Demonstrate understanding of basic principles and standards involved in organizing information such as classification and controlled vocabulary systems, cataloging systems, metadata schemas or other systems for making information accessible to a particular clientele
Introduction
Providing information access in physical and digital formats is a core value to librarianship and the LIS profession. Taking information and cataloging it into a retrievable format is how libraries can provide information access. The growth of information and knowledge documentation in the late nineteenth century necessitated a process to make information accessible, cataloging and classification systems were created to meet these needs (Bolin, 2022). Everything in the world functions from information ideas and thoughts, and the ability to find this information is a core need of most communities. In the modern world, this information retrieval can be conducted in person, online, and through various web services including library catalogs and databases. To ensure quality retrieval of information, standards need to have been established and followed for libraries to utilize. “Retrieval of information is dependent upon it having been organized” (Taylor & Joudrey, 2018, p. 154). Ensuring retrieval of information has come a long way in the past thirty years from physical library card catalog searching to computerized cataloging and further linked data and URL embedding into Integrated Library Systems (ILS) to connect the user to their found information. The core concept behind this process is metadata.
Metadata and Cataloging
Metadata is data about data. The official definition of metadata from the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) is “structured information that describes, explains, locates, and otherwise makes it easier to retrieve and use an information resource” (Tucker, 2021, p. 69). The primary purpose of metadata is to identify information resources and make them accessible (Bolin, 2022). Examples of metadata found in the world today are “information found in a library catalog record, meta tags on a website, records in a database, and even labeled file folders” (Weedman, 2018, p. 175). Metadata is known as the backbone of cataloging.
Machine-Readable-Cataloging (MARC) is the most common metadata scheme used in libraries and is the primary source of library catalogs (Bolin, 2022). MARC is a system for encoding and transmitting bibliographic records, which is a form of metadata (Bolin, 2022). MARC cataloging began with the card cataloging system and transitioned to online cataloging once the technology became available. MARC is about to be transitioned away to make way for a more updated technological process in locating and accessing information with a new bibliographic framework (BIBFRAME). Through the Online College Library Center (OCLC) and their WorldCat database, MARC records are shared around the world for each documented information piece and available for libraries and even publishers to use this record to more easily retrieve through catalogs and search engines (Bolin, 2022).
Some metadata schemes have been based on MARC such as Dublin Core (DC), Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS), and Text Encoding Initiative (TEI), which are typically used for other types of documents such as special collections, images, and media (Bolin, 2022). Extensible Markup Language (XML) and HyperText Markup Language (HTML) use metadata schemes named elements to connect information for retrieval such as with title and author using brackets and specific characters. Many of these listed metadata schemes are core standards that can be shared. Resource Description and Access (RDA) and Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (AACR2) are other descriptive standards that create consistent information that can also be shared and reused (Bolin, 2022).
There are two types of cataloging, descriptive and subject. RDA is a standard that is used for descriptive cataloging to determine guidelines for what information goes into an element such as a title and access points, and MARC determines what the element looks like (Bolin, 2022). Authority control is a part of descriptive cataloging. It creates access points of information (fields) to go into the bibliographic record to be retrieved (Bolin, 2022). “Subject cataloging uses controlled vocabulary and classification systems to express the aboutness of a book or other resource” (Bolin, 2022, p. 173).
Classification
“Classification is a single expression of a resource's aboutness” (Bolin, 2022, p. 173). Most people think of classification systems as what allows library users to find physical materials. Most items can be found physically by author, subject matter, and a combination of other facets arranged by the cataloging and classification process, but classification systems are also used for digital items. Typically there are two classification systems that most libraries use, Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) and the Library of Congress Classification (LCC). LCC uses a series of letters and numbers developed by the Library of Congress (LOC) to signify subject matter and subcategories of topics and creates a unique place in the library for an item to be found, though many works can be classified in multiple sections so it is up to the cataloger to determine the most appropriate place for it to go (Bolin, 2022). DDC was created in the nineteenth century and LCC was created in the twentieth century, however, they are both still used primarily in their original subject classification which is arguably an old worldview that does not have a place today (Bolin, 2022). “The structures that were written in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are deeply embedded in our libraries and have participated in the naturalization of certain racialized assumptions and associations” (Adler, 2017, p. 5). Adler (2017) adds a perspective to the conversation about how old subject headings and concepts created a hundred years ago via these classification systems, by predominantly white men, do not reflect the appropriate informed and organized history of marginalized communities and need to be addressed and changed to better suit the findability and approachability of library collections.
Controlled Vocabulary
Controlled vocabularies are used in subject cataloging to represent the aboutness of an item (Bolin, 2022). Using controlled vocabularies allows information to be aggregated or collected. There are several controlled vocabularies used in libraries in the form of thesauri or subject heading lists such as Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), the Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT), and the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) (Taylor & Joudrey, 2018). The most prominently used controlled vocabulary is the Library of Congress Subject Heading (LCSH). LOC is continuously creating new subject headings and makes changes to previously created headings and is primarily used with subject cataloging (Bolin, 2022). Controlled vocabularies allow cataloged information to be more easily retrieved to meet library users' information needs.
Evidence
My first piece of evidence is a group project created for Info 202 Information Retrieval System Design. This evidence contains two parts, a written portion detailing the creation of a database and the available items to be retrieved and a photo of the retrieved information. The purpose of the project was to design a data structure for a database of records for non-traditional objects in a collection, in our case sodas. We wrote a set of rules to be meticulously followed by the indexer to create a record in the database. In my group of three, we co-wrote the entire paper so it is difficult to differentiate which parts I did in particular for the statement of purpose. In writing the rules, I focused on the “brand/manufacturer”, “container”, and “flavor” rules. The statement of purpose was written with a specific user group in mind, soda enthusiasts or someone purchasing sodas online is what my group chose. This evidence shows my knowledge in the creation of rules for information to be indexed appropriately for findability and to regulate metadata use and implementation.
My second piece of evidence is a controlled vocabulary exercise for Info 202 Information Retrieval System Design. The goal of this exercise was to learn to create a controlled vocabulary of post-coordinate subject descriptors for four different records. I looked at the main concepts in each record and turned them into subject descriptors. Once the main subject descriptors for each record were written, I took all concepts for each article and organized them so that synonymous and closely related terms were grouped together. Once that was finished, I had to determine which term out of each category group would describe the overall record best and that became the draft for the controlled vocabulary. A final edit of the list created my official controlled vocabulary list that was then added back to each record to be used in retrieval. This evidence shows my knowledge of creating a controlled vocabulary for records. This process is very detailed and takes a lot of time to ensure accuracy and that the best description for each record is found and used for better aggregation.
My third piece of evidence is a website that I created for Info 240 Information Technology Tools and Applications. This evidence links to a folder that includes a video walkthrough of the website and a folder containing the final code. The free hosting for the website was no longer available at the conclusion of the course in December 2022, and I am only able to now host it locally, so I decided to attach a walkthrough of navigating the website to show what I created. This website is the culmination of what I learned in the class including coding with HTML for structure and content, CSS for design, PHP for dynamic web pages and cohesiveness, and JavaScript for a fun graduation countdown on one of my pages. The goal of this website was to create a portfolio that showcases my work and experience in a different way that could be used once I graduate. Because of the timing of this class, this only showcases a small percentage of the work I have created in this program. This site consists of six pages including the home page. I have an about me page, a contact page with a structured and designed contact form, a leadership page to showcase my leadership skills and experience in the program and at my current position, an outreach page to showcase the work I’ve done with outreach and marketing events and programming at the library where I work, and a coursework page that is just a portion of the items I plan to place on this website to showcase some of my skills. This evidence shows my understanding of how to use metadata in coding and the complex process of creating an information retrieval system. This website specifically shows my ability to create elements and insert information into the element field to make the data findable and accessible.
Conclusion
As an academic librarian, I will need to know how information documents such as articles, books, videos, and more are indexed and translated into retrievable information to succeed in assisting my community in meeting their information needs. Information retrieval is a core element of the LIS profession and it is something that is beneficial to know to better serve the library community. I plan to keep up with current information, standards, and trends particularly the process with LOC’s BIBFRAME through various professional development opportunities through ALA, ACRL, and training through Ex Libris Knowledge Center for the ILS training in Alma and Primo.
References
Adler, M. (2017). Classification along the color line: Excavating racism in the stacks. Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.24242/jclis.v1i1.17
Bolin, M. K. (2022). Metadata, cataloging, linked data, and the evolving ILS. In S. Hirsh (Ed.), Information Services Today (3rd ed., pp. 165-178). Rowman & Littlefield.
Taylor, A. G., & Joudrey, D. N. (2018). Organization and representation of information. In K. Haycock & M.J. Romaniuk (Eds.), The Portable MLIS. (2nd ed., pp. 153-170). Libraries Unlimited.
Tucker, V. M. (2021). Lecture 2: Introduction to information retrieval systems. In V. M. Tucker (Ed.), Information Retrieval System Design: Principles & Practice. (6.1 ed., pp. 64-80). Academic Pub.
Weedman, J. (2018). Information retrieval: Designing, querying, and evaluating information systems. In K. Haycock & M.J. Romaniuk (Eds.), The Portable MLIS. (2nd ed., pp. 171-185). Libraries Unlimited.