At the foundation of a lot of library services is metadata and how you find items in the Libraries’ discovery tool. Here is a quick introduction to what it is, why we have it, who works with it, and a note on reparative work involving metadata.
What is Metadata?
Metadata is “data that provides information about other data.” There are a variety of types of metadata, and it can express a variety of different information. It could express when the information or item was created, who made it, where it was made, the size of the item, along with any number of other bits of information specific to the thing being defined. Photos might have color information or GPS information about where it was shot. Movies might have actor names or camera types. Books have page number counts. Computer software might have license information.
Why do we have metadata? What purposes could it serve?
We need metadata to do almost anything. Think about the shelves at Love Library. There are a lot of items. If there was no catalog, no lists, no call numbers, how would you find anything? The catalog relies on metadata. Call numbers themselves are a form of metadata known as descriptive metadata. Other situations use metadata for different purposes that range from creating statistics on different things in a collection to communicating what a software program might need to run.
Who does metadata? Is it made by a person? A computer? Is it innate to the object?
Metadata is not innate. But it can be made by people, or it can be defined automatically by a computer using things like AI. In the University Libraries, we have people, in a unit called Acquisitions, Cataloging, Metadata and E-Resources, who work with all the metadata to keep the catalog running. Other units in the Libraries also address metadata including the Archives & Special Collections, the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, for all their projects, and Research Partnerships.
If it is not innate, where does it come from?
Plenty of places. It can be directly found on the piece for things like titles, dimensions, and file types. In other cases, someone needs to give input based on their knowledge. For example, subject headings and call numbers are assigned by a person. A librarian or specialist will look at the material and decide what it is about, compare that answer to the controlled vocabulary set by the Library of Congress, and assign the vocabulary terms to the item’s metadata.
Now that we have defined metadata, let’s introduce a concept known as reparative metadata.
Because so much metadata is created by humans, there is an inherent bias. That bias can creep into metadata in a variety of ways. One way is by metadata assigners omitting information that they do not see as important, but the subject group might find critical. Or subjects being placed next to each other on the shelf, even if not actually applicable. One example of this is having human sexuality shelved next to sexual deviance. These two concepts are not related, but they were considered related by the people making the shelving order.
Reparative metadata gives us a chance to critically look at these situations and try to fix what we can. Some things are difficult to fix and we may lack the resources, authority, or personnel to fix everything. Even with this knowledge, we cannot guarantee things of this nature will never happen again, but we can aim to make our metadata as inclusive as possible.
The University Libraries is developing a statement on bias in library metadata. An online form will be available soon for patrons to report issues they may find in the catalog.
To learn more about recent advancements in reparative metadata, review these resources:
1. Words that Hurt. A documentary looking at the Brooklyn Public Library’s work in replacing the subject heading “illegal alien” in its catalog.
2. Change the Subject. A documentary covering systemic racism in library vocabularies.
3. Smithsonian Magazine. The Library of Congress Will Ditch the Subject Heading “Illegal Aliens
4. Inclusive Cataloging, a new book in UNL’s collection covering the efforts of librarians to improve library systems and collections.
Contributed by: Emily Gewecke, Acquisitions & Technical Services Associate