G. Understand Methods to Create Information Structures

Introducation to Core Competency G. Understand the system of standards and methods used to control and create information structures and apply basic principles involved in the organization and representation of knowledge.

Before beginning my study of Library and Information Science, I did not realize that terms I searched in the libraries online catalogs were based on a standardized vocabulary. Like many people who use libraries, I had no concept of Library of Congress Subject Headings as a standardized method of organizing the world's knowledge into analytical categories that are consistently applied to the collections of most libraries in the United States. I did not understand that the subject headings in the online catalog were a controlled vocabulary of terms, that each item in the collection was classified according to this vocabulary, and that the physical location of each item was determined by this classification.

The LIBR 248, Beginning Cataloging and Classification Midterm and Final Exam provided the opportunity for me to clarify my understanding of the basic principles of information organization and knowledge representation. In the Midterm Exam, I describe how a cataloger uses AACR2R (the code) and MARC encoding to make a descriptive record retrievable and the relationship between authority control and the functions of a library catalog. In the Final Exam, I discuss the impact of descriptive cataloging and subject analysis on user access to resources in a collection. I also discuss issues involved in classification and assignment of subject headings to library resources, using the Dewey Decimal Classification system, the Library of Congress Classification system, and the Library of Congress Subject Headings in my discussion. I have recorded Dr. Karpuk's grades and comments, which are handwritten on the original documents.

In Assignment #5: LC Subject Headings, I apply principles of subject analysis to assign Library of Congress Subject Headings to a collection of books and nonbook items. In Assignment #6: Dewey Decimal Classification, I apply principles of subject analysis to assign Dewey Decimal Classification numbers to a collection of books. Again, I have recorded Dr. Karpuk's handwritten grades and comments.

Standards that control and create information structures are not limited to cataloging and classification of a librarys collection. Standards are used in all aspects of information control and knowledge organization. I have already shown that LC Subject Headings are a controlled vocabulary used to assign access points to the intellectual contents of a library's collection and introduced the concept of MARC encoding. In Automated Library Catalogs: Going Digital, I explore the transition from the card catalog to the online public access catalog including the history of online catalogs, machine readable cataloging, and networks of catalogs. Researching this transition helped me understand terms such as a union catalog, computer-generated records using MARC format, bibliographic control, and retrospective conversion. It also helped me understand my own experience as a library user when I needed to transition from the card to the online catalog.

MARC or machine readable cataloging requires the use of another kind of standard for organizing information: metadata. Metadata are data about data that has standardized formats. In the case of MARC the formats are three digit tags and two digit indicators assigned to bibliographic data that serve as description and function as access points to the information item that they represent. MARC tags and indicators are collectively known as MARC encoding. MARC encoding works hand in hand with Anglo American Cataloging Rules (AACR) and Authority Control to enable machines to identify bibliographic data that hitherto had been read by humans. In Assignment #4: Cataloging Media, I apply principles of descriptive cataloging to assign the MARC tags and Authority Control to a collection of sound recordings, videocassettes, and serials. In Final Exam: Practical Application, I catalog more non-book items.

MARC is only one of many metadata schemes. Another is the Dublin Core, a set of metadata codes that enable the organized storage and retrieval of information objects that go beyond bibliographic data. In LIBR 247, Vocabulary Design, I created a Database of Silicon Valley Swimming Facilities: An Analysis of Requirements, the Metadata, and the Data in order to demonstrate my understanding of the problems associated with building information structures. I adapted terms from Dublin Core and other metadata schema to create a structure useful for indexing my set of swimming facilities. The advantage of using a metadata set that complies with the recognized standard is that your database becomes immediately searchable by standardized search engines, while a homegrown structure will not without a crosswalk that translates the nonstandard in terms of the standard.

My current research into electronic thesis and dissertation (ETD) repositories has opened my mind to the world of compliance and metadata harvesting based on open archives initiative metadata protocol (OAI-MPH). I first studied these ideas when I researched my paper on the Open Access Initiative and a follow up paper on Institutional Repositories. My current paper studies a subset of institutional repositories, ETD repositories, but the same principles of metadata harvesting apply. This paper was accepted for publication in Information Technology and Libraries (ITAL), the LITA journal that published my Open Access article in 2005. However the editor suggested I submit the paper to OCLC System & Services: International Digital Library Perspectives as a better fit for the content. The paper has been accepted in OCLC System & Services and is currently awaiting publication.