1. When the Books Leave the Building Metadata for a Digital Age RLG Partnership Symposium 2010 Robert Wolven

2. What we’re doing now doesn’t make sense We need to think differently before we can act appropriately We’re all in this together and … We’re not alone.

3. When books were books … 20 th Century Research Process Library as metadata repository Library as content repository RLG Partnership Symposium 2010

4. Metadata ContentAnalysis Research Question Scholarly Research Cycle

5. Indexes Bibliographies Finding Aids Research Question Library Catalog Archives Journals Books Metadata Content

6. Research Question Library CatalogBooks

7. Research Question Library Catalog Books Web Search Digital Collections Data News Books Articles Digital Collections Data News Books Articles

8. Research Question News Articles Digital Collections Library Catalog Books Web Search Digital Collections Data News Books Articles Digital Collections Data News Books Articles

9. Library Super-Catalog: Web-Scale Discovery Articles, News, Images, Data, Chapters … Name Authorities, Subject Headings …

10. Library focus on content: From Analog to Digital From: units in which resources are managed (published, purchased, stored …) To: units in which resources are accessed (chapter-level DOIs, i-Tunes, article-linking …) RLG Partnership Symposium 2010

11. Library focus on content (cont’d) From: published vs unique (shared cataloging, standards vs local access, practice) To: limited access vs open access (outsourced responsibility vs no responsibility?)

12. Library focus on content (cont’d) From: mediated access via metadata (metadata as surrogate) To: searchable content vs viewable content (metadata as supplement) RLG Partnership Symposium 2010

13. Library focus on metadata creation and management From: emphasis on discovery To: emphasis on access From: design for homogeneous, controlled environment To: design for blended, web-scale environment RLG Partnership Symposium 2010

14. Outside the library: content providers From: domain-specific content To: cross-domain search From: limited cumulation To: indefinite cumulation RLG Partnership Symposium 2010

15. From web search to web research “Conversation” as determinant of relevance Many participants provide effective filter Finding what matters most Finding what hasn’t been discussed Finding everything that matters RLG Partnership Symposium 2010

16. Some challenges: Consistent discovery across heterogeneous objects Defining appropriate “targets” of discovery Enhancing retrospective metadata Parsing ambiguous data to improve retrieval

17. Some implications for metadata practice Design metadata for primary audience Deprecate consistency as a value Use identifiers to compensate for lack of consistency Maximize use of linked data Apply expertise based on mission, not ownership Focus on metadata to bridge communities of practice Focus on improving ability to parse large results RLG Partnership Symposium 2010