Week 5 Reading Notes

Database – Wikipedia

I think this was a really good introduction and summary of databases. I thought the list of different types of databases was particularly helpful, and it was interesting to be able to finally understand the differences between databases. I think I would like to know more about the different storage structures, because from the article it is difficult to tell which is better; and other than the knowledge that B+ trees and ISAM are the most popular there was not much else to go on in the information on database storage structures.

Introduction to Metadata

I knew next to nothing about metadata before reading this article, so I found it to be particularly helpful. I really began to understand what metadata is when they compared it to tagging pictures and video on YouTube and Flickr. Before that point in the article I was a little lost with the technical jargon that was being thrown around. Metadata means data about data. A universal metadata standard for libraries and archives has been difficult to achieve because it is hard to categorize and describe all types of the collections and materials that exist.  I found table two to be of particular interest for those in the LIS field, the examples of the functions of metadata in particular settings was very useful. I also thought that the descriptions of the primary functions of metadata were also very helpful in helping me to understand how metadata works.

In particular, I found the first half of the article to be a little confusing and would appreciate an overview of some of the different types of data standards that were discussed.

Dublin Core Data Method

I totally did not understand this article, and I can’t really reflect on something that I found very difficult to comprehend.