Application of the IEEE Learning Object Metadata Standard to Multimedia Folklore Collections: Its Implications for Humanities Education

by Clair, Kevin M.

This paper investigates the current trends which exist in digital libraries in the humanities regarding their suitability for structured educational use, including the extent to which faculty collaboration affects digital library development, the proportion of total use of these libraries comprised by students, and the preparations which both librarians and faculty have made to encourage this use.

Based on the findings of these investigations, recommendations were made for the implementation of the IEEE Learning Object Metadata standard within the Southern Stories project, a multimedia folklore collection with a strong educational component. The results of these suggestions, as well as the negotiation of technical and pedagogical limitations which stand in their way, hold implications for the future of metadata development for all digital collections with a disciplinary focus in the humanities.