Margot Note's Blog, page 11

Strategizing for Digitization Projects

Digitization has changed how collections are used and accessed.

Research can make digital surrogates more amendable to interpretation, such as via full-text searching and indexing, as well as comparison of materials for multiple sources. Nonetheless, there may be times when no digital surrogate is adequate for scholarship. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate whether digitization is worthwhile before undertaking an initiative. Many factors come into play when assessing the value of digital files. These factors may help access when digitizing collections can be cost-effective. Valuable digital resources, which bring prestige to the institutions that create and maintain them, are those that support scholarship without losing the benefits of working with the originals. 

Why This Collection?

Archivists strategize before starting a digitization project. Digitization requires a significant investment, and assessing the costs and benefits is essential. Therefore, a critical aspect of developing a digitization project is evaluating whether digitization is the right strategy. 

Understanding the attributes of physical materials, both intellectual and artifactual, and the ability to evaluate which attributes can be delivered to users underpin digitization projects. Using digital content makes it possible to make project decisions, including presentation, maintenance, and access. Archivists should balance these considerations against the resources available for digitization—such as staff and budget—and the institutional framework supporting the project in order to make decisions appropriate for a particular collection. The nature of the digitized materials, the surrogates’ required quality, and institutional policies and priorities influence judgments. Setting goals based on these considerations makes selecting from various technologies and methodologies easier and results in a successful project. 

COVID-19 dramatically escalated an already ardent focus on digitization. In some instances, new forms of user engagement and a massive shift in researcher expectations drove the need for digitization. For example, users expect accessible online experiences when interacting with organizations. In addition, the pandemic opened opportunities to think more critically about how repositories should harness technological innovation to reproduce and transform archival materials into new forms of knowledge. Finally, enhanced digitization of historical records enabled more effective and widespread knowledge use and reuse. 

Raising the Profile

The advantages of digitization to research are impressive. The potential of networked technologies to create a dynamic reading and scholarship environment is driving digitization initiatives at many repositories. Digital information, particularly networked digital information, considerably enhances the fundamental elements of scholarship. 

There is no doubt that digitization projects can raise the profile of an institution. Projects, if done well, can bring prestige. Raising an organization’s profile by highlighting digital collections can be helpful in public relations. Digital collections can also leverage donors and funders by demonstrating an institutional commitment to education, access, and scholarship. Funding opportunities for digitization exist, and an institution can use them to accelerate digitization projects. 

Developing digital projects can have long-term benefits for the institution. However, it may take many years to fully realize these benefits. Nevertheless, such initiatives may create an opportunity for investment in technological infrastructure. Furthermore, they offer staff an opportunity to develop specialized skills. In addition, employees benefit from access to digitization projects that allow gaining experience and new opportunities. 

The Future of Digitization

Although the fate of digital files remains unknown and technical and social issues continue to emerge, archivists can depend on several factors as they look to the future. First, digital files will increase significantly, and information technology will change rapidly. Second, research trends will expand, and scholars will demand that collections be as inclusive as possible. Intellectual property rights management will evolve as digital content replaces analog sources. Financial and human resources may be unable to keep pace with demand, but institutions should balance quality against cost. Finally, sustainability will continue to be an issue, as digitization is not just about creating images but providing for their management and maintenance. As a result of these developments, best practices for collection access, preservation, and management will transform. 

The blog was originally published on Lucidea's blog. 

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A Quick Guide to Writing Abstracts

An abstract is a summary of the work reported in a paper. It allows readers to quickly identify articles of interest to them, without having to read the whole document. Together with the title, the abstract is also used by databases to allow articles to be searched easily. 

Abstracts should almost always be written last. It should briefly state the overall thesis and scope of the paper, describe the methodology employed, summarize the results, and reiterate the main findings. Most journals specify a word limit, which is less than 250 words. 

Often when writing professionally, you will have to supply your own abstract. Even if you are writing a paper that will never be published, writing an abstract can help you solidify and summarize the ideas described in your paper. 

When writing your abstract, never include information or conclusions that are not given in the paper. The abstract should be understandable by itself, as it will be published separately in abstracting services. The abstract should not contain abbreviations and references to literature and to figures and tables. 

It may also be helpful to add a keyword list at the end of your abstract, which will be used by indexing and abstracting services. Consider adding keywords not already in the title or the abstract, so that readers find it easier to locate your paper. 

Instagram for Archives

Instagram is a powerful tool to introduce your archival collections to the public through images. It also allows your constituents to see parts of collections that they might not usually see because of security or preservation reasons. Viewers can experience your storage areas, your conservation room, or items that are rarely displayed.

Don’t underestimate how the everyday processes of archives are interesting to those outside the field. I remember watching an Insta-story of an archives as they demonstrated their pest control activities. Who would ever think that would be engaging? But it was! To people who don’t know about archives, libraries, or museum work, the quotidian aspects of the job can demonstrate how much care and protection is needed to preserve their cultural heritage.

Instagram also allows you to engage one of one with your audience. People can ask questions, and you can educate and entertain through comments. Use a little humor and humanity to talk directly to your followers.

In my Instagram account, I try to balance pictures of my work with clients, as well as well as my personal life. I've also documented archival practices, like sorting and organizing a zine collection, in my Instastories. 

The informality of social media makes it easy to forget that they are not private spaces. Data protection and copyright laws still apply, and social media inputs are visible to search engines. Make sure that you are sharing information that is okay for everyone to know about and never criticize or act unprofessionally while posting.

Despite Instagram’s power, it can be a hard sell to get approval to start an account. It may be a generational thing, as Instagram tends to appeal to a younger audience, and executives and board members might not use it themselves. At a past job, I fought to set up and run the Instagram account. It was satisfying to see the follower and comment count growing and to hear that the account was praised at professional conferences.

To learn more about how to set up and run a successful Instagram account for an archives, read my chapter, "#CulturalHeritage: Connecting to Audiences Through Instagram” in Engagement and Access: Innovative Approaches for Museums, edited by Juilee Decker.

Engagement and Access: Innovative Approaches for Museums Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Buy on Amazon

How to Take Notes as You Read

When you are researching for a paper, you should take notes, not only to retain the information you are seeking but also to guide the next steps in your research strategy. I advise my students to take notes, either by putting pen to paper or by using programs like Mendeley which allow you to mark and save articles. Reading for research is never passive; it should be an active exchange in which you respond to and interrogate the text. Here are some suggestions for taking notes as you read: 

If the text will be discussed in class, come to class prepared. You'll take better notes and learn more if you've done the assigned reading or other work before the lecture. (And don't think your professor doesn't know that you haven't done the work. Oh, we know!)

Choose the best medium for taking notes--by hand or by laptop. It will depend on your own preference and the content of the course. Choose the option that's most comfortable to you. When in doubt, go by hand. There's something about handwriting notes that helps you process them in your brain better.

Begin actively reading by previewing a work to get a general idea of what to look for later when you read it more carefully. Examine the title and the abstract, if it's available. Look at the section titles, paragraphing, and other stylistic and structural features. Skim the footnotes.

Pay attention to key concepts, considering the relationships between ideas, noting transitions, and thinking about how the material fits into the course as a whole.

Mark the text. Underline important points, including the thesis and topic sentences. Circle words, phrases, or ideas that you would like to think more about. Draw lines between related words and ideas. Number incidents that occur in sequence.

Note unfamiliar concepts and words. Look up words. Write their definitions in the margins, or create a working vocabulary list. Put question marks beside confusing passages and unfamiliar references.

Talk back to the text. What questions do you want answered? What disagreements do you have with the author's arguments?

Note cross-references to other materials you have read on the subject. How have their points agreed or disagreed with what you are reading now?

Write summaries of the text to ensure that you have understood the material. Paraphrase as best you can.

Copy statements that you might want to quote directly in your work. Use quotations marks to ensure that you know this is a quote (so you do not inadvertently plagiarize the passage). Note the complete bibliographic information for the quote.

Create a working bibliography of all the sources you read for a project. Note URLs of the websites you visit, as well as the dates that you accessed them because websites can sometimes disappear.

Keep a journal, either in a notebook or on your computer, to record the ideas and questions that occur to you as you read. In your journal, expand your marginal annotations, record your responses to works you have read, note questions, and explore emerging ideas. Keep things neat so when you refer to your notes later, you will not be confused.

What tips do you use when reading and taking notes? I'd love to hear them. Share your suggestions in the comment section. 

Are Your Archives at Risk?

In my book, Creating Family Archives: A Step-by-Step Guide for Saving Your Memories for Future Generations, I discuss the techniques that archivists use to protect historical materials from the ravages of time. I find that it's also helpful to discuss what can cause damage to your archival items. Many hazards are obvious, but others may surprise non-professionals. 

Here are the major threats to papers, photographs, and other physical items:

Improper handling, either handling the documents roughly or by having them come into contact with the natural dirt and oils in your skin

Fluctuating or extreme temperatures

Fluctuating or extreme relative humidity levels, especially high humidity

High levels of or frequent exposure to light, especially ultraviolet rays.

Pollutants such as tobacco, fireplace, or cooking smoke; dirt and dust; urban air pollution

Proximity to highly-acidic documents that migrate like newspaper clippings

Harmful fasteners, like metal clips or rubber bands, and adhesives

Storage in folded, creased, or rolled conditions

Storage in acidic containers or adhesive albums, like magnetic photo albums

Storage or transport in positions that cause falling, bending, breakage, or pressing

Mold, mildew, rodents, insects, and animals in general

Lamination

Static electricity

Improper labeling or packaging

Spillage of food, beverages, or other contaminants near documents

Natural disasters such as floods, fire, and leaks

Theft, vandalism, unwanted sale, dispersal, or disposal

Some documents are particularly susceptible to damage. Special risk materials include: 

Newspaper clippings

Highly-acidic papers such as telegrams, and scrapbook and photo album pages

Charcoal, pastel, chalk, or heavily applied pencil drawings or writings

Scrapbooks, baby books, and other mixed-media albums

Rare published books

Photographs

Folded or rolled documents

Documents with fading ink

Ephemera, because they were created for short-term use

Tapes, discs, and other recording media

Digital items, especially if no backup systems exist

Have I scared you? Lists like this are what keep archivists up at night! If you are interested in learning quick, easy, and affordable ways to avoid these risks and protect your family legacy, Creating Family Archives: A Step-by-Step Guide for Saving Your Memories for Future Generations will provide the answers. 

To learn the preservation secrets used by libraries, archives, and museums to protect their priceless materials (that you can also use for your family heritage items), read my book: 

Creating Family Archives: A Step-by-Step Guide to Saving Your Memories for Future Generations By Margot Note Buy on Amazon

Ready to get started creating your family archives? Here are some of my favorite products:

Reading Room Recommendations

Reading rooms are secure spaces used by the public to review archival materials. They are designed so that the records are always protected. 

A reading room should provide reader comfort with optimum security for historical materials. Collections leave the controlled environment of the archival storage area to be used in the reading room, and every effort must be made to ensure that the materials do not become damaged, misfiled, or stolen during their time in the room. 

Each archival facility will have unique requirements depending on its collection, the space available for research activities, and its security and researcher policies. For example, larger repositories may have multiple reading rooms serving specific collections or record types. Organizations with significant holdings of paper and multimedia materials may want a reading room for researching using paper records with other spaces for those listening to sound recordings, viewing microfilm, watching videos, or browsing digital files. 

Room Characteristics

Reading rooms should be:

Accessible from the public entrance of the building, without having to walk through or by the storage area

Accessible through a single entrance 

Located in a quiet area and designed with soundproofing

Arranged with enough space between tables to permit carts

Organized with few visual varies so that staff members can observe researchers

Ideally, reading rooms may have the following:

Automatic door openers for the service doors into the room. If oversized materials are researched, provide double doors.

A reference desk located centrally so that staff members have clear lines of sight to all room areas. The reference desk may have a silent alarm button that links it to security. In addition, it should have room for a computer, supplies, and any other operational equipment required by members.

An average workspace of 7.5 square feet per researcher

Researcher tables measuring 30 inches in height. Typically, a one-person table measures a minimum of 36 by 42 inches; a table for more than one person measures a minimum of 48 by 72 inches.

Research table space for oversized records. If oversized material is seldom used, or if space is limited, consider providing several rolling tables that can be placed together to give a larger area when needed.

If desired, windows but they must be secured, double-glazed, and filtered. In addition, windows should be visible from the reference desk so that they can be monitored.

Researchers should register for access in a location outside of the reading room. For example, in a shared facility, it may be necessary to place the registration at the entrance or in the lobby of the building. 

Security Concerns

Researcher lockers and public restrooms must be located outside of the reading room. A secure entrance and exit to the reading room should be located separately from the registration and locker areas. There must be no direct access to restrooms or other unsupervised spaces from the reading room. 

For high-profile organizations or those concerned about personnel safety, theft, or damage to materials, installing a metal detector at the entrance of the reading room or facility may be necessary to check for metal objects, such as guns, knives, or razor blades. For example, the Center for Jewish History, which houses five archival organizations within its building, has a magnetometer in its lobby. Walking through a metal detector can be an intimidating welcome to an archival repository. Still, it is necessary, and the security personnel’s professionalism, courtesy, and friendliness mitigate the experience. 

Multiple Uses

A reading room might also be used for other purposes. For example, if the building does not have a large meeting room, the room could serve as a room for meetings outside of researcher hours. While having a room solely for archival research is ideal, space needs in many buildings are limited. A room that offers flexibility for archival research, meetings, exhibits, and events may be a practical approach. 

The blog was originally published on Lucidea's blog. 

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Securing Buy-in for Archival Programs

Archives are the foundation of our collective memory. Physical and digital artifacts document our history, culture, and identity. 

However, too often, archives are overlooked by decision-makers who fail to recognize their importance. Therefore, talking about archives to decision-makers is crucial to help preserve our history and shape our future.

The need for recordkeeping is indisputable; it is an ordinary and necessary component of virtually all business operations. In some cases, laws and regulations specify that certain records must be created and maintained for designated periods. Legal requirements aside, records are a necessary aid to memory. They document an organization’s decisions, actions, transactions, and other activities.

Records management and archival concepts and methods provide systematic, well-developed approaches to recordkeeping operations that individual departments would otherwise perform without direction and with less knowledge, skill, and effectiveness. Thus, the business case for systematic archives and records management rests on its instrumental value for effective recordkeeping.

Understanding the Past

Archives are essential to understanding our past. They are the primary sources that historians, researchers, and scholars rely on to construct narratives about our past. These narratives are critical to understanding the present and shaping our future. By understanding how our society has evolved, we can make informed decisions about how to move forward. Archives provide the evidence supporting these narratives; without them, we risk losing the stories that shape our collective identity.

Accountability

Archives are essential to accountability. Governments, businesses, and other organizations rely on archives to keep them accountable for their actions. Without access to historical records, it becomes impossible to determine whether an organization is acting in the best interest of the public or its stakeholders. By maintaining archives, we can hold decision-makers accountable for their actions, ensuring they act in the best interest of the public and future generations.

Social Justice 

Archives are essential to social justice. Archives document the experiences of marginalized communities and provide evidence of their contributions to society. Without these records, the stories of marginalized communities are often overlooked, and their voices are silenced. By preserving and making accessible these records, we can ensure that these communities are not forgotten, and that their contributions are recognized.

Innovation 

Finally, archives are essential to innovation. Archives inspire insights for new ideas and solutions to problems. By studying the past, we can learn from our successes and failures and apply that knowledge to new challenges. Without archives, we risk reinventing the wheel, wasting resources, and missing out on opportunities for growth and development.

We Need to Talk

How do we talk about archives to decision-makers? First, we must emphasize the value archives bring to our society. Unfortunately, decision-makers often focus on short-term gains and may overlook the long-term benefits of maintaining archives. By highlighting the importance of archives to our collective memory, accountability, social justice, and innovation, we can make a compelling case for why archives deserve their attention.

Archivists need to make the case for the economic benefits of archives. Economic arguments often sway decision-makers, so it is important to highlight the potential economic benefits of archives. For example, archives can attract researchers and scholars, generate revenue (depending on several factors), and create jobs. By framing archives as an investment in the future, we can make a strong case for why they are worth funding and maintaining.

Archivists need to make archives accessible and user-friendly. Decision-makers are more likely to prioritize archives if they are easy to use and accessible to a broad audience. By investing in technology and infrastructure that makes archives more accessible, we can make them more valuable to decision-makers and the public.

Talking about archives to organizational leaders ensures they understand their importance and invest in their preservation. By emphasizing the value that archives bring to our society, making a case for their economic benefits, and making them accessible and user-friendly, we can help preserve our history and shape our future.

The blog was originally published on Lucidea's blog. 

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Processing Room Recommendations

A processing room provides a workspace, separate from storage areas, where archivists may examine, sort, arrange, describe, and rehouse archival materials. 

Since archival materials may be stored in processing rooms for extended periods, careful attention should be paid to these spaces’ environmental conditions, security, and finishes. These should match or closely approximate conditions in the storage room, although the temperature set for the storage area may be too low for comfort in the processing room.

An archival processing room must be supervised and restricted, large enough to accommodate several uses, well-lit, and furnished with appropriate furniture and accommodations. 

Room Needs

Processing rooms should include the following:

Large, moveable tables for sorting records

Shelving to hold records, boxes, and archival supplies

Adequate open space for parking book trucks and other carts

Space to accommodate people working with the materials

No windows or skylights

In addition, processing rooms might include:

Counter or table space for computers, computer connections, digital cameras, or scanners

Any equipment required for processing special-format materials, such as audiovisual materials

Providing Flexibility

The processing room should be flexible enough to meet the needs of both current and future archivists and their varying projects. Flat surfaces can be used to sort materials. Shelving erected around the room perimeter holds boxes of material undergoing processing. The space can also be used for sorting collections and holding supplies. Depending on the number of people processing, one or more workstations with computers and printers should be available for typing notes, compiling inventories, or creating finding aids. A space in the room can also be set aside for minor repairs, encapsulation, or phase box creation.

The space should be large enough for several staff members to consult materials, work together, and share discoveries within the collections. It can also be a learning area for volunteers, interns, and donors to see the work that goes into making archival collections accessible.

Accessioning Space

Repositories with active acquisition efforts may wish to include space for accessioning. This area can be used to review and rebox incoming collections and to gather accession information. In addition, the space can be used to number boxes, create box lists, or rebox collections in poor condition.

Projects in Process

The most important part of the processing room is the ability to process projects over a period of time. Doing so requires space where the materials can be safely kept between processing sessions without unpacking and packing up the materials. All that is necessary are notes about when the last session ended and what the new session should focus upon.

As a consultant, I have processed materials in the oddest areas, including spare bedrooms, dining room tables in houses full of children and curious pets, attics, basements, warehouses, storage facilities, and even a walk-in gun safe. In these open areas, I have had to factor in an hour or two to set up and break down the processing area every day, which eats up valuable time better spent in the labor of archiving. For organizations with space issues, a room devoted only to processing allows for easier work with less wasted time. 

Secure and Controlled

Processing rooms provide a secure and controlled environment for handling and processing archival materials. These rooms are designed not only to protect archival materials caused by environmental factors such as light, temperature, humidity, and pests. It is also for efficient processing, which requires a high level of intellectual and physical labor.

Processing rooms provide a space for archivists to arrange and describe archival materials to make them accessible to researchers. For example, archivists arrange materials into series and subseries, rehouse materials in boxes and folders, create finding aids and inventories, and create descriptive metadata. 

The blog was originally published on Lucidea's blog. 

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Archival Storage Room Recommendations

Archival storage rooms must be limited to the storage of archival collections; they should incorporate only materials necessary to house collections.

Materials typically used in storage rooms include shelving, cabinets, boxes or containers housing the collections, and book trucks and carts used to move and transport records.

Area Needs

The storage areas should ideally be at or above ground level with no windows or skylights. The framing materials should be steel, masonry, and concrete. The exterior walls must be of fire-resistant, durable products like masonry; the building envelope should never be composed of composite wall systems or spray-on or trowel applications over steel and gypsum. Interior systems should be easy to maintain and constructed of durable, fire-resistant products.

Except for fire protection sprinklers, no plumbing or water pipes should run through archival spaces, especially storage areas.

The floors need to be durable, level, free from dust, and have a smooth finish allowing book trucks and carts to be maneuvered by members. Sealed and epoxy-covered concrete is the recommended flooring for storage rooms. In addition, the floors should be constructed of steel-reinforced concrete and sized to withstand the heavy load placed upon them by the archival material and its shelving. Open stack floor loads are typically 150 pounds per square foot, while mobile shelving system floor loads are 250 pounds per square foot or higher.

Latex-based paints are recommended for the storage rooms’ walls, ceilings, and exposed pipes. For example, concrete block walls in the storage room should be primed and painted with latex-based paint to prevent dust. Likewise, ceiling pipes and metal wall panels should be coated with an acrylic primer (water-reducible) and covered with latex paint.

Shelving Specs

Shelving, cabinet materials, and storage furnishings to hold archival materials should be steel. Steel shelving is the most common shelving and cabinet material used in archival facilities. It is inert, and it is not combustible. Most metal storage furniture has a coated surface. The finish should be smooth, nonabrasive, free of irregularities, and resistant to chipping. Exposed steel is susceptible to rust and will stain collections. It should be finished with an electrostatically applied powder-coated finish to avoid the baked enamel’s off-gassing problems.

Archival shelving can be either static or mobile, with the latter having a manual or an electrically operated carriage system. The choice of a shelving system depends on factors, including space, budget, and technical considerations. Mobile shelving requires a heavier floor load than static shelving and may not be feasible in existing buildings.

The shelving should be arranged in configurations that make maximum use of the floor space while still conforming to fire and safety regulations. Shelving is usually arranged in rectangular blocks with one or more main transportation aisles. Shelving bays should be placed at least one inch away from any wall in a storage area to avoid heat and cold radiation and protect collections from water running down the walls from overhead leaks. If the outer storage wall is an exterior wall, 18 inches should be maintained between the shelving and the exterior wall. Shelving should also be six inches from the interior walls, especially if the walls contain pipes. Shelving should be located a minimum of three inches – preferably six inches – from the floor and be anchored to the floor, particularly if the top shelf is eight or more feet tall. Shelving should permit the free circulation of air around cartons.

The central aisles in storage areas should be at least 48 inches wide. The storage aisles should be a minimum of 36 inches wide. The stack aisles may need to be wider to access oversized records safely.

Standard-sized cardboard records storage cartons (10 by 12 by 15 inches) result in the maximum utilization of shelving and storage space, accommodating both letter size (8 ½ by 11 inches) and legal size (8 ½ by 14 inches) documents. Cartons should have a minimum bursting pressure of 200 pounds. Double-walled and stitched cartons are more durable and can withstand frequent handling; glued and single-walled cartons are acceptable.

If the shelving height requires a ladder, it should have safety rails on both sides and stair treads, preferably open-grid rather than rubber. There should also be a 12-inch distance between steps and a 10- to 12-inch deep work platform fastened to the top of the ladder. It should also have rolling casters for easy movement, with rubber-tipped legs or casters that lock in place and a base wide enough to prevent tipping. If a ladder is unneeded, a step stool, like a typical library-issue kick stool, can be used instead.

Making the Best of What You Have

As a consultant, I’ve seen all types of archival storage areas—from the dingiest warehouse to the most state-of-the-art facility. No matter where an organization begins with its storage areas, there are always areas for improvement. The most crucial factors are to create the best environmental conditions and to have intellectual and physical control of your holdings. 

The blog was originally published on Lucidea's blog. 

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Metadata Creation for Digitized Collections

Metadata is structured data about data that facilitates information management and use. Metadata provides users with a standardized means of intellectual access to digitized materials. 

Metadata standards can assist by streamlining the information transfer between hardware and software platforms as technologies evolve. Resources encoded using open standards have a greater chance of remaining accessible after an extended period than resources encoded with proprietary standards. 

Metadata can identify the name of the collection, its creators, and other descriptive information. It can also provide unique identification and links to organizations, files, or databases with more extensive descriptive metadata about the collections. 

Unfortunately, no system has been widely adopted for tracking the digitizing activities of libraries, archives, and museums. Therefore, the prudent course for archivists is understanding the current challenges, emerging principles, and best practices before implementing any metadata solution. 

Four Metadata Types

Four types of metadata exist: administrative, descriptive, preservation, and technical. 

Administrative metadata encapsulates the context necessary to understand information resources and support resource management. Descriptive metadata attempts to capture intellectual attributes, enabling users to locate, distinguish, and select suitable files based on their subjects. An essential element of descriptive metadata is an identifier that uniquely distinguishes the item. Other descriptive metadata elements include title, author, publication date, subject, publisher, and description. Preservation metadata is the information about a record that protects it from deterioration or destruction. Finally, technical metadata assures that the information content of a file can be accessed even if the applications associated with the file have vanished. 

Investing in Description

Metadata is a significant cost of digitization. Although materials can be digitized without cataloging, a digital collection should not be created without metadata. In addition, providing metadata for digital resources can create bottlenecks in a project’s workflow. 

Metadata can be embedded in digital files or stored separately. Embedding metadata ensures the metadata will not be lost, prevents problems of linking between data and metadata, and ensures that the metadata and record will be updated together. Storing metadata separately simplifies the metadata’s management and facilitates search and retrieval. Metadata is usually stored in a database and linked to the images described.

Metadata creation requires organizational and subject expertise to describe files effectively. Organizational expertise refers to applying the correct structure, syntax, and use of metadata elements. In contrast, subject expertise refers to generating a meaningful description for users. Metadata using both expertise types is integral to effectively searching, retrieving, and preserving digital resources. 

Describing files with metadata allows them to be understood by humans and machines and promotes interoperability. Interoperability is the ability of systems with different hardware and software platforms, granularity levels, controlled vocabularies, data types, and user interfaces to exchange data with minimal loss of content and functionality. 

Metadata Crosswalks

Metadata crosswalks that map elements, semantics, and syntax from one metadata scheme to another facilitate information exchange. The success of the crosswalk depends on scheme similarity, the granularity of the target scheme’s elements compared to the source’s, and the compatibility of the content rules used to fill the elements of each scheme.

Crosswalks are vital for collections where resources are drawn from various sources and are expected to act as a whole within a single search engine. However, while crosswalks are critical, they are also labor-intensive to develop and maintain. In addition, mapping schemes with fewer elements or less granularity to those with more elements or more granularity is problematic. These problems have frustrated users who want consistent metadata interoperability across products and platforms. Until the archival field resolves these complexities, the issues will continue to cost users and archivists time and resources.

Description is vital to improving the representation of archival materials. The better the cataloging, the richer the context, and the better users can appreciate the materials. Digital materials require descriptive data to render them usable. The types of information needed to describe the files will differ and may exceed that needed to describe analog materials. However, the primary purpose of the description remains the same. 

The blog was originally published on Lucidea's blog. 

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