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ISSN 1039-3498 | no. 49| February 2001
Leading Edge
Metadata:
An Interactive Forum for Experienced
Implementers
Barbara Rozmus, Coordination Support
Branch
Photograph: Damian McDonald
Barbara Rozmus, from the NLA Coordination Support Branch, joined an impressive gathering of metadata implementers and metadata researchers from Australia and New Zealand at a two-day workshop at Monash University in Melbourne on 1112 December 2000.
The forum featured key national and international figures drawn from a broad cross-section of the metadata community, meeting to explore how and why the various communities were using metadata, whether the views were compatible, and to find what was missing from the metadata picture. The forum, facilitated by Dagmar Parer, ACA/ASA Descriptive Standards Committee, at times saw vigorous debate, demonstrations of new and developing metadata gathering and editing tools, and heard the latest thinking from researchers focused on metadata issues.
Themes addressed on the first day ranged over the emerging state of the art tools and architectures, multimedia and managing metadata. The second day opened with issues of metadata persistence, followed by analysis and explanation of current implementation strategies, finishing with speculation on future implementation models and strategies. Speakers included:
The presenters and participants were able to exchange views within an informal atmosphere conducive to building relationships between the researching and implementing communities. Collaborative research and action, already being undertaken in a small way, will be encouraged as a result of this forum, as practitioners and researchers in the various metadata communities unite to find long-term solutions to replace current short-term solutions. A strong feeling of goodwill was generated through the forum and there was a resolution to build a sustainable, broad-based metadata community of interest within Australia.
Key issues identified as requiring further research include:
Please direct any enquiries to Barbara Rozmus, Manager National Initiatives, tel: (02) 6262 1575, fax: (02) 6273 2545, email: brozmus@nla.gov.au.
Please address any comments and enquiries to The Editor, Gateways: dthomas@nla.gov.au