Week 5: Meta data

I have heard the term meta data being thrown around regularly since entering grad school.  I knew that I should know this term but to be honest I had no idea exactly what meta data meant, prior to this week's reading.  I understood it's relevance but I had no real grasp on the term.  Finally it has come to light what the term meta data really means and how it applies to me as a soon-to-be information professional. 

Anne J. Gilliland in her chapter "Setting the Stage" presented a clear, concise, well-rounded description of meta data.  She starts by clarifying that the term means different things to different people depending on the professional context and user.  She goes on to define meta data as "the sum total of what one can say about any information object."  She then explains that an information object "is anything that can be addressed and manipulated as a discrete entity by a human being or an information system."  Finally a definition that summed up the term in an understandable way.  Simply put it is how something is described.  As the chapter progresses she introduced the many types, functions and uses for meta data, specifically in libraries, museums and archives; all this adds to the deeper understanding of the term.  Personally, coming from a museum background, it helped to embed the term within a familiar environment. 

I found particular interest in the questions/issues she raises at the end of the chapter and I believe it illustrates just how important it is to have a system in place that will insure the reliability of information accessibility.  

Week 4

Databases and their benefits

So I have worked with databases in the past, mostly just simple Exel spreadsheets, but as I read through these articles and wikipedia entries I realize I have only scratched the surface of what they are - in fact one may argue that I really haven't worked with databases at all.  When I take into account the complex nature of the types of databases as well as the software that manages and runs them, I question knowing really what they are and how benefical they are to the processing and recalling of information in a form that is helpful to a professional. 

Some key points I learned:

•  Hold multiple uses; not just a gathering of information
• If you have a database you have a database management system (DBMS); there is just too much information to manage otherwise
• Databases help organize information in such a way that complex relationships between the information can be found
• The data comprises the database and it all runs on software that manages the data and it's organization
• A number of information can be benefited by the use of databases: bibliographical information, financial figures, statistics, music
• Databases came about from the need to store and access large amounts of information.
• Databases and DBMS are extremely complicated and have a large complex network of vocabulary associated with the management of information 
• I am surprised at the amount of database types there are and how specialized they can be depending on the user's need and information handled.  They are as diverse as we need them to be.

As I am not a computer science student a lot of this information was informative but also confusing, especially when complex technological terms where discussed i.e., when describing network model, inverted file model etc.

Though I understand that most of the terminology was lost on me I did understand the relevance of the information given through Wikipedia and associated articles.  I believe as a future information professional I will be called upon to work on many types of databases and maintain them.  This gives me a good resource to come back to when I need to fill in unknown information.

Assignment 1: Flickr

Ten photos of various objects in two versions: standard and thumbnail.  You can view them here.

Week 3

"Imaging Pittsburgh: Creating a shared gateway to digital image collections of the Pittsburgh region"
by Edward A. Galloway, outlines a grant funded program whose mission is to provide a singular outlet for historical Pittsburgh photographs.  At first glance this may seem simplistic in focus, provide a website that can allow access to historic Pittsburgh through visual media.  Upon breakdown there were many more obstacles to hurdle then what was expected.  

Three institutions with multiple views and gains sought to work together to document change - cultural, economic, and structural- in and around Pittsburgh.  The main aim was to host a website containing 7,000 - 10,000 images to allow a "whole picture" aspect to the city.  The website would allow the public to keyword search, browse within several parameters as well as request reproductions.

I think what struck me most about this project was even though these instutions were working towards a common goal they all had different aims in the selection, description and organization of the images.  The challenges to the project seemed to display that though there is one finish line there are many different ways to get there.  The lack of communication, aside from planned meetings, posed a threat to the efficiency and transparency of the project.  How do you avoid inconsistencies that may present themselves as the project moves forward?  With each institution came a different method of how to accomplish a particular step of the project, a different vocabulary to describe, a different level of quality.  As a leader how to you overcome such challenges?  Is it worth the time to build a bridge between all of these methods? 

I think so.  As each one of the challenges presented themselves there seemed to be a sharing of ideas, something I believe benefits each institution involved. Learning not only how to handle the conflicts that arise but also to learn from each other, building upon the base of knowledge they already have.  Through this project they came together to solve the standardization issues and ultimately created a very important visual resource for Pittsburgh.