“the British Crown could have used metadata available at the time to identify Paul Revere as a revolutionary”

http://siliconangle.com/blog/2014/05/01/invest-more-in-metadata-to-make-more-of-your-data/

 

Interesting article at a summary level of many things we have already learned this semester. I liked the above quote which is from a professor of sociology at Duke University. A good reminder that if metadata isn’t given a priority, much information that could have been obtained will be lost. this is applicable in the business world as well as personal. 

Also, as I have found out with personal collections of data, it is far easier to create quality metadata from the start, than to wait for a massive pile of data with no metadata, or poor metadata. 

Metadata further learning

Anyone already researching further metadata related resources? Do you have book recommendations or,  areas that will excite employers the most? I am looking to apply to some positions and want to be fully prepared.

 

Anyone have some success stories already? Would love to hear ’em!

Creating my metadata

I did not think the metadata process for the images would be that fun, as I have been cataloging in marc. I also did not think the process would be as rewarding, as say, adding metadata to a Grateful Dead show so that I can play it correctly on my iPod. Yet, it was strangely satisfying. 

Maybe something to do with my obsession as a child: Where’s Waldo. I had to spend a considerable amount of time hunting around the web and staring at the images themselves. Just waiting for some magic to pop out of the picture and reveal its true form. Great fun!

Photo Metadata

Val’s presentation has given me inspiration to make sure my camera settings are correct. Last spring I took a trip to the west coast and wanted the gps coordinates turned on so I could map my trip, but they were not automatic. I think that is good for privacy, but I missed out on some good Metadata!!

Next time I will be metadata aware.

Presentations for the Future

I enjoyed the presentations greatly; I have found that activities like this really solidify the information learned from the semester. None of us would have time to research all these topics, which is why it is so great to reap the benefits of y’all’s work!

Does anyone know how long we have access to blackboard after we graduate? I would like to organize all this acquired information and maybe archive the presentations as well. If anyone wants to know how to download blackboard files, and/or download audio files of blackboard classes let me know. I downloaded audio files for one of my classes so I could study while on the move.

 

Player Name Indexing Guidelines

 

I suggestion for revision of guidelines. I think that it might be useful to put the position and player number in the abstract, as well as, the name. I tried to include all the necessary information in the description so that users could ID them by number and name—but for quick reference the player name list is nice…unfortunately without the numbers it’s not as useful. Does this make sense? and/or is it a good idea? I would like to know either way! Just something that I kept wanting to do, but the examples in the guidelines have just the name.

Indexing Process

Wow! Indexing takes a lot longer than anyone imagines. Even known fields take time to enter and format. Takes just as long as formatting and adding metadata to music files on my computer.

Could I do this for a career? I think I could, because it is rewarding in the end. All those searchable fields make one smile. On the other hand, cataloging in marc seems like a lot of pointless deciphering of marc fields that do not realize greater searchability for the common man. 

Footbaldo

I enjoyed the search for the football players in the images. I may have spent too much time trying to Sherlock them out, but it was too fun, and intriguing. I was really upset when I couldn’t find one. 

 

I was also very surprised that better records for Alabama are not available, given the storied history. Why, oh why, is it hard to find things out about classic Alabama teams? Never would have guessed. 

 

I did find watching video of the games to be helpful; though the 1975 video did not mention any defensive player names–the announcing was very poor. I also found a 1975 highlight video which was interesting. The 2010 game gave me much information and enjoyment watching it. 

 

1975 highlight video: http://vimeo.com/7043106

 

2010 game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBwaDlstx1o

 

Deciphering Depol

What exactly does “Del. 1942 – SC. 1948-49 ”  mean. What does the Del. and SC. mean and relate to fields I need to fill out? I am making an educated guess at this point and filling in the information, but would like clarification on how y’all are using them. Thanks.

Ellis Hall Help

If Ellis Hall faces West by South, then where is the sun in this picture? Is it afternoon? depending on season of course. Should I just describe the building as shadowy? Would it be correct to say the sun is somewhere in the SE to SW sky? Thanks for your scientific analysis. Link to image is:

http://depol-image-repository.slis.ua.edu/files/show/122

Link to google map view:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ellis+Hall,+Scott+St/@40.5001989,-78.0147208,113m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x89cbfca957cfd3b7:0xb0a507dbd9ad7e7c?hl=en