Metadata suggestions

From UANotebook

Here are a few common questions that contributors often have. Please also read the following as a sort of training guide to the metadata. This file might have more detailed, useful information than the Data Dictionary.


Contents

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Item Number


If I crop a photo, does that automatically mean I should automatically add an "a" at the end of the filename, so that it's distinguished as being different from the original (and in case I want to do further crops)

Don't automatically add an "a" suffix to the first cropped image. Only if you generate more new images from the original should you add a,b,c and so on.


Should save a full-resolution "cropped" version in my originals?

You don't have to save a full-resolution version of the cropped image. Since you are adding a letter to the end of the Item Number (file name) of the cropped image, we know the original image from which you generated the crop. Having said that, if you do save a full-resolution version of the crop, we certainly won't complain. :)

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Description field


  • Try not to leave this field blank, explain why you focused on this image. If it's a close up, describe the close up in words. Try to use as many key words as possible that people might use in searching for the image. This field, like most others in this metadata, will be searchable by the Digital Collections engine, so it is useful to anticipate the kinds of terms people might be using in their searches and add them here.
  • If the image has written text, transcribe as much as you can.
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Addresses in the Description field

Put the address in the Address field only; that's what the Address field is for.

In the Description, you can talk about the location if there is something interesting about the setting itself or about the subject within that setting. However, don't talk about it just to give the address; put that in the Address field.

Please spell out Street, Avenue, Way, etc. I know that it's a pain in the butt to do so but please do it. Our archives will be expanding to include international images. We don't want to confuse viewers by including country-specific or language-specific abbreviations.


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View Orientation

With View Orientation, use ONLY the following: 

N, S, E, W, NE, NW, SE, SW

Also, be careful! The View Orientation is expressed as the direction from the camera's point of view. Sometimes it's easy to get confused.

For example, if you are looking at a sign on the west wall of a building, your view orientation is actually east. In this case, you can not View Orientation as "E" and the Architectural Detail as "west elevation".


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Municipality and Neighborhood names in Seattle

For the first part (presuming your location is Seattle, write: 

United States -- Washington (State) -- Seattle

Note the double dashes and the spaces between words and dashes. If you are photographing outside of Seattle... Tacoma, for example, then it would be: 

United States -- Washington (State) -- Tacoma

This is the most important part. The next part is optional but we'd really like you to make a note of it.

For the City of Seattle, you can enter a second term to indicate the specific neighborhood. We use the same term that the City Clerk's office uses. This is separate from the above part. Therefore, after that part write: 

<br>

When displayed in the Digital Collections, the above code will put the second (neighborhood) term on a new line.

THEN write the neighborhood name. For example, if you are on Capitol Hill, your entry in the spreadsheet for Municipality would be: 

United States -- Washington (State) -- Seattle <br> Capitol Hill -- Broadway

In the Digital Collections, the above will be displayed as: 


Municipality:     United States -- Washington (State) -- Seattle
                  Capitol Hill -- Broadway


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Format section terminology

Also, for the format section, what is the difference between a painting and a drawing and a sign?

A painting would be something that clearly uses paint; it is sometimes in more than one color. Also, shapes and image elements are filled in with color(s). Anything done in paint should be a "painting". On the other hand, a drawing would typically be something not done in paint and usually outlined rather than filled in. Markers, pens, etc. usually create drawings.

A sign is usually something mass-produced, often professionally. Think of a street sign. Most illicit graffiti will not be of this format... unless it is a forgery of some sort.

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