How we use PBCore
In our production facility we use the PBCore metadata standard in our media library database. The database includes completed programs, masters of story segments, and b-roll that we’ve decided to keep because it is historically relevant, generic and therefore reusable in other stories, and will support future revisits to a particular story.
The most detailed metadata is added to the assets at end of the workflow when the tape is given to the media library upon completion of the program. However, metadata is also added at other points in the lifecycle of the asset. For example, producers add important metadata (like title, creator, formatID, date created, aspect ratio, contributor, plus local fields) when they return with a tape from the field.
We’ve been experimenting with adding metadata to files that stay on the Avid Interplay in the Catalogs folder. This is b-roll that was previously acquired and includes footage of manufacturing, education, state legislature, etc.—material that will definitely be used again and will need quick accessibility. This metadata is valuable but not a complete PBCore record.
The software for our media library database is free and available at http://scout.wisc.edu/Projects/CWIS/. Setting up the database to include all the PBCore fields and local fields was not difficult. While PBCore now allows for multiple instantiations to be added to one record, this software does not allow for that. Nor does it allow for adding low resolution viewing copies of the asset. We are researching a new solution to CWIS so we can incorporate PBCore’s new attributes more fully.
Why we use PBCore
PBCore provides a thorough and detailed metadata standard in our online database (http://wptmedialibrary.wisc.edu) for cataloging assets, and improving findability. This database is meant to:
- Serve in-house needs by providing production staff access to content in our archive
- Provide a deeper level of intellectual control of our assets
- Reflect the totality of our archival holdings (eventually)
PBCore metadata from this database can be exported in PBCore XML and shared with other databases.
Contact Information
Ann Wilkens
Wisconsin Public Television
608-263-4516
wilkens@wpt.org
