FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records) is a 1998 recommendation of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) to restructure catalog databases to reflect the conceptual structure of information resources.
More technically, FRBR uses an entity-relationship model of metadata for information objects, instead of the single flat record concept underlying current cataloging standards. The FRBR model includes four levels of representation: work, expression, manifestation, and item.
Coyle persuasively argues that to more effectively connect library users with books, movies, music, computer games, and other resources, library data needs to move beyond FRBR towards a more integrative approach to bibliographic models. But doing so requires fundamental changes in the approach to library data. Combining a sweeping perspective with a critical eye, she assesses how we define a work in the bibliographic world. Showing how bibliographic models reflect technology and our assumed goals of libraries, she points the way ahead for catalogers and metadata specialists, providing clear explanations and analysis. Coyle's articulate treatment of the issues at hand helps bridge the divide between traditional cataloging practice and the algorithmic metadata approach, making this book an important resource for both LIS students and practitioners.
The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) is an open organization managed as a project of ASIS&T. DCMI supports shared innovation in metadata design and best practices across a broad range of purposes and business models.
Metadata remains the solution for describing the explosively growing, complex world of digital information, and continues to be of paramount importance for information professionals. Providing a solid grounding in the variety and interrelationships among different metadata types, Zeng and Qin's thorough revision of their benchmark text offers a comprehensive look at the metadata schemas that exist in the world of library and information science and beyond, as well as the contexts in which they operate.