Finally, articles that I can understand. Well, sort of?! The Wikipedia article on databases was pretty prosaic and well, I guess this is an instance when I actually knew a little more about the subject matter.
The Metadata piece was very helpful because I have heard the term thrown around by librarians but nobody actually explained it in terms that I could comprehend. Well, let me take that back a bit. I understood what the term "meta" meant as a term, in and of itself. I could certainly derive the literal meaning of the term "metadata" to mean "data about data." In the past, I never quite understood how librarians used this term and the context with which they used it. It was like asking somebody to explain the meaning of a word and then having them use the word, in question, to describe its meaning...kind of like a metadefinition, ha!
As I am just now learning the vocabulary in the archival profession, the section in this article on metadata and the archival usage was of particular interest to me. The idea of "preserving context" is extremely important when creating finding aids and cataloguing materials. Metadata provides a framework within which this kind of work can be improved, if I understand the meaning of this activity.
I think that the process of developing standards to apply to data for better descriptive purposes is essential...the question it raises (leading me to the next article) is how does one actually reach consensus, especially on a global level, for this kind of standardization.
The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative must be the electronic resource management equivalent to the UN?! How can anybody reach consensus on this level, given the varied cultural, language and idiomatic factors at play. Standardization in this level must require an inordinate amount of patience. One has to wonder, if librarians and other information professionals can reach consensus on descriptors and semantic classifications shouldn't they be brought into resolve international crises?
The DCMI is fascinating to consider for ease of searching on the web. The article was also useful for providing additional information or illumination on other associated metadata organization, like Resource Description Framework (RDF) and Warwick Framework (WF).
Thursday, September 11, 2008
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