Hi! Welcome to my blog for my metadata class. This blog is part of the list of assignments I have to complete to (hopefully) pass the course. Now, for most academic endeavors I would write in a more formal manner, however Dr. McCall encouraged us to be more informal and expressive. Don’t worry folks, I promise not to go all e.e. cummings on everyone, but you may see lolcats and snark.  We’ll see how this goes. I may have to ditch the lolcats. I hope not, I like lolcats.

Anyway, I digress.   This is my second class that I’m taking related to information management, otherwise known as cataloging. Cataloging in a nut shell is classifying information for storage and retrieval. Metadata from my current (but changing) understanding is cataloging of digital information.

Now that’s my basic understanding, now in reality, it’s much, much more complicated. Actually more than complicated, it’s confusing.  Actually unless your one of those people that have a “beautiful mind” cataloging is hard. Modern cataloging is more akin to computer programing. It’s no wonder that one of my friends who is an IT SysAdmin has an MLIS.

To be honest I have some trepidation about this class. A feeling of “Once more unto the breach, dear friends…”.  My first cataloging class was an acronym, jargon rich, word-stew which often felt like slogging through old VCR manuals. I passed the class, but alas I did not discover my inner cataloger.

I can guess what you are thinking, “So why mister misanthropic, disciple of the annoyed librarian are you taking this class?” The answer is because cataloging and particularly cataloging digital information is important, very important. It’s a useful skill that can be applied to many different fields and it is one that will remain needed even after every brick and mortar entity has faded into the sunset.  So if you’re like me a disciple of the annoyed librarian you would probably agree that the best way for the budding librarians of today to prepare for the dystopian library future of tomorrow is to learn as many arcane skills as possible.

So it’s now time to sit down and eat my peas. Yum!