As discovery products increasingly use linked data ontologies, libraries reflect on traditional metadata's value. Several studies at WVU Libraries explore whether metadata facilitates more precise retrieval than linked data alone:

• The first uses SQLite in Python to compare precision and relevance of retrieval using subject metadata and equivalent terms from a linked data ontology, EBSCO Discovery Service's "Concept Map."The methodology can be adapted to measure the performance of discovery products.
• A second study plans to use the newly released WorldCat Entities product. SQLite-based processes are used to quantify the increase in precision retrieval achieved by using attributes in a WorldCat Entity record over the WorldCat Entity label alone.

These studies, summarized and presented with examples of code, demonstrate how MARC and other traditional metadata is still valuable to evaluate and enrich linked data for discovery and reinforce the importance of dedicating library resources to its creation and management.

Presenter

Emily Fidelman
Head of Metadata Services
West Virginia University