Metadata Matters: A Holistic Approach to Metadata at the University of Hawai‘i Institutional Repository

Abstract

Libraries that maintain an institutional repository (IR) have always faced issues of metadata quality. The University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) Library is no exception. The issue of metadata quality at UHM is complicated by several factors: 1) metadata is produced by the IR’s community members and often not trained by library staff through unmediated submissions; 2) the repository’s scope is inclusive of both scholarly and non-scholarly works produced on campus; 3) the community that deposits digital objects to the IR consists of diverse members; 4) the IR has been up and running for seven years with no formal/documented workflows and/or metadata guidelines. Based on the understanding that standardization of metadata practice alone cannot achieve the goal, UHM has taken a holistic and versatile approach to improve the quality of metadata in its IR. In other words, a preset basic course of actions, ranging from standardization to outreach, has been adjusted based on contingencies and feedback. This method has worked well not only because it enables good quality metadata to be an integral part of the UHM’s IR initiative as a whole, but also because it has helped make a positive impact on open access that UHM advocates and beyond. The poster illustrates the approach undertaken to show how each action aligns with the overarching goal of improving metadata, and is intertwined each other to contribute to some of the Library’s larger objectives.