[Metadatalibrarians] Core IG Week 2022 Program Announcement: Metadata Interest Group

[Elisa Naquin]

Please join the ALA Core Metadata Interest Group for its Core IG Week session on Accessibility Metadata. The meeting will take place Tuesday, March 8, 2022, from 2:00-3:00 pm Eastern Time (11:00am-:12:00pm Pacific Time) and will consist of two presentations. The full session description is included below.


The session is free but requires registration. Register for this session at: https://ala-events.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMqdOqgrT4rHNBY5_7kuoWtTyxu9wbB8Wzl


This program will include two presentations:

Designed for Accessibility: MARC Records for the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled

Presenter: Anita Kazmierczak, Head, Bibliographic Control Section, National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled

Summary: The mission of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS), Library of Congress is to provide accessible content for people with visual and print disabilities primarily in audio and braille formats. The creation of NLS metadata is designed to accommodate all accessibility tools and methods, therefore, making search, retrieval, and usage of NLS content approachable and accessible to all patrons.

NLS's goal is to avoid accessibility issues and to create metadata that eliminates existing or potential problems. NLS metadata is created to make all content discoverable to all patrons, to meet their needs and requirements, and remove any access-related limitations. As a result of accessibility-centered policies throughout the library, metadata created at NLS is unique in many ways while simultaneously following national standards and rules for bibliographic description.

Accessibility validates discoverability and delivers full access to the library's content. The metadata is created cooperatively by bibliographic and collection development sections at NLS, in collaboration with circulation vendors. All three participants are visible in the metadata, and their mutual goals of patron service are represented in directly targeted MARC tags that enhance accessibility. NLS metadata is an important tool that provides public-facing access to NLS content.

This presentation highlights all the MARC accessibility fields NLS is applying. It will also discuss the new accessibility tags NLS is currently developing to further improve accessibility for NLS metadata and to guarantee NLS content discoverability is in sync with growing demand and changing users' requests.

Marrakesh Treaty Implementation: Metadata to Enable Access

Presenter: Merideth Fletcher, Manager, Metadata Sharing, Library and Archives Canada and Chair of the ARL/CARL Marrakesh Implementation Project Metadata Working Group

Summary: The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled was adopted in June 2013.  It is an historic treaty because it is the first treaty with a human rights focus at its core and it is the first users' rights treaty in the history of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

It has been estimated that less than 10% of the world's published books are available in accessible formats for people who are print disabled. The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and its counterpart the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) together represent the largest academic research libraries in North America, and collectively hold just under 760 million titles in print and electronic formats. ARL and CARL's Joint Task Force on Marrakesh Treaty Implementation is exploring the issues related to the copyright, discovery, description and access to collectively enable our member libraries to describe, digitize, and make available content in alternate formats.  Planning for a discovery and delivery pilot project is underway. CARL and ARL member libraries in Canada and the United States are participating.

Quality metadata is vital to ensure access for Marrakesh Treaty beneficiaries. Accordingly, developing metadata requirements is a key focus for the pilot. This presentation will describe the context and objectives of the pilot project and provide an overview of the ongoing work of the ARL/CARL Marrakesh Implementation Project Metadata Working Group on minimum metadata requirements, encoding schemas and recommended vocabularies in both English and French for alternate format descriptions. The working groups' longer-term goal of supporting the advancement of accessibility metadata standardization will also be highlighted.

All best,

Elisa Naquin, MA, MLIS
Metadata & Digital Strategies Librarian
LSU Libraries Digital Programs & Services
B-15 Hill Memorial Library
Office: 225-578-8539
Pronouns: she/her/hers
enaquin1 at lsu.edu<mailto:enaquin1 at lsu.edu> | lsu.edu<http://www.lsu.edu/> | lib.lsu.edu<http://lib.lsu.edu/>