Metadata is changing.

Innovations in librarianship are exerting pressure on metadata management practices to evolve as librarians are required to provide metadata for far more resources of various types and to collaborate on institutional or multi-institutional projects with fewer staff.

In 2020, Karen Smith-Yoshimura published the report, “Transitioning to the Next Generation of Metadata”, which brought together six years of discussions with the OCLC Research Library Partners Metadata Managers Focus Group that shone a light on the evolution of the next generation of metadata.

Following this in early 2021 the report, “Transforming Metadata into Linked Data to Improve Digital Collection Discoverability: A CONTENTdm Pilot Project” was published. This report shares the CONTENTdm Linked Data Pilot project findings, where OCLC and five partner institutions investigated methods for—and the feasibility of—transforming metadata into linked data to improve the discoverability and management of digitized cultural materials.

During the spring of 2021, OCLC Research ran a discussion series focused on these two reports where participants were able to share their own experiences, get a better understanding of the topic area, and gain confidence in planning ahead.


The Series

The series consists of three components:

Opening plenary webinar

Tuesday 23 February 2021,
15:00 (CET)

An opening plenary webinar giving an overview of next generation metadata, how and why it is changing, and the impact this could have. OCLC speakers in this session include Rachel Frick (Executive Director, Research Library Partnership), John Chapman (Senior Product Manager, Metadata Services), Annette Dortmund (Senior Product Manager), and Titia van der Werf (Senior Program Officer).

Interactive round table

During the first two weeks of March 2021.

Eight interactive small round table online discussions exploring how existing initiatives are shaping the landscape of next generation metadata, gaining insights and fresh ideas, and aligning each other’s perspectives into a shared perspective. These sessions followed the same structure, but were based on language.

Closing plenary webinar

Tuesday 13 April 2021,
15:00 (CET)

A closing plenary webinar by OCLC and representatives from the round table discussions to bring together what was discussed and to share highlights from the sessions with the wider group. OCLC speakers in this session include Andrew K. Pace (Executive Director for Technical Research), Rachel Frick (Executive Director, Research Library Partnership), John Chapman (Senior Product Manager, Metadata Services), Annette Dortmund (Senior Product Manager), and Titia van der Werf (Senior Program Officer).


Watch the recordings and read the blog posts

Recordings and blog posts