What is the criteria for acceptable metadata entries?

[Jacob]

Metadata questions seem to require a specific kind of answer, yet those specific requirements are vague, if not entirely unexplained.

For instance, a novel that is postmodern in genre must have the answer "post-modern" for the genre question, even though MLA favors the non-hyphenated version.

A novel that contains vignettes must have "vignette" for the literary devices question, which would often mean implying a singular vignette for a novel with many.

The phrase, "stream of consciousness" seems to require hyphens as an answer to any question.

So the questions these conditions raise:

1) Is there a style guide for these metadata requirements?
1a) Is it in development?

2) Has the metadata project been shelved, as I've read elsewhere, and it is just languishing until removal?

Some clarification would be helpful. Thank you.

[Susie]

This is not an issue for the Librarians Group, but one for the Feedback group, as we can't help you with this here.

Someone more familiar with the metadata section might be able to give some clarification on whether it still serves a purpose or not, but I would certainly suggest in the Feedback group about uniformity for entries, so that they autocorrect, perhaps.

[Jacob]

we can't help you with this here

So is that to say that, as far as Goodreads librarians know, Goodreads gives absolutely no guidance whatsoever as to their metadata's formal language, if it even exists?

[Lobstergirl]

Think of the metadata as an urban lot overgrown with weeds, the pavement cracked and broken. Developers would like to lease, buy, or develop it, but it's impossible to get ahold of the owner, who lives 3000 miles away and has no phone number.

Hope that helps.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

This post might be of interest.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Jacob]

@Lobstergirl - You really fleshed out the simile there. I appreciate that. Wonder if we can get any GR librarians to make some fan art...or fic, more appropriately.

[Susie]

Jacob wrote: "So is that to say that, as far as Goodreads librarians know, Goodreads gives absolutely no guidance whatsoever as to their metadata's formal language, if it even exists?"

I actually specifically meant that librarians have little control over metadata (I have noticed that it's possible to clear out incorrectly-marked categories, but that's about it).

I have heard various things with regards to metadata and its uses. As far as I'm aware, it is still supposed to help with regards to getting recommendations, but I can't say that I have proof of this working.

But, anyway, I meant that for such questions, you can get better help and answers by asking in the Feedback group.

I actually see that you're a librarian yourself, so you should know that we can't really edit metadata. With regards to shelving and the subsequent categories it creates, supers can edit and organise the categories. However, from the post that Elizabeth linked to, if the metadata is now just some failed experiment that the developers are no longer working on, then shelving might be doing the job better, anyway.

[Jacob]

@Susie Thank you. I'll try to clarify: My OP was an attempt to be thorough in my search for a GR metadata style guide. It seemed plausible (until about 30 minutes after I created this thread) such a guide might exist somewhere outside the Librarian Manual, which contains nothing on the subject afaik. I apologize for framing the OP like a feature request rather than an info request.

My level of GR librarian knowledge is probably in the lower-than-average range. So you are correct, there is probably a lot I should know about GR librarianship but do not.

It seemed like it might be a good learning opportunity for me to consult the Librarians Group on this subject, just in case I had missed a resource, before posting to the Feedback Group. (Thank you for the suggestion earlier to post there, incidentally. Saved me some search time.)

The metadata you refer to when you say "we can't really edit metadata,"do you mean MD aside from the fields that appear under "show metadata" at

../book/edit/[#]-[title]?tab=show_metadata

? I was able to edit that metadata generally, it just required some experimentation.

Which brings me back to the impetus for creating this thread: my hope that a style guide exists. Now I assume Lobstergirl is correct though, so this reply/thread is probably inane.

Mods, assuming you can do so: You may as well lock this thread. Thank you.

[Susie]

Jacob wrote: "The metadata you refer to when you say "we can't really edit metadata,"do you mean MD aside from the fields that appear under "show metadata" at

../book/edit/[#]-[title]?tab=show_metadata

"

Yes, I'm specifically referring to the page with the metadata answers listed on it. If you hover over one of the answers, there is a bit which says "clear" in pale grey. I'm assuming this is specifically a feature that is accessible to librarians, although apart from that and adding data, as anyone can do for a book they've shelved, I'm unaware of any other way of manipulating the metadata info.

[Empress]

Susie wrote: "I actually specifically meant that librarians have little control over metadata (I have noticed that it's possible to clear out incorrectly-marked categories, but that's about it)."

I thought everyone with access to the metadata page can do that?

[Debbie's Spurts (D.A.)]

Ellie [The Empress] wrote: "...I thought everyone with access to the metadata page can do that? ..."

I also thought that everyone could clear their metadata answers but not that librarians could ever do anything with the metadata answers readers/members created.

Sometimes members on goodreads mean "book data" but say "metadata" ("metadata" gets used to mean "data" pretty much everywhere anyway) and never mean the metadata feature/tab/questions? The book data does have a "style guide" as in the librarian manual and librarian policies on these threads. Very specific "style" or "format" guide for things like how we format author names, disambiguate author names, etc.

The genres aren't just odd for metadata feature; odd for shelves/crowdsourcing, etc. and limited editing capability by librarians. And pretty much the metadata feature gives authors trying to add/edit their own metadata answers a headache (particularly since metadata tab has the only data fields they see that offer a "genre" data field if they don't know that a book gets put in a genre once two or more members shelved it as that genre -- that always seemed clear as mud to me; not that goodreads crowdsourced the genre but the info provided to authors on how to genre their book ...).

[Susie]

D.A — not one more promotion on my feed drowning out my friends puh-leeeeeese!!!! wrote: "Ellie [The Empress] wrote: "...I thought everyone with access to the metadata page can do that?"

I also thought that everyone could clear their metadata answers but not that librarians could ever do anything with the metadata answers readers/members created."

I did wonder, actually, but I only noticed the metadata area after I became a Librarian. But, TBH, if few people use the metadata, it probably doesn't matter if everyone can add/clear entries.

[Sophie]

Lobstergirl wrote: "Think of the metadata as an urban lot overgrown with weeds, the pavement cracked and broken. Developers would like to lease, buy, or develop it, but it's impossible to get ahold of the owner, who lives 3000 miles away and has no phone number."

I love this comment.