U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Research-Based Metadata Requirements for a BLS Reports Archive Scott Berridge John Bosley Daniel W. Gillman

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 2 Relevance to BLS Unique historical archives –120 years of publications –10 years systematically available online User expectations are rising Standards are evolving Mandates are under discussion

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 3 Current Historical Archive Situation Publications date to 1886 For many publications – 1 copy exists Many publications irreplaceable – no disaster recovery

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 4 Preservation and Dissemination NARA will receive a copy of digital document for long-term preservation BLS will maintain a copy for dissemination

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 5 Meeting Emerging Standards File Format –Adobe Acrobat PDF/A Labeling –Adobe’s Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) Metadata Schema –Data Documentation Initiative (DDI)

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 6 Metadata: Essential for Preservation Provides information on how, when, and where digital object was created Provides information beyond that which is in the content Metadata records upgrades over time

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 7 The Minolta 7000 Scanner

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 8 Archive on Bureau’s Website Servers inside and outside firewall Public domain

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 9 Potential Issues Disk space??? Ensuring document’s authenticity Digitization policy

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 10 Choosing Metadata Elements Schema Choice –DDI Subset Schema Useful? –Dissemination and Preservation –Perform user studies – 2 phases Phase 1 -- Initial studies (3) –What users want / need –Relatively open-ended, exploratory Phase 2 -- Focused studies (2) –Expose users to DDI subset –Obtain feedback

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 11 Reasons for DDI Want BLS Minimize capture burden Unknowable metadata –Old documents (back to 1886) –DDI allows level of granularity Conformance –Easy with DDI

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 12 Schema – DDI Subset Selected 30 Elements –21 for dissemination –9 for preservation From Study Section (Mandatory and General) –Selected Elements from 2.1 Bibliographic Citation 2.2 Study Scope 2.5 Other Study Material 2.6 Notes and Comments Type of File

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 13 Potential Problem Dissemination and Preservation? Is DDI suitable for preservation? Preservation elements – Other References – Type of File Under Study section

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 14 User Studies--Overview Adopt techniques of – focus groups – group interviews Recruited members of general public –Screened for familiarity w/ Gov’t Stats Five groups, 2-6 members per group –3 groups -- initial, exploratory –2 groups – review DDI elements

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 15 User Studies Results Initial exploratory groups (3) –Descriptors consistently identified title, date, and geographic coverage Descriptors essential and informative –Members – generalize in abstract - hard Difficulty imagining other descriptors If personal need does not exist a priori, then –“What can I do with this information?” –“How is it useful to me?”

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 16 User Studies Results DDI-focused groups (2) –Descriptors verified Keywords also very important However, very large sets of keywords –Counterproductive or Confusing –“TMI” – information overload

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 17 User Studies Results DDI-focused groups (2) –Some want title or subtitle to answer “How is this report useful to me?” “How can I put it to use?” Example – Title includes “A guide” –More useful than the formal title/name –Criterion for acquiring a document Action, use of information Not subject matter

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 18 Questions Requiring Additional Research Should the DDI be used for preservation metadata? –If not, what else would be more suitable? Techniques for making elements more useful? –

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 19 Schema – DDI Subset For Dissemination – – Public Domain

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 20 Schema – DDI Subset For Report –

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 21 Schema – DDI Subset For Dissemination – – National –

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 22 Schema – DDI Subset For Digital Image File –

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 23 Description of Report For Report – Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers: First Quarter 2006 – First Quarter 2006 – USDL – Dept of Labor / Bureau of Labor Statistics / Current Population Survey – N/A – Office Employment and Unemployment Statistics – Public domain

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 24 Description of Report For Report – 1 st Quarter 2006 – Feb – Apr 2006 – USA – National – US – US workers – US employed adults, 1 st Quarter 2006 – Cross-tabulation – N/A

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 25 Description of Report For Report – Quarterly Wage and Salary – See 4 th Quarter 2005 – N/A – BLS/OPUBSS 2 Massachusetts Ave, NE, Washington, DC – Median, – N/A

24 May 2006 / IASSIST 26 Description of Report For Digital Image File – Wage-Salary-1Q-2006.pdf – pdf – Scott Berridge – 9 May 2006 – OPUBSS – Adobe Acrobat Professional 7.0 – Minolta 7000 – LabStat – 11 May 2006 – 12 May 2006