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Lost Identity – Metadata Presence in Online Bookstores

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Metadata and Semantic Research (MTSR 2017)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 755))

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Abstract

Book metadata plays an important role in discovering, identifying and selecting books in the online bookstores. While there is a link between good book description and sales, an insufficient description may make a book unfindable and therefore lost. There are many recommendations and guidelines regarding the book metadata to be included in the book description but not much is known about which information is actually available to end users. To get an overview of the current situation we conducted an expert study and examined American and Slovenian bookstores. We were mostly interested in the presence and the form of various metadata elements in online bookstores. The results show that all bookstores provide basic information, but many lack enhanced book information, which was evident especially in Slovenian sample. What is more, we found that metadata is mostly descriptive and does not allow users to navigate through the webpage and explore the collection. The results offer an insight in the actual situation on two book markets and open new research questions for publishers as well as for librarians.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Library and Information Science and Book Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Tjaša Jug & Maja Žumer

Authors
  1. Tjaša Jug
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  2. Maja Žumer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tjaša Jug .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Library Science and Information Systems, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece

    Emmanouel Garoufallou

  2. School of Digital Technologies, Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia

    Sirje Virkus

  3. Department of Library Science and Information Systems, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece

    Rania Siatri

  4. American Farm School, Thessanloniki, Greece

    Damiana Koutsomiha

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Jug, T., Žumer, M. (2017). Lost Identity – Metadata Presence in Online Bookstores. In: Garoufallou, E., Virkus, S., Siatri, R., Koutsomiha, D. (eds) Metadata and Semantic Research. MTSR 2017. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 755. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70863-8_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70863-8_15

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-70862-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-70863-8

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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