Metadata and its Applications in the Digital Library: Approaches and Practices

Citation

Cloete, L. (2009), "Metadata and its Applications in the Digital Library: Approaches and Practices", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 313-314. https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830910968281

The term “metadata” has been used for more than 20 years, although it has been practiced under other names in the library and information context for much longer. This book is the result of Jia Liu's research on the subject of metadata – especially as applied in the digital library. Liu has attempted to provide an overview of the basic and latest metadata knowledge and practices, as well as its implementation and applications in the digital library.

The book is divided into two parts, and further subdivided into six chapters. In the first part, entitled Metadata in General, Liu describes the general and latest knowledge about metadata and its implementations. This part of the book is divided into four chapters. Chapter 1 provides a variety of definitions of metadata and describes new implications of metadata as well as metadata functions. In Chapter 2 the metadata types, namely a general typology, descriptive metadata, structural metadata and administrative metadata are explained with practical examples. Chapter 3 provides a discussion of the metadata encoding standards: MARC, METS, SGML, HTML, XML, XHTML, TEI, EAD, RDF. The focus of Chapter 4 is on metadata implementation. Some of the issues that are addressed include: namespace, application profile, metadata schema registry and metadata workflow.

The second part of the book is entitled Metadata Projects and Their Applications in the Digital Library and deals with practices around the world. This part is divided into two chapters. Chapter 5 introduces four typical metadata projects. The European BIBLINK project is a project between libraries and publishers. Second, the MetaLib project is discussed; this is the first metadata project implemented in Germany. The third project is the MetaWeb project in Australia. The last project is the Nordic Metadata Project, which is described as the biggest metadata project in Northern Europe. Chapter 6 focuses on the application of metadata in the digital library. It provides a general introduction to the digital library and metadata applications. This is followed by some representative examples of metadata applications in digital library projects, including PANDORA, Oxford Digital Library, DSpace and the Peking University Rare Book Digital Library.

Each chapter includes a list of references, and there is also a comprehensive list of references at the end of the book. A well‐structured index enables the reader to locate information on the most important topics covered. The book includes numerous illustrations of models and screen captures of metadata projects to enhance the discussions and explanations of topics. A welcome feature of the book is that it describes practices in Europe and other countries, rather than just those in the USA.

This book should be of interest to anyone involved with metadata and digital libraries. Researchers, librarians and other practitioners using metadata should find the information in the book very useful. Furthermore, the book could also be a fruitful reference source for students. The book is written on a level that would appeal to both novices and more experienced metadata practitioners.