Mind Over Metadata

Posted March 28, 2019 by Megan Ondricek

Okay, okay I’ve been dying to use that phrase for a while, and now I finally have a blog post worthy of it! My metadata class has really been picking up speed and intensity. It seems like every week is a new standard to learn. So far we’ve done Dublin Core, XML (more of a markup language than a metadata standard), Cataloging Cultural Objects (CCO), Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS), and design-your-own metadata schema. And we’re just over halfway through the semester! I figured I would learn a lot about metadata in this class: what it is, what it does, how to use it, how to create it, etc. What I did not figure was how much coding and actual metadata creation we’d be doing. It’s a lot. Do not take this class if you do not enjoy coding!

Fortunately, I do enjoy coding. It is something I never thought about before library school and now feel pretty comfortable with. For those of you who either want to do lots of coding or want to avoid doing lots of coding, here are all the classes I’ve taken that required it:

LIS 488: Technology for Information Professionals (sorry, you have to take this one!)

LIS 440: Archives Access & Use

LIS 458: Database Management

LIS 445: Metadata

 As you can see, there are lots of opportunities to pick up some coding/tech skills in library school if you so desire. Or you could avoid most of these if you don’t…desire. At one point I actually did fancy myself getting into web development. But now that my internship is nudging me in the direction of reference & instruction, I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll ever use any of it in a professional capacity. Ah well. Such is life for the student who doesn’t have a specific career plan and wants to try a little bit of everything. That’s why we have learning on the job and professional development (and internships!).