Metadata
Dublin Core
I used Dublin Core as the metadata ontology for my item set. I chose Dublin Core because of its wide-ranging yet manageable options for elements. For my Resource Template, I chose the selected class of Physical Object because the majority of objects in the collection fall under this category. However, I also used the Image class where appropriate (for trade cards and posters). I created alternate labels for 2 elements as well in order to make the metadata more user-friendly for a casual learning audience.
Metadata Fields
I included the following 14 Dublin Core metadata fields in my Resource Template:
Title
Title of the object as provided by the original institution.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context. Since the original institutions use different identifier formats, I created a naming convention for the collection.
Identifier naming convention:
• 2022. [year created]
• JL. [my initials]
• PM[Patent Medicine]
• P [Packaging] or A [Advertisement].
• ## [based on number of resources in that category--there are 3 for Advertisements and 7 for Packaging].
Ex: 2022.JL.PMP.01
Description
Any description of the object provided by the original institution, enriched by me when necessary through additional image examination and research.
Creator
The company, individual, or artist that created the object, provided by the original institution and supplemented by my own research when necessary.
Contributor
Any additional entity that contributed to the object, provided by the original institution. Many of the objects in the collection have an associated pharmacy (in the case of packaging) or artist (in the case of advertisements), so I felt it important to include a Contributor field.
Date Created
Approximate date the object was created, provided by the original institution and supplemented by my own research when necessary.
Format (alt: Dimensions)
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource, provided by the original institution. As indicated by the alternate label, in the case of this project "Format" refers to the physical measurements of the object. I added an alternate label because I felt "Format" was too vague of a description for the field, and the meaning would not be readily apparent to anyone browsing the collection.
Medium
The material or physical carrier of the resource, based on information from the original institution and augmented by my own observations.
Spatial Coverage (alt: Location Created)
Spatial characteristics of the resource, provided by the original institution and supplemented by my own research when necessary. I also added an alternate label for this field as I felt "Spatial Coverage" was overly ambiguous.
Subject
The topic of the resource, which is a combination of terms assigned to the object by the original institution and my own cataloging.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource. I utilized URIs from rightsstatements.org to maintain consistency.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived. The "Source" for each object in this collection is the name of the original institution where I located the resource.
Relation
A related resource. In the case of this collection, the Relation is a link to the object record on the original institution's website (or a URI when available).
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. Many of the objects in the collection were gifted to their original institution by a donor, and I felt it important to preserve this information in the interest of provenance.
Controlled Vocabularies
Because of the scientific and artistic aspects of my item set, I chose a combination of Library of Congress and Getty thesauri for my project. Especially since most of these products are from the United States, I figured the LCSH would prove useful in identifying subjects and names. I used controlled vocabularies for many of my metadata fields to ensure the item set could be easily searched.
The controlled thesauri used in building my collection, along with their corresponding metadata fields, are as follows:
- Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Subject
- Getty: The Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT): Medium, Subject
- Library of Congress Name Authority File: Creator, Contributor
- Getty: The Union List of Artist Names (ULAN): Creator, Contributor
- Getty: The Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN): Location Created
Additional Process Notes
I found it important to list known active ingredients in the object descriptions due to the presence and significance of addictive substances like alcohol and cocaine in patent medicines (and to underline how present they often were in children's medicines). Hopefully this makes for easier collection research.
The medium field really underlined for me the complexity of cataloging objects like medicine bottles, taking into account vessel, stopper, label, etc.
I used a few subjects across all objects for consistency, namely Patent medicines and Drugs, Nonprescription. In terms of ailments the drugs are meant to treat, I decided to use broader terms for treatments when available for consistency and easy searching across the collection (i.e. Pediatric oral medicine or Women--Health and hygiene--United States). If specific illnesses were listed on an advertisement or label, I included those as well (i.e. Bright's disease or Catarrh). When controlled terms for treatment categories weren't available, I used the most applicable broad term for diseases (i.e. Kidneys--Diseases or Menstruation disorders).
Additionally, I used Postman and the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) API to get and import metadata for 14 resources into my collection.