Dublin Core

After looking up the Dublin Core website and in particular the frequently asked questions I have discovered that the Dublin Core metadata is used to supplement existing methods for searching and indexing Web-based metadata, regardless of whether the corresponding resource is an electronic document or a "real" physical object.

The Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (DCMES) was the first metadata standard deliverable out of the DCMI was an IETF RFC 2413.
DCMES provides a semantic vocabulary for describing the "core" information properties, such as "Description" and "Creator" and "Date".

Dublin Core metadata provides card catalog-like definitions for defining the properties of objects for Web-based resource discovery systems.

According to my notes the Dublin Core meta data is based on 4 principles.

1. simplicity
2. semantic interoperability
3. international consensus
4. extensibility
   

Unfortunately even though I have browsed this site and read the required information I still have not experienced any clarity as to what I should be beginning to understand. Oh well I will keep plodding on.

Module 3

So far I am keeping up to date with this subject according to the outline, although after a busy weekend of kids sport and yesterday having to attend my daughters zone athletics carnival for the day I am feeling a bit of pressure to get through all of this before I have to pick up my son at 2pm for a dental appointment, do the washing, do the grocery shopping etc.
Anyway here goes....

3 definitions of metadata
(as suggested by Lisa Harris on the ETL505 forum.....thankyou Lisa)

1. metadata is structured data which describes the characteristics of a resource.
2. metadata is structured information that is created specifically to describe another resource.
3. metadata maybe described as ‘data about data’ . A metadata record consists of a set of elements which describe different parts of a resource.

common elements: metadata is structured; metadata describes resources; metadata is data; metadata contains common elements.

Going crazy already

This morning I looked up module 2 in ETL505 on the CSU website and discovered that it was different from the one that I had printed out and had been reading over the weekend. Oh well, I just printed out the new one and started working through that.
Now when I went back online to look up the readings that had been linked to the notes I have discovered that the original notes are back.....
What is happening at the uni???or is it me???
Oh well I am finally learning all about DEWEY...Who would have thought that it would take 12months into a library course before I would learn this stuff..
I had to watch this Youtube video introducing DEWEY so I thought that I would include the link in case anyone was inspired to watch it. WARNING: It's not terribly exciting!

Charles Cutter's Objectives

We were asked to look up Charles Cutter's objectives and rewrite them so that they are more suitable for libraries today.

Vanessa Small added the following information to the forum. I think she has done an excellent job rewriting them so I have published them exactly as she wrote them. (Thanks Vanessa) I have also included the link to the webpage that has the objectives listed.

Charles Cutter made the first explicit statement regarding the objectives of a bibliographic system in his Rules for a Printed Dictionary Catalog in 1876. According to Cutter, those objectives were:

1. to enable a person to find a book of which either (Identifying objective)

* the author
* the title
* the subject
* the category

is known.

2. to show what the library has (Collocating objective)

* by a given author
* on a given subject
* in a given kind of literature

3. to assist in the choice of a book (Evaluating objective)

* as to its edition (bibliographically)
* as to its character (literary or topical)

In today's library these would be greatly different. Although they could be kept in the same format I would reword them to be:

1. to enable a person to find information of which either (Identifying objective)

* the author
* the title
* the subject
* the category

is known.

2. to show what the library has online or in hardcopy (Collocating objective)

* by a given author
* on a given subject
* in a given kind of format

3. to assist in the choice of information (Evaluating objective)

* as to its format
* as to its character (literary or topical)

Other objectives in today's society would also be appropriate in terms of making specific objectives for online resources and specific objectives for hardcopy resources.

Alice Ferguson librarian extraordinaire

To day as part of this subject I was asked to listen to Alice Ferguson who is the librarian at Charles Sturt University talk about the importance of effective tools for organising and retrieving information.
She spoke about the four main information resources used to find information. They are:

1. library on the desktop
2. hard copy collection
3. libraries online data base collection
4. Internet.

1 & 2 are available by CSU catalog.
3 is commercially produced.
4 needs to use search engines to find the information.

1 & 2 the information is sound and easy to find.
4- the information is added at random and is less reliable. It is not well organised.

When finding call numbers the information is reliable and accurate and has been carefully chosen for accuracy by trained librarians.

The Internet dominates information retrieval although it is less reliable and not well organised.

In summary well organised information is essential to enable libraries to work well.

Rayward's paper and associated activities

Libraries, museums and archives in the digital future: The blurring of institutional boundaries by W.Boyd Rayward, November 1995.

Having read the section titled The Functions of Libraries, Museums and Archives I will now attempt to answer the questions that have been set by the Uni.

• What information is each dealing with? LIBRARIES are focused on acquisition (printed material/journals/books) with inter library loans to address gaps and specific clientele. MUSEUMS concentrate on all living (botanical) an non-living such as, artefacts denoting a time in a place in society. All items are stored and viewed in context complete with explanation. These may specialise, e.g. Railway museum. ARCHIVES are the collection of daily documents of a government/organisation (authors not identified) to track changes/incidents over time . Eg maps, printed documents, motion pictures, photographs....

• How different is it? LIBRARY - Our local library is a very busy colourful place/space with regulars, visitors attracted by the programs and changing offerings. each week there is a story time for pre-schoolers and during the school holidays activities are provided for children. Plenty of borrowing of current books takes place as well as DVD's and other multimedia.
  
  
  MUSEUM - All information presented is extended beyond the item and included era, habits, size, location, diet - a complete 'story' of facts as researched by others. A busy place with people moving through and returning at a later date for different promotions. Quite an educational place to visit.
  
  ARCHIVES- Documents of by-gone era's saved for future generations to use for individual research pursuits.
  A quiet business-like place with limited space and an increasing clientele going online.

• How does it change what information we might want to organise and retrieve? It seems that there is a place to store just about everything...but where does it stop. Obviously space will ultimately be used up and hard copies will no longer be kept, instead resorting to scanning and saving information on the computer in an effort to free up space.

I found Helen Rowlings comments on the forum to be very helpful in clarifying lots of this information for me. Thank you for your input Helen.

Module 1- The need for information resource description

Well here it is day 1 of the start of the new semester and my new subject ETL505.
Thanks to my in laws who have taken my children to Luna Park for the day I have been able to start the first module of this subject. That has been after the phone calls I just HAD to make, after doing 2 loads of washing and BEFORE I go out to lunch with the Attorney General of Australia's wife. Yep I do mix it with the big time...LOL

Anyway the big question to be answered in the first module is.......Why is it necessary for information agencies such as libraries to organise information effectively?

The simple answer is to be able to retrieve the information on demand.

Unfortunately according to my course notes there is more to it...............well duh, of course there is otherwise there would be no subject ETL505.

Main points Hider (2008) is making in his book pp21-23

• To make information retrieval systems work effectively there are three issues that are really important. (1) standards for organising information (2) participation in an agreement for exchanging metadata (3) participation in co-operatives to gain maximum benefit from exchanging metadata.
• Systems will become ineffective and not very cost effective if they don't address the above three issues.

Some input requirements for effective information retrieval systems.

• data input needs to adhere to widely understood standards.
• data input must require minimal effort.
• data input must meet the minimum requirements of the system.
• data input must maintain a high level of accuracy and consistency.

Some output requirements in relation to data output for effective information retrieval systems.

• data output must be readily understandable to the user
• data output must match users' requests as closely as possible.
• system must be user friendly.
• system should respond to users' requests as rapidly as possible.
• output must not be restricted to a limited number of terminals, but should be capable of being used simultaneously by all users who require it.
  

The start of a new semester

Well it is the weekend before the start of the new semester.
I am busy finishing off a patchwork quilt because once Uni starts there will be no time for anything else in my life.
I was quite happy on Friday when I got my results for last semester. A credit...yay.
Now bring on this semester.
I am doing one and a half subjects.
ETL507 complete with a study visit next holidays. I am really looking forward to that as I will be able to put faces to names. I really do miss the face to face contact.
ETL505 doesn't look as promising, just reading the assignments I am already terrified. Oh well I will just do it like everything else, one step at a time.