Creating Metadata for Children's Resources: Issues, Research, and Current Developments

A key challenge to retrieval in any type of system is how to represent the resources appropriately so that the user(s) can fi nd what they are looking for. In systems being used by children, as well as those designed specifi cally for children, there exist two fundamental representation problems: (1) the metadata or representation scheme of the system may not be designed with this specifi c user group in mind, and (2) few age-appropriate controlled vocabularies exist for use in creating metadata. Existing research in these two problem areas and the impact on the users’ information seeking and retrieval experiences are presented. Current projects and developments, and the contribution that the users themselves can provide, will give the reader further insight into the issues and potential opportunities for research and application. Introduction Children1 have unique information needs and information-seeking strategies (Walter, 1994). In today’s increasingly digital world, children have access to a wide variety of resources in many different formats. They access information by using a variety of information retrieval systems such as library online public access catalogs (OPACs), online database systems, and the Internet and/or the World Wide Web (WWW). Within the Web environment, children can now access specialized collections of resources in digital libraries, subject directories, and Web portals that are designed specifi cally for their use. Increasingly, children prefer digital resources to locate information for school, to surf for entertainment, and to locate personal information (Levin & Arafeh, 2002; D’Elia, Abbas, Bishop, & Rodger, 2004). Creating Metadata for Children’s Resources: Issues, Research, and Current Developments