8. Documenting digital audio resources 8.1. Introduction Whether you are creating a small number of digital audio files as an individual project, or developing a larger collection, it is crucial to document key information about each digital object, or group of objects. Without this information it may be impossible for others to identify the content of the audio resource (e.g. the composer, the title of the work, the performer(s)), for users to access the work (e.g. information about file size, encoding standards or software), or for you to manage the project on a long-term basis (e.g. information about copyright or data preservation strategies). In the digital environment, we call this information metadata (or 'data about data') and it may include the kind of information found in a library catalogue record, a listing in the Radio Times, or in the booklet of a CD. This information can be used to support a number of different activities: Resource location/finding - without a description of the content of your resource, potential users may not be able to find it! Resource access and use - once users have found your resource they will need to know about the format (including file type and data size) in order to listen to it. They may also need to know about access or re-use restrictions due to copyright or other considerations. Resource management - in many cases, information relating to the resource must be stored for administrative purposes. This may include the name and address of the copyright holders, the location of analogue originals or surrogates of the resource or details of the staff members responsible for the project. E-commerce - if you hope to charge for your resource it will be necessary to include information about charging levels and other restrictions. Digital Preservation - without information about the format and file size of the resource, details of its original encoding and of any subsequent re-encoding or migration to new software it will prove increasingly difficult to preserve the resource for future use. Creating metadata can be as simple or as complicated as the project requires. Information professionals working in libraries or archives are all too aware that cataloguing their resources can be time-consuming and costly. The decisions you make about documenting your digital collection can significantly alter the duration and cost of your project and these issues should be addressed before a single audio resource is encoded. Metadata is still in its infancy and will undoubtably undergo a long process of evolution. This chapter cannot hope to pre-empt that development by offering a simple solution to the problem of creating appropriate documentation. What is clear, however, is that best practice now can save precious time and resources at a later date as standards emerge. Equally, issues that have exercised music and audio-visual librarians and archivists in the analogue world are just as pertinent in the digital one and must be addressed by a new community of digital resource creators. Although this Guide to Good Practice is intended as a 'How To', covering all aspects of digital resource creation, this chapter does not attempt to evaluate different modes of creating or storing metadata from a technical perspective. The range of skills, resources and institutional support available to data creation projects varies enormously. Most projects will create and store metadata in a database. Some will develop metadata using XML or a similar mark-up language. For more information please see the further reading section at the end of this chapter. 8.2. Developing Metadata - understanding the environment In order to develop appropriate documentation for your digital resource, you should first consider the environment in which your resource is created and those environments in which it will be used and where it may be accessible in the future: 8.2.1. Identifying the needs of your primary user group(s) Collections of digital objects are most often designed to enhance access to otherwise inaccessible analogue collections (although increasingly resources may be 'born digital' - that is, they may have no analogue original). In either case, users will have a variety of different needs which your metadata should seek to incorporate. What information do these users need in order to obtain the best possible value from your resource? 8.2.2. Identifying the potential for further re-use of your data Although you may be creating your data for a specific user group with specialised needs, you should be aware of the potential for new uses in the future. For example: your institution may be part of a consortium of similar archives and libraries who may wish to create a union catalogue of their digital and analogue holdings your university department may wish to make searchable records of its digital projects available alongside others in the humanities faculty you may eventually deposit copies of your resources with a UK-wide service such as the Arts and Humanities Data Service 8.2.3. Understanding the local environment Creating metadata can be expensive and time-consuming and depend on specialised skills. The complexity of your metadata will ultimately depend on the skills and resources available to your project. Access to specialist librarian or archival skills can be enormously valuable, but creating simple metadata structures, following basic rules, is an achievable goal for all data creators.
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