Metadata is structured data that facilitates discovery, access, administration and preservation of resources.
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We provide expert metadata guidance and services to our Cornell University Library colleagues, and consultations to the wider Cornell University community, other academic libraries, non-profit organizations, agencies, and journal publishers.
Services include:
Consultation
- Review project requirements and make recommendations
- Analyze existing metadata and recommend transformation strategies, when appropriate
- Educate and train metadata creators on best practices
Design
- Identify community metadata standards to best describe and serve resources
- Create data models that foster seamless access, interoperability and reuse
- Facilitate desired levels of access and appropriate repositories that fit project needs
- Establish workflows for metadata creation or capture
Production
- Reformat metadata to meet project specifications
- Modify metadata to conform with community standards or project guidelines
- Work with stakeholders to maintain consistency and best practices
Guiding Principles:
When providing metadata solutions, we strive to be:
User-centered: Develop metadata practices that are reflective, thoughtful, appropriately innovative, and driven by clear use cases.
Sustainable: Meet the interoperability needs of the present, while recognizing currently available resources and what is maintainable, and establish a flexible foundation to address future needs.
Collaborative: Develop partnerships that achieve consistent descriptive practices, while ensuring responsible labor practices and the mindful inclusion of individuals and communities reflected in our collections.
Process-oriented: Value and remain committed to establishing clearly defined lines of communication, roles, priorities, scope, and open documentation practices.