Metadata Practices for Digital Photographic Collections in Archives, Libraries, and Museums in Norway

摘要

This thesis aims to explore the current state of metadata practices for digital photographiccollections in archives, libraries, and museums in Norway in terms of the awareness ofmetadata and metadata types, the availability of guidelines, the chief source of informationon cataloging digital photographic items, the metadata scheme used, subject catalogingstandards and the opinions of staff on the problems and factors regarding cataloging digitalphotographic collections.A descriptive survey is used as the research method. Data was collected by using an onlinequestionnaire. A survey link was distributed to archives, libraries, and museums in Norwaywhich have digital photographic collection projects. A total of 45 returned questionnaireswere analyzed into descriptive statistics by using the Statistical Package for the SocialSciences (SPSS) programThe findings indicate that most of the responding memory institutions have guidelines forcataloging digital photographic collections available at their workplaces (in print formatmore often than digital format). In the opinion of respondents, cataloging digitalphotographic materials is similar to cataloging photographs in other formats. Further,metadata is very important for organizing digital collections in their perspective. TheStandard for Fotokatalogisering is the most adopted metadata scheme for digitalphotographic collections and responding memory institutions assign free keywords moreoften than using standardized subject heading lists. For the most part, the respondentsagree that the mandatory elements in the Standard for Fotokatalogisering are the mostimportant.Considering problems facing the digital collection projects of responding institutions, aninsufficient budget is the most problematic, with the highest mean response. Inadequateexisting data on the materials and a high demand for specialized knowledge and skills alsogreatly challenge them. As future challenges facing such projects, respondents mostfrequently point out user needs, policies on digital photographic collection development,and technology. Respondents highlight knowledge, skills and work resources as theirpotential contributions of institutions to collaborative projects.