Mastering Metadata for Digital Preservation

This workshop responds to a need to equip digital preservation professionals, archivists, librarians, data managers, and researchers with essential technical skills to efficiently clean, standardise, and enrich metadata to streamline their workflows and expand the reach of their collections.

In today’s cultural heritage environments, messy and inconsistent metadata can be a professional’s bump in the road. Long, tedious hours spent manually fixing errors and consolidating fields could be spent enhancing a collection’s discoverability and long-term access. 

This workshop is ideal if you're seeking hands-on approaches to transforming data, enhancing interoperability, conforming to metadata standards, and improving the sustainability of your metadata practices. Whether you’re new to metadata or looking to refine your existing workflows, this interactive session provides space to explore real-world challenges alongside peers. 

Topics Covered

Identifying and resolving issues in messy metadata using OpenRefine, including but limited to:  

• Inconsistent naming and date formats.
• Clustering and merging equivalent values.
• Complex data transformations.
• Custom and templated exports of clean data.
• Enhancing metadata interoperability by reconciling to controlled vocabularies. 
• Crosswalking between metadata standards (e.g., Dublin Core, MARC) through intellectual mapping and semi-automated workflow creation.
• Implementing metadata standards such as PREMIS
• Real-world problem solving with sample archival datasets. 

Key Activities

• Hands-On Session 1: Foundational metadata wrangling with OpenRefine
• Hands-On Session 2: Crosswalks and metadata standards
• Collaborative Challenge: Applying skills to a new dataset
• Group Sharing & Reflection: Insights, tools, and ongoing development 

Please note time and date August 28, 2027, 11am-3:30pm

Frequently Asked Questions 

Do I need any technical background? 
No advanced technical knowledge is required. Basic familiarity with metadata concepts is helpful, but all tools will be introduced in an accessible, step-by-step format. 

Are there discounted places available? 
Yes—we are able to evaluate cases for discounted places, particularly for participants from Official Development Assistance (ODA) countries. Please email digitalpreservation@soton.ac.uk with a brief note on your situation and we will offer you a discounted ticket. 

Can I pay via invoice or purchase order? 

We ask that you please attempt to use the online store to issue payments wherever possible. If you do require an invoice, please send us an email at digitalpreservation@soton.ac.uk with plenty of advance so we can get the process started for you.

Payment using the Online Store can only be completed via Visa and Mastercard Credit/Debit Card or PayPal.  AMEX is not accepted
If you have not previously created an account for the Online Store, you will need to create an account to make a booking.

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