Abstract
Purpose
This descriptive paper aims to focus on the role of metadata for archival discoverability, highlighting a project the authors completed in 2023 at Southampton Solent University Library to describe the Philip Mackie Collection, a collection that had long lacked proper archival description. The authors explain the motivation for the project and discuss the rationale behind key decisions, such as which systems to use and who should create the descriptions. Ultimately, the authors decided to create the descriptions themselves, and thus the authors are able to describe their experience as bibliographic cataloguers adapting to archival standards (specifically ISAD(G) and EAD). On completion of this project, the library witnessed an increase in usage of the Mackie Collection. It is hoped that by describing some of the issues this project faced and highlighting its positive impact, we can encourage others to attempt similar projects and provide a (necessarily loose) framework for them to follow.
Design/methodology/approach
The aims of this project were to describe the collection according to archival standards; encode the description in a format that facilitates portability; where feasible, use URIs for entities in the description; publish the description online in a user-friendly format; publish the description in an archival discovery space; attain good visibility in search engine results. The major steps or decisions that the authors took to achieve these aims can be enumerated as follows: research archival theory and practice, especially in relation to description; select software for creating archival descriptions; decide who should create the descriptions; and choose spaces for publishing the descriptions.
Findings
In conclusion, it is clear that describing the collection according to archival standards and publishing it in Archives Hub have had a major impact on the usage of this collection. This is likely to be because of Archive Hub’s prominent presence in search engine results and its status as one of the major shared archival discovery spaces for the UK. Bearing in mind that the collection was already catalogued (for the most part), the increased usage provides evidence not only of the value of metadata itself but specifically of the importance of appropriately structured metadata exposed in appropriate locations. The collection’s old MARC records had only a minimal presence in search engine results, and so effectively our cataloguing was confined to the silo of library catalogues. It was bad enough being in a silo, but our records were not even in the right silo: they were archival records in a library catalogue. This failing has now been corrected. Research limitations/implications As an outcome of this work, the overall usage of the archive has improved.
Originality/value
The collection itself is unique to Southampton Solent University, and the process is informed by several standards and best practices.
This descriptive paper aims to focus on the role of metadata for archival discoverability, highlighting a project the authors completed in 2023 at Southampton Solent University Library to describe the Philip Mackie Collection, a collection that had long lacked proper archival description. The authors explain the motivation for the project and discuss the rationale behind key decisions, such as which systems to use and who should create the descriptions. Ultimately, the authors decided to create the descriptions themselves, and thus the authors are able to describe their experience as bibliographic cataloguers adapting to archival standards (specifically ISAD(G) and EAD). On completion of this project, the library witnessed an increase in usage of the Mackie Collection. It is hoped that by describing some of the issues this project faced and highlighting its positive impact, we can encourage others to attempt similar projects and provide a (necessarily loose) framework for them to follow.
Design/methodology/approach
The aims of this project were to describe the collection according to archival standards; encode the description in a format that facilitates portability; where feasible, use URIs for entities in the description; publish the description online in a user-friendly format; publish the description in an archival discovery space; attain good visibility in search engine results. The major steps or decisions that the authors took to achieve these aims can be enumerated as follows: research archival theory and practice, especially in relation to description; select software for creating archival descriptions; decide who should create the descriptions; and choose spaces for publishing the descriptions.
Findings
In conclusion, it is clear that describing the collection according to archival standards and publishing it in Archives Hub have had a major impact on the usage of this collection. This is likely to be because of Archive Hub’s prominent presence in search engine results and its status as one of the major shared archival discovery spaces for the UK. Bearing in mind that the collection was already catalogued (for the most part), the increased usage provides evidence not only of the value of metadata itself but specifically of the importance of appropriately structured metadata exposed in appropriate locations. The collection’s old MARC records had only a minimal presence in search engine results, and so effectively our cataloguing was confined to the silo of library catalogues. It was bad enough being in a silo, but our records were not even in the right silo: they were archival records in a library catalogue. This failing has now been corrected. Research limitations/implications As an outcome of this work, the overall usage of the archive has improved.
Originality/value
The collection itself is unique to Southampton Solent University, and the process is informed by several standards and best practices.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 293-310 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Digital Library Perspectives |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Apr 2025 |