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Metadata Input Guidelines: Note

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Element Name

Note

Definition

A “catch-all” field for additional information that cannot be entered or does not fit well in other elements.

Where Can the Note Information be Found?

For any item type, information that goes into the note field can come from any part of the item including:

  • the cover
  • the title page
  • table of contents
  • handwritten notes on pages or images
  • examining or reading the text of the item (e.g., inconsistent page numbers)
  • supplementary or accompanying information

How Note Works in the Metadata Form

Parts:
1. Note type – drop-down menu
2. Note – text field
Repeatable?
Yes - clicking ‘Add’ repeats all field parts

How Should the Note be Filled in?

General (Display) Note

Guideline Example
  • Include any important information about the item that does not fit in other fields
  • As appropriate, include a contextual statement to clarify the information source
 The original contains a silk fiber sample.
  • Put information in quotations when it is taken directly from the source
 "Issued May 11, 1918."
Text at top of map: "A three-mile breakwater, seventeen feet above mean low tide, sixteen feet at the base and five feet at top."
  • Include Roman numerals from the title


(Also see Serials and Series regarding normalized titles.) 		"Vol. IV."
"Vol. II, No. 3."
  • Include notes about non-standard or inconsistent page numbers, missing pages, or other oddities
 The original document is missing pages 15 and 16.
"Volume LXX" on title page is a misprint. It should be "Volume LXXI"
  • Include accompanying information that may have come from a source or physical container, e.g., text written on the sleeve of a negative
 "51-JR-41" written on sleeve.
Accompanying information: "Tractor given to him by Mrs. Dick Mitchell."
  • It might be useful to include background information that relates to the item but is not directly important enough to be put in the content description such as:
    • biographical information about the creator or person in an image
    • history of a pictured building or location
    • collection-level or contextual information
    • etc.
 The chautauqua movement was a "popular U.S. movement in adult education that flourished during the late 19th and early 20th centuries....At first entirely religious in nature, the program was gradually broadened to include general education, recreation, and popular entertainment" - from Encyclopedia Britannica.

George Gamble was named one of the honorees of the 1993 Dallas’ Black Living Legends. Gamble has been recognized for his work within the pharmaceutical community, owning and operating his own businesses and his own product line, GAMCO.

Metadata (Non-Displaying) Note

  • Metadata notes are not visible to the public, but are used for any information important to internal maintenance of records or relevant to the original items
Guideline Example

This may be an appropriate place to include notes about:

  • decisions to include (or not include) particular information
  • preservation information about the physical items
  • donor or provenance information
  • relevant private personal information (e.g., addresses or contact information) that should not be public
  • administrative or digitization information
 Shortened title was chosen for official title to facilitate discovery.

Conserved in 2002 with donation funds

Provenance: ca. Guerrero.

Other Examples

Display Notes

  • Digitization completed by Digital Daring Inc. under contract to the University of North Texas Libraries.
  • Performed in Hebrew with English subtitles.
  • “Volume II.”
  • Pages numbered consecutively though each volume.
  • Earlier volumes of this journal (Volume 1, Number 1 through Volume 27, Number 1) were published under the title ‘Chemical Literature’.
  • A related image is available in the Portal at 4.0084c.
  • Earlier images of this site are available in Mr. Goin’s collection at 4.0123a and 6.0018b.
  • Distributed to some depository libraries in microfiche.
  • At head of title: Committee print.
  • Does not show western Texas beyond 7 miles west of San Antonio.
  • Purchased with funds provided by the Friends of the UNT Libraries.
  • “HR-2555”

Non-Displaying Notes

  • There was accompanying information not included in the record because it did not appear to match the item.
  • Unverified creator due to conflicting information on duplicate copies.
  • This does not appear to actually be a photo of the Livingston-Hess House, though it is similar.

Resources

More Guidelines: