a strong theoretical background combined with practical application. By the end of the course, students will understand:

• The development and use of metadata in the library, archival, museum, information center, and Internet communities.
• The various types and uses of metadata.
• The importance of standards.
• The content, syntax, and structure of the major metadata schemes used by libraries, archives, information centers, and museums.
• The role of metadata in information retrieval.
• The use of controlled vocabularies.
• The practical creation and application of metadata.
• The importance of metadata quality and evaluation.