![]() Unknown, Additional Research Required, and Not Researched To ensure that rights information is collected about people or works depicted in a core work, the rights metadata dictionary instructs users to identify people and works depicted and to identify them as “potential claimants.” Detailed information for these potential claimants may be included in the rights metadata records, if known. Metadata records in a digital asset management system or other information system may not provide fields for these kinds of “layers” of rights information. People and Works Depictedįrequently, the core work includes images of people or copyright-protected works. This confusion was resolved with a clear definition that the work being described is the work in the library’s collections (neither the work depicted in a visual work nor the digital surrogate thereof), which we describe with the term core work. Core Workįor various reasons, staff in Special Collections tended to be confused about which work was being described in the metadata record. 2 Two important improvements came from this project: (1) clarification of which work was being described in the record, and (2) the addition of terms to the drop-down menus that allow users to better understand some of the ambiguities or unknowns about the rights information provided. Rights metadata is about being responsible stewards of the works in our collections and their digital surrogates-and in a digital world, it is crucial to the institution’s broader mission of collection, preservation, and access.Ī major breakthrough in rights metadata efforts for the Getty Research Institute was the creation and implementation of a rights metadata dictionary for Special Collections. Rights metadata is not just about compliance with intellectual property laws. Moreover, cultural heritage institutions need rights information for their own uses of the works in their collections. In a world where “if it’s not digital, it doesn’t exist,” libraries, archives, and museums have new roles with respect to their users as well as the creators and authors of the works in their collections.Capturing rights metadata in a shared information system as a routine, programmatic activity with structured data rules and values and an established workflow should not cost any more than ad hoc rights research-and it will provide longer-lasting benefits. Your institution is probably already spending staff time and money on rights research.Yes, rights metadata can be complicated and overwhelming, but so is knitting a cardigan sweater until one simplifies the project by mastering a few basic techniques and following the instructions step by step.“It’s not the library’s job it’s up to users to figure out rights information if they want to publish something from our collections.”.“We don’t have the staff or the money.”.“It’s too complicated and overwhelming.”.There are three common reactions when the issue of rights metadata arises: It is our hope that in the next few years, rights metadata will become an expected, routine component of any metadata record about a work and that its existence will improve public online access to digital surrogates of a wide variety of cultural materials. ![]() The Digital Public Library of America 1 is one of several organizations seeking to help institutions find simple and flexible solutions to rights metadata challenges. In addition, more and more institutions are now including rights metadata along with other information about works in their collections and efforts to improve standardization of terms and definitions continues. ![]() This chapter includes some tips and insights learned through experience over the last several years, so that mistakes need not be repeated and improvements can be considered for incorporation into ongoing rights metadata efforts. Keeping track of what rights an institution has, who the rights holders are, and what their contact information is, is essential for institutions that want to participate actively and quickly in online environments. Underlying all such efforts are intellectual property laws governing copyright, privacy, publicity, and trademarks. More institutions are implementing digital asset management systems and seeking ways to expand the distribution of their collections through websites and social media. Since writing this chapter for the 2008 edition of Introduction to Metadata, I have found that people are now more aware of the importance of rights metadata and the need to collect and share it. Rights Metadata Made Simple Maureen Whalen ![]()
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