Case Examples of PBCore in Use Available for review in PBCore User Guide

How is PBCore being used in the Real World?

Over several years, representatives from Public Broadcasting public media and related institutions joined as a Working Group to craft what has become Version 1.1 of the Public Broadcasting Metadata Dictionary of descriptors for radio and television programs, as well as related digital and non-digital text, images, and rich media files.

In the presentation of the PBCore elements in the PBCore User Guide, each metadata element is identified by properties, including Name, Definition, Refinements & Encoding Schemes, Guidelines for Usage, Obligation to Use, Repeatability, Type of Data, and Examples.

While the examples included with the element-by-element definitions offer “samples at a glance,” what is missing are actual Use Cases outlining how various stations and organizations implement PBCore elements in their own workflows, program descriptions, production activities, promotions, and sharing. Reviewing actual implementations of the PBCore is valuable because it shows how our metadata building blocks are used in real-world applications.

Three fundamental concepts should be remembered as PBCore is implemented…

1. PBCore is an “enabler” metadata dictionary, and thus can foster cataloging and data sharing capabilities across a variety of information systems
2. Metadata is an integral part of day-to-day workflows, and should not be treated as an after-thought or add-on feature to established and emerging work cultures within an organization
3. Metadata is always applied within some sort of context, and often requires reshaping to function within a unique specification or implementation

Included in our Case Examples are PBS, Public Radio Satellite Service-ContentDepot, HD Public Radio Program Service Data (PSD), NDIIP, MIC-Moving Image Collections, Wisconsin Public Television Media Library Online, Democracy Now!, Iowa Public Television, Traffic & Program Scheduling Software, KQED Public Radio, Stanford University News Service, WGCU Public Media, WILL AM-FM-TV, NET-Nebraska Learning Services, OMN-Open Media Network, the Utah Education Network, and the NETA MediaExchange Project. (http://pbcore.org/PBCore/PBCore_CaseExamples.html)