In the digital age, libraries face the challenge of managing vast amounts of content and metadata. This task is becoming increasingly important as digital resources grow and user expectations evolve. Without a quality content and metadata management strategy, both vendors and libraries risk significant inefficiencies. Effective management ensures users can easily find and access the information they need, supports academic and research activities, and enhances the overall user experience.
We have made great strides in helping libraries navigate their growing content and metadata management challenges, relying on a solid foundation of processes, plans, technology, and people. Here are some notable achievements from the past year and a preview of our plans for 2025.
Building from a Strong Foundation in 2024
Community Engagement and Support
Community engagement is central to our approach. The Content Working Group and the Community Zone Management Group help shape our policies and practices. Their feedback guides our evolution to meet the community’s needs, including which content providers we work with, identifying content gaps, and addressing issues.
This cooperative relationship has led to significant improvements in our support services. We have improved response and resolution times, with 71% of cases resolved in under two weeks. This means libraries benefit from faster issue resolution and improved support.
Expanding the Content Ecosystem
Our community-focused approach also enables our content ecosystem to expand and grow. We are working with around 5,000 content providers, contributing metadata for over one billion journal articles. This supports more than 41,000 collections across Alma, SFX, and 360 knowledge bases. “We aim to add 20 new content providers and about 4,000 collections each year,” Tamar Ganor, Content Product Manager at Ex Libris™, shared in a recent webinar. This expansion ensures that libraries can offer a wider range of resources.
Recent Metadata Achievements
By continuously improving our content and metadata management, we support academic and research activities, making it easier for users to find and access the information they need. Recent achievements include adding ISBN-13 to records, improving open access metadata with DOAJ, ensuring accurate open access indications with Unpaywall, and expanding content offerings with OverDrive audiobooks and ebooks. These efforts collectively improve resource discovery and reliability.
New Provider Relations Initiatives
To ensure timely and accurate content updates, we’ve introduced new initiatives in our provider relations strategy. The Manifest Initiative allows content providers to populate files for new collections, reducing the time for collection creation from months to weeks, potentially days. The Provider Platform lets providers see their content as users do, facilitating faster issue resolution. These innovations reduce the administrative burden on library staff and ensure users benefit from more reliable and up-to-date resources.
Harnessing AI for Metadata Management
In addition to operational efficiencies gained by working closer with content providers, we are using artificial intelligence to enhance metadata management. We’ve enriched over 49,000 records from ProQuest™ Ebook Central with additional fields like subject, summary, and language through the AI Metadata Assistant – and closing in on 100,000 records. This means library users will have access to more detailed information, and library staff can focus on more strategic tasks.
Vision for 2025 and Beyond
Looking ahead, we’re focusing on automation and quality improvements to transform content management further. These initiatives aim to reduce manual processes, improve metadata quality, and ensure timely updates. This means libraries can operate more efficiently, allowing staff to dedicate more time to user engagement and strategic initiatives. Users will benefit from quicker access to high-quality, up-to-date information.
The advancements in content and metadata management reflect our commitment to addressing the challenges of the digital age. By using AI, fostering community engagement, and innovating provider relations, we’re setting new standards for excellence. These initiatives will enhance the user experience and support the efficient management of digital resources.
To gain further knowledge about how we are shaping the future of content and metadata management please view a recording or slides for our latest webinar – “Content and Metadata Management in 2024 – Updates and News.”
