One of the goals of the Library Technologies and Metadata department is to describe our work in more detail. This week, I'll look at technology in use with our conversion project, including perl scripting, APIs, and Microsoft's tools: Access and Excel. Taking a cue from our Metadata Librarian, Kim Sanderson's recent thought, "I’ll have to try that when I come across something particularly onerous…", one of the joys of working in library systems is automating parts of a project that are … [Read more...]
19th century metadata…
March 16, 2016 By
I remember seeing an early catalog of the library. It was a tall book of lined paper with columns…a bookkeeping ledger. Entries were recorded in ink with a semi-legible script. I thought it was time, at long last, to examine the metadata of my very distant predecessors.The first illustration is actually from the Philanthropic Society collection’s catalog—or catalogue. That collection was far greater than the library’s. Dated 1869, it’s a typical catalog for the time period, being an inventory … [Read more...]
What’s in a name?
February 9, 2016 By
The Library's department Discovery Systems is changing names to Library Technologies and Metadata. It seems the idea of a library is well ingrained in our social fabric. With that as part of the name, people know we are talking about information, research, description, access, and sharing. Without library in our name, people wonder what Discovery and Systems might be about. Well, certainly discovery of desired information is one of the goals of the library’s services. So is discovery of the … [Read more...]
