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International Yearbook of Library and Information Management 2003-2004: Metadata Applications and Management Edited by G.E. Gorman Associate Editor Daniel G. Dorner Scarecrow Press Metuchen, NJ 2004 359 pp. ISBN 0810849801
Keywords Bibliographies, Information retrieval
Review DOI 10.1108/01435120410609815
The International Yearbook of Library and Information Management is an annual publication in the field of librarianship and library management. As a thematic resource it contains topics covering current issues, case studies of best practice, trends and future developments contributed by the internationally recognized experts in library science.
The theme "Metadata applications and management" was chosen for the volume of 2003-2004. So, what is metadata, the term that crept into the standard vocabulary of the library science and turned into the obsession of the modern library world? Metadata has been with us since the first librarian made a handwritten list of the items in the shelf. Originally from the Greek language the term "meta" has a meaning of "alongside, with, next". Thus, metadata can be thought of as a data describing other data. It is the internet age that came along with the broader definition of metadata and it most commonly refers to descriptive information about online resources.
The readers of this comprehensive resource are introduced to an extensive overview of significant issues with regard to metadata from its basics to metadata applications in general and in a range of selected disciplines. The 15 chapters written in clear and comprehensible language are divided into six parts offering the key issues to metadata developments, applications and management.
Part 1 "Perspectives of metadata" introduces the basics of metadata in a clear and simple way, providing real-life examples of metadata in use,...