Week 11: Field Names, Display Labels and Surveys

This was the first full week where I worked on the Image Collection Online.  During our last meeting with the Metadata Working Group I was given the task of comparing field names with the actual display labels that collection managers were using when describing their digital resources in ICO.  The collection managers and other people working in the different collections use Photocat to enter metadata about the items in the collection.  I was provided screenshots for all of the collections that use Photocat so that I could see the difference between the field name and the display label.  I then put this information into a spreadsheet.  I had columns for field type and then individual columns for the name of each collection accompanied by another column where I could denote whether the label was viewable to the public.  I actually created two spreadsheets, one for live collections and one for non-live collections.

As I started entering the data, I began to see that not only do collections use some field names differently than intended by the DLP, but there are also inconsistencies with the way the field names are perceived amongst the collections.  In order to highlight the collections that are using the field names in the same way, I highlighted those rows in green.  For example, all of the collections that use the field name 'Photographer' also all use the same display label, 'Photographer'.  But the field name 'City' is not used similarly amongst all the collections that use that field name.  The display labels differ, some use 'City' and others use 'City/Town/Village'.  It is this kind of information, laid out in a spreadsheet that may help the members of the Metadata Working Group to get an idea of how collection managers utilize the field names for the purposes of their collection.  This could also maybe help in determining a core set.

Another method we are using to help narrow down a core set is through the distribution of a survey.  I have begun drafting a short survey, no more than 5 questions, that will try and determine how people are using Photocat.  I enjoy this aspect because it is using what I've learned here at SLIS, which is communicating with the users to identify how to best create a system/service etc. to help them with their information needs.