1. Teaching Metadata and Networked Information Organization & Retrieval The UNT SLIS Experience William E. Moen School of Library and Information Sciences Texas Center for Digital Knowledge University of North Texas Denton, TX 72603 2004 ALISE Annual Conference, January 7, 2004, San Diego, CA

2. Moen 2004 ALISE Annual Conference -- January 7, 2004 -- San Diego, CA 2 Overview Terminology UNT SLIS Approach for Information Org Education Metadata course Version 1 & Version 2 Challenges

3. Moen 2004 ALISE Annual Conference -- January 7, 2004 -- San Diego, CA 3 Terminology and context Metadata The result of processes (manual or automatic) performed on an object, where the result is a representation or derivative of salient features of the object Information organization The processes and practices of describing and representing information objects (containers and content), and identifying the connections and relationships between the objects and the people responsible for their creation and/or production.

4. Moen 2004 ALISE Annual Conference -- January 7, 2004 -- San Diego, CA 4 Terminology and context Cataloging A set of processes and practices for information organization in libraries guided by specific standards, rules, guidelines, and community practices, the result of which is a metadata record representing what the object is, what it is about, and locating it in a larger collection Purpose of information organization These processes and practices serve users by assisting them to identify, locate, access, retrieve, and make judgments about information in response to their information needs.

5. Moen 2004 ALISE Annual Conference -- January 7, 2004 -- San Diego, CA 5 UNT SLIS info org courses Core course for all students SLIS 5200: Introduction to Information Organization Library cataloging courses SLIS 5210: Organization and Control of Info Resources I SLIS 5220: Organization and Control of Info Resources II SLIS 5208: Learning Resources Organization and Media Metadata course SLIS 5223: Metadata and Networked Information Organization/Retrieval Indexing and Abstracting SLIS 5205: Information Indexing, Abstracting and Retrieval Other specialized courses: serials, records management Information Organization Program of Study

6. Moen 2004 ALISE Annual Conference -- January 7, 2004 -- San Diego, CA 6 SLIS 5200: The core course One of three core courses SLIS 5000: Introduction to the Information Professions SLIS 5600: Introduction to Information Access and Retrieval Presents the foundation concepts, topics, and terminology for information organization Conceptual approach to info organization based on: representing information objects… using metadata… for users to find, identify, select, and acquire/obtain objects Focuses on representing information in the context of using those representations (i.e., information access & retrieval)

7. Moen 2004 ALISE Annual Conference -- January 7, 2004 -- San Diego, CA 7 SLIS 5200: Topics 1. A Conceptual Overview of Information Organization 2. Users and Information Behavior 3. Information and Representation: Metadata and Bibliographic Control 4. Information Systems, Databases, and Access 5. Rules, Standards, and Authority Control 6. Verbal Subject Representation 7. Classification 8. Information Retrieval: Models and Evaluation 9. Information Behavior: Models and Implications for IR Systems 10.Information Organization and Access for the Networked Environment

8. Moen 2004 ALISE Annual Conference -- January 7, 2004 -- San Diego, CA 8 SLIS 5200: Major assignment The Information Organization Project Identify a collection to organize for a specific set of users Build an organization system (metadata scheme) for the collection Implement the organization system in an information retrieval system (i.e., database system) Write a technical manual for your systems Provides students with opportunity to put the concepts into practice Result is both conceptual and application knowledge of key processes and activities to organize info

9. Moen 2004 ALISE Annual Conference -- January 7, 2004 -- San Diego, CA 9 SLIS 5223: Metadata course Version 1 First offered in Spring 2000 Traditional classroom setting Metadata implementation oriented Version 2 First offered in Spring 2004 Blended course Primarily online WebCT as virtual learning environment Long weekend onsite meeting

10. Moen 2004 ALISE Annual Conference -- January 7, 2004 -- San Diego, CA 10 Course description Investigates description and retrieval of networked information resources using various forms of metadata. Analyze and evaluate key metadata schemes and their use in actual projects for representing and organizing resources. Includes the identification, use, and evaluation of metadata creation tools. Build and manage metadata and metadata repositories. Explore the implications for retrieval of networked resources using one or more search engines that exploit metadata.

11. Moen 2004 ALISE Annual Conference -- January 7, 2004 -- San Diego, CA 11 Course goals and objectives Goals Understand what metadata is and how it is used for organizing and providing access to networked information resources Become competent in tools used for creating, storing, and accessing metadata Be able to plan, design, implement, evaluate the use of one or more metadata schemes for a collection of networked information resources Objectives Know and understand the key metadata schemes, their strengths and weaknesses, and their uses Master the use of one or more metadata creation tools and associated technologies Implement a metadata scheme for a collection of networked information resources

12. Moen 2004 ALISE Annual Conference -- January 7, 2004 -- San Diego, CA 12 Course topics, 1 Metadata: Introduction, Overview, Definitions, and Functions Metadata Schemes: Elements and Semantics for Resource Description General Purpose Bibliographic Domain Specific Syntaxes for Metadata MARC XML Managing Metadata and Metadata for Managing Collections Standards and Standardization Crosswalks & Metadata Registries Structural, Administrative, and Rights Management

13. Moen 2004 ALISE Annual Conference -- January 7, 2004 -- San Diego, CA 13 Course topics, 2 Enabling Technologies for Metadata Metadata Creation Metadata Management Metadata and Information Retrieval Distributed model: Z39.50 Centralized model: Web Search Engines Metadata harvesting model: OAI Implementing Metadata in the Organization Planning and Design Creation and Maintenance -- Work Flow Evaluation

14. Moen 2004 ALISE Annual Conference -- January 7, 2004 -- San Diego, CA 14 Challenges Pre-requisite knowledge for class Foundation concepts of information organization Varied levels of technical skills and knowledge Not having the technology be a barrier Identifying what to address in course Scope of course So many metadata schemes, so little time Theory and practices Conceptual and application knowledge Promoting new attitudes Libraries are not an island but a node in the networked information landscape Continuous change, perpetual learning The spirit of continuous improvement

15. Moen 2004 ALISE Annual Conference -- January 7, 2004 -- San Diego, CA 15 References UNT SLIS & Courses  http://www.unt.edu/slis  http://web2.unt.edu/cdl/CDL_ECAMPUS/ SLIS 5223 Course Description/Announcement  http://www.unt.edu/wmoen/teaching/SLIS5223Annou ncementOct2003.htm SLIS Information Organization Program of Study  http://www.unt.edu/slis/programs/pos/