How do you Approach Metadata
Creation
when there are no
Second Chances?
CIG Conference 2014. Metadata: making an impact
Arwen Caddy
8th September 2014
Introduction to RB
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Has anyone heard of RB?
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Has anyone heard of Reckitt Benckiser?
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Has anyone heard of Reckitt and Colman?
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Has anyone heard of…
RB
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RB is the world’s number 1 Health and Hygiene company
It is listed in the top 25 of the FTSE 100
Its global turnover in 2013 was over £10bn
It has offices in 60 countries, and markets in 200
The Research & Development Library
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a book library
a repository of copyright-fee paid research papers
multiple legacy collections of hard-copy journal articles
journal and online resource subscriptions
an environmentally-controlled clinical archive of our in-house research
documentation
Our services also include:
 our LMS
 literature searching
 training in Information Literacy, copyright, our systems, and more
R&D Library and Archive facts and figures
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Number of books in R&D Library
4,000 approx
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Number of copyright-compliant papers in repository
20,000 approx
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Number of non-digitised papers in legacy collections
12,000 approx
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Number of items in R&D Archive
150,000 approx
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Main subjects / areas of interest
Pharmacology, biology, chemistry,
medicine, drug formulation, drug
side effects and adverse events
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Number of books checked out on average per month
7
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Number of papers purchased per month
550 on average
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Number of scans from core texts per month
30
R&D Library and Archive facts and figures

Number of books in R&D Library
4,000 approx

Number of copyright-compliant papers in repository
20,000 approx

Number of non-digitised papers in legacy collections
12,000 approx

Number of items in R&D Archive
150,000 approx

Main subjects / areas of interest
Pharmacology, biology, chemistry,
medicine, drug formulation, drug
side effects and adverse events

Number of books checked out on average per month
7

Number of papers purchased per month
550 on average

Number of scans from core texts per month
30
What is a ‘dim archive’?
(No, it’s not from an episode of
Doctor Who)
Definitions
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A ‘dim archive’ is a controlled repository held with permission of the
Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA), that allows a company to hold a single
copy of a document, which can then be shared with selected audiences for
certain reasons, specifically to share documents with Regulatory Authorities
for the purpose of Regulatory Submission.
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A ‘Regulatory Authority’ is a government or official body in a country that
reviews medical products for safety, tolerability, and toxicity – essentially the
body that ensures that Nurofen is safe for human use; Regulatory Authorities
include the MHRA (Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency) in the
UK, and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the United States.
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A ‘Regulatory Submission’ is the dossier provided by a company like RB, to
a Regulatory Authority, including information that proves / states our case for
said safety.
The dim archive
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locked documents
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automatic capture of use
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linked from here to dossiers –
link can’t be broken
Advantages
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For publishers
 Originality and integrity
 Use of articles by RB adds to reputation of publisher and their authors
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For Regulatory Authorities
 Assurance that documents provided have been purchased legitimately
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For our users
 One trusted copy
 Assurance that link cannot change
 One place to search for all content
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For us
 One place to search / store
 Process set in stone
 Can identify our documents – control watermarks
 Don’t have to chase every use – we are now covered
Disadvantages
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For us
 Can’t correct mistakes found in the metadata
 Can’t move anything we’ve locked in the wrong place
 Can’t update ‘ahead of print’ or append errata or author’s responses
 Two members of staff are required for approving, so time must be found
in two schedules / workloads
 Embarrassment and loss of trust from users at Library staff’s expertise
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For our users
 Difficult to search for articles when there are mistakes with a date or other
metadata, which can lead to duplication of costs as new copies are
purchased
 Approvals process can take a long time, when papers are required
urgently
 Anything that we cannot agree this level of copyright and storage rights
for cannot be used in our dossiers
Common Pitfalls
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Acronyms / full names
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Chapter authors vs. book editors
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Translated titles – whose translation do you use?
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Appendix pages
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Date of acceptance vs. date of publication
A Favourite Mistake
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Rowe’s initials
How to Avoid Mistakes
1.
Take responsibility – don’t rely on the approvers to catch everything
2.
Learn where mistakes are likely to happen
3.
Stick with precedents and conventions – even if you prefer today’s answer
4.
Don‘t trust deliverymen
5.
A wrong and a right don’t always solve the problem
6.
Concentrate!
7.
Get into a rhythm – but don’t loose your concentration
8.
Communicate!
An Example of Communication – was
The Hobbit written in 2013?
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User wanted online reference uploaded as
2013 – because that was when he
downloaded it
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We uploaded it as 2008 – because that
was when it was last updated
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The user explained his issue was that this
made it harder to find
Summary
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Sometimes there are no second chances to get metadata right
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Firstly be as accurate as possible
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Then trust yourself and your team
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Have answers prepared for any questions and complaints
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If you can’t have a reputation for being always right, try to get a reputation for
being always helpful
Thank You
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Any questions?
Arwen.CaddyContractor@rb.com
R&dLibrary@rb.com