Assessment of Cataloging and Metadata Services

Book excerpt: Written by experienced practitioners and researchers, Assessment of Cataloging and Metadata Services provides the reader with many examples of how assessment practices can be applied to the work of cataloging and metadata services departments. Containing both research and case studies, it explores a variety of assessment methods as they are applied to the evaluation of cataloging productivity, workflows, metadata quality, vendor services, training needs, documentation, and more. Assessment methods addressed in these chapters include surveys, focus groups, interviews, observational analyses, workflow analyses, and methodologies borrowed from the field of business. Assessment of Cataloging and Metadata Services will help managers and administrators as they attempt to evaluate and communicate the value of what they do to their broader communities, whether they are higher education institutions, another organization, or the public. This book will help professionals with decision making and give them the tools they need to identify and implement improvements. The chapters in this book were originally published in a special issue in Cataloging & Classification Quarterly.