Unit 7

This week we spent a little bit more time with DSpace, inputting items into our collection. Unfortunately I am having some technical issues: I keep getting an error message when I go to actually submit an item. However, I have posted in the Tech forum for the class so hopefully I will be able to resolve it soon. Besides that, I feel that I am understanding the submission process and workflows reasonably well.

Since we were able to choose our own topic for a blog post this week, I decided to look a little bit more into the types of metadata that are ideal for images. I found an interesting report on image metadata for the FILTER (Focusing Images for Learning and Teaching - an Enriched Resource) project: http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/filter/report/report.html#1.4. This report provides a list by Howard Besser of the University of Michigan where metadata standards should be developed:

-The technical information required to view the image (such as image type, file formats)
-Information about the image capture process (information about the type of image digitized, information about the scanner used, etc.)
-Information about the quality and veracity of an image (for example, whether it is a high-quality image done by a museum or an image digitized by an individual).
-Information about the original object (nature and origin, legacy content metadata, etc.)
-Information about an image's authenticity (cryptographic techniques or digital signatures)
-Information about rights management (viewing/reproduction restrictions, contact info, etc.)

It was very interesting reading these over and gaining more insight into what might be beneficial to include in the fields for a digital image repository. I have included many of these elements in my test collection, but there is some information I don't have, such as details about the scanner I used and information on the images' authenticity (which I think is beyond me for this class project). I am an art enthusiast and would love to work in a museum or similar setting, so I am enjoying learning more about the ways that image repositories in particular are set up and used.