Reflections on a Decade of Metadata Consensus Building

Stuart L. Weibel, until June part of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative management team, writes:  "... There is much talk of taxonomies, their strengths, and deficiencies these days and in fact the emergence of 'folksonomies' hints at a sea change in the use of vocabularies to improve organization and discovery. The Dublin Core community has struggled with the role of controlled vocabularies, how to declare and use them, and how important (or impotent?) they might be. The notion that uncontrolled vocabularies – community-based, emergent vocabularies – might play an important role in aggregation and discovery occasions a certain discomfort for those schooled in formal information management. Whether it is just the latest fad, or an important emerging trend, remains to be seen. ..."  Link:  D-Lib Magazine.