Training Librarians and Staff for the New Data Environment

Constellation C: Tuesday, November 1, 8:30 – 10:00AM

This session is designed to address critical needs for training in libraries, as the shifts in the larger information environment undermine our traditional understanding of our roles and goals. The developers of these materials, Karen Coyle, Diane Hillmann, Gordon Dunsire and Jon Phipps, have significant experience presenting on these issues in a variety of library and technical venues. The session has three parts, with discussion and feedback welcomed at each phase:

Part 1: The presenters will discuss the various audiences for training in libraries, as well as the benefits and limitations of the current strategies for provision of cost-effective training. We will discuss our rationale for organizing materials, review the current outline, and discuss costs and choices in process for the program.

Part 2: A presentation of a discrete section of the materials, the session entitled: “From Metadata to a Web of Data”. This session will introduce the basic concepts necessary to understand and participate in the development of new models for web-friendly metadata. The emphasis will be on the key elements needed to publish library data in the Linked Data space, in the context of the general principles for usable modern data. Covered in this session will be: a brief introduction to relevant Semantic Web and Linked Open Data standards; data types and data uses; identifiers and URIs; metadata ‘statements’ and their role in the Web of Data.

Part 3: A structured feedback session, covering the training program plan, the content and presentation of the section.

Session Resources

Session Leader

Diane Hillmann is currently a partner in the consulting firm Metadata Management Associates and Director of Metadata Initiatives at the Information Institute of Syracuse. From 1977 to 2008 she was associated with Cornell University Library, as a Law cataloger, technical services manager, and manager of authorities and maintenance processes for the Cornell Library’s database. She also participated in the Cornell portion of the National Science Digital Library Core Infrastructure as Director of Library Services and Operations between 2000-2005. (http://nsdl.org) Diane was a liaison to and member of MARBI from the late 1980’s to 2000, specializing in the Holdings and Authorities formats, which lead to her early participation in the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative. She is currently a member of the DCMI Advisory Board, was co-Program Chair for the DC-2010 and DC-2011 conferences in Pittsburgh and The Hague.