Steven J. Miller. Metadata for Digital Collections. New York: Neal Schuman Publishers, 2011. 343p. alk. paper, $80.00 (ISBN 9781555707460). LC 2011-012594

The world of cataloging and bibliographic data is entering a period of radical change. RDA (Resource Description and Access) is poised to replace the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (AACR) as the standard by which bibliographic records are created ; spurred by this change, the Library of Congress has begun an initiative to design and implement a replacement for MARC, the scheme that has been used to encode bibliographic data since the beginning of computerized cataloging. Simultaneously , many librarians who have worked only as " traditional catalogers " are being asked to work with new metadata schema and digital collections, particularly in a time of decreased budgets that preclude hiring additional staff. Steven J. Miller's Metadata for Digital Collections addresses these changes in both providing explanation and examples of using non-MARC metadata to describe digital objects, in a practical, well-organized handbook. Miller does not assume that the reader has any previous experience creating metadata; rather, he presents a guide for all to the basics of the description of digital resources, including illustrative examples, links to the book's companion Web site, and substantial lists of references, with a full bibliography and index at the end. The book is organized so that each chapter builds upon the previous, for an overview of the process; additionally, chapters on specific schema can serve as quick reference for metadata practitioners who need specific and immediate guidance on each one. Miller presents three specific metadata schema in the book: Dublin Core, MODS, and VRA. The first chapter introduces the reader to the basic concept of metadata creation, with an explanation that metadata, whether in traditional cataloging or new schema, is created with the aim of assisting the user in searching, navigating, and locating specific resources (a point that many who do not see the need for any metadata creation would do well to heed). Miller presents many examples of types of metadata, including the traditional catalog record, the data present in iTunes, the metadata present in a Microsoft Word document, and the metadata created specifically for a digital object in a collection. He continues by defining the digital collection , with a brief explanation of how a digital collection is created; from there, he combines the two concepts presented in an overview of creating and documenting metadata for digital collections. The next three chapters concern the Dublin Core metadata scheme. Chapter 2 begins by discussing the general …