This new edition offers a fully updated and expanded overview of the field of information organization, examining the description of information resources as both a product and process of the contemporary digital environment.

Information Resource Description, 2nd edition explains how the various elements and values of descriptive metadata support a set of common information retrieval functions across a wide range of environments. Through this unifying framework, the book provides an integrated commentary on the various fields and practices of information organization carried out by today’s information professionals and end-users.

Updates to the first edition include coverage of:



recent scholarship published in the field

linked open linked data initiatives such as BIBFRAME

the new IFLA Library Reference Model and its five user tasks

current versions of the key metadata standards

contemporary discovery tools and approaches.


The book is intended for LIS students taking information organization courses at either undergraduate and postgraduate levels, information professionals wishing to specialize in the field, and existing metadata specialists who wish to update their knowledge.