Metadata

摘要

Metadata can be fun! That probably wasn't the intention when Zeng and Qin wrote this book, but that's the impression that you take away from this well-written, well-structured, and beautifully illustrated guide to metadata and its use. This is a book that will be of use to all librarians, from the student trying to understand the basics of what metadata are to the experienced practitioner looking for some arcane definition of a standard. This is, first and foremost, a well-organized book. Starting with basic definitions and history of metadata, it follows through with a detailed description of the various standards currently in use before branching into a discussion of the various schemas, the metadata record including such aspects as conceptual models, encoding, wrapping, and combination. If that last sentence meant nothing to you, don't worry-Zeng and Qin explain it all. Their lucid and clear descriptions are complemented by their deliberate learning approach to the topic which means each topic includes suggested readings and a set of exercises.