Are cataloging and metadata interchangeable ideas, or are they unique and distinct in their form and function? I have seen it mentioned that the word "metadata" is employed simply to make the idea of cataloging more acceptable to types of people that would otherwise look down upon the activity. Does this sound plausible? For what reasons would someone find the notion of "cataloging" unappealing, but not have similar qualms about "creating metadata?" I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Cataloging vs. Metadata?
Drawing from my relatively meager knowledge of metadata, at this point, I gather it's a fairly common question as to how the concept differs from cataloging. Both are methods of assigning descriptive data to an object using prescribed standards for the purpose of facilitating the location and collocation (placing like items together) of said items. While cataloging is commonly used in reference to libraries and the records of their collections, and metadata often seems applied in relation to digital media, I find myself questioning how much of this is due to traditional associations and naming practices. There is certainly no reason why the information contained in a library catalog could not be considered metadata, but is the application of the term cataloging to non-library media equally acceptable?
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You ask a very good question, Joshua, and I'm afraid I don't have much to offer. Your question brought up in my mind what I view as two different, but related questions. The first question is: is there really any difference between "metadata creation" and "cataloging"? The second is: do people perceive these two terms and the actions entailed by them differently? For the first question (and this is just me reflecting. I don't really KNOW anything), I would say that they could be viewed the same way. I think of a MaRC record as metadata, and, technically speaking, creating a MaRC record is metadata creation. However, people use metadata to speak more generally, and it doesn't appear to have the close association to print materials that the term "cataloging" does. That's why I think people treat the terms and view them differently. Metadata people can work in all kinds of areas. Catalogers are people who manage and create metadata for musty old books. Ultimately, I think the distinction is unnecessary, but that's just me. I'm sure others would disagree and have some great points to back it up.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great post. It really made me think about whether I have an arbitrary distinction in my mind between the two activities.
James, those are some great points. One of the distinctions which may be possible is that the notion of cataloging seems to revolve around the collection of certain types of metadata together (i.e. a catalog). I suppose that the creation of metadata outside of the library context may not necessarily have a greater body of information to which it belongs, rather it simply describes content without relation to other content. I definitely feel like I'm on the kiddie side of the metadata pool, and look forward to exploring these ideas more.
DeleteI tend to think of metadata as a broader concept than cataloging, ie all cataloging creates and deals with metadata, but creating and managing metadata is not always cataloging.
ReplyDeleteBoth are centered on representation, i.e., surrogate record creation. However catalogers have a highly developed cooperative approach (in the ABACUS countries, it's MaRC-encoded bib records created using AACR2) designed for sharing records. Metadata is far from that standard ... plus, metadata predominately describes digital objects, which means that descriptive metadata is not enough ... we also need preservation, admin, and structural metadatas ... more in class this semester!!!
ReplyDeleteI know I'm late in the gamer here but I don't think they are interchangeable. I can see why that could be a view though. I look at them as metadata being a noun and cataloging as a verb. We do cataloging with the metadata. That may be a simplistic view of it, possibly incorrect even, but it makes sense to my brain during this semester of cataloging and metadata classes.
ReplyDeleteSindee: One thing you'll see in the Metadata class is that we can create metadata records representing digital images just like we create cataloging records representing books ... I guess there's just not an equivalent term to cataloging ... Metadata-ing? I just call it "creating metadata records" or better "indexing digital images" ... more later!!
Delete--Dr. MacCall