U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Research-Based Metadata Requirements for a BLS

Reports Archive Scott BerridgeJohn Bosley

Daniel W. GillmanUS Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Current HistoricalArchive Situation

• Publications date to 1886

• For many publications – 1 copy exists

• Many publications irreplaceable – no disaster recovery

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Relevance to BLS

• Unique historical archives – 120 years of publications

– 10 years systematically available online

• User expectations are rising

• Standards are evolving

• Mandates are under discussion

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Meeting Emerging Standards

• File Format– Adobe Acrobat PDF/A

• Labeling – Adobe’s Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP)

• Metadata Schema– Data Documentation Initiative (DDI)

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Archive on Bureau’s Website

• www.bls.gov

• Servers inside and outside firewall

• Public domain

• Accessible thru BLS Home Page

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Choosing Metadata Elements

• Schema Choice– DDI Subset

• Schema Useful?– Dissemination and Preservation– Perform user studies – 2 phases

• Phase 1 -- Initial studies (3)– What users want / need– Relatively open-ended, exploratory

• Phase 2 -- Focused studies (2)– Expose users to DDI subset– Obtain feedback

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Reasons for DDI

• Want success @ BLS

• Minimize capture burden

• Unknowable metadata– Old documents (back to 1886)– DDI allows level of granularity

• Conformance– Easy with DDI

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Potential Problem

• Dissemination and Preservation?

• Is DDI suitable for preservation?

• Preservation elements

• Looking at other standards

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User Studies--Overview

• Adopt techniques of– focus groups– group interviews

• Recruited members of general public– Screened for familiarity w/ Gov’t Stats

• Five groups, 2-6 members per group– 3 groups -- initial, exploratory– 2 groups – review DDI elements

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User Studies Results

• Initial exploratory groups (3)– Descriptors consistently identified

• title, date, and geographic coverage• Descriptors essential and informative

– Members – generalize in abstract - hard• Difficulty imagining other descriptors• If personal need does not exist a priori, then

– “What can I do with this information?”– “How is it useful to me?”

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User Studies Results

• DDI-focused groups (2)– Descriptors verified

• Keywords also very important• However, very large sets of keywords

– Counterproductive or Confusing– “TMI” – information overload

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User Studies Results

• DDI-focused groups (2)– Some want title or subtitle to answer

• “How is this report useful to me?”• “How can I put it to use?”• Example – Title includes “A guide”

– More useful than the formal title/name

– Criterion for acquiring a document• Action, use of information• Not subject matter

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Conclusion

• Questions

• Contact– Scott Berridge

• Berridge.Scott@BLS.Gov

– John Bosley• Bosley.John@BLS.Gov

– Dan Gillman• Gillman.Daniel@BLS.Gov