Book excerpt: Metadata in library information environments is evolving rapidly. This book provides readers with a set of tools for designing, developing, and implementing metadata-rich information systems while also examining the challenges and opportunities in this field. As the world of library and information science has developed in the age of digital information, metadata and metadata-rich information systems have become increasingly important—and more complex and confusing. This book will enable students, instructors, and practitioners in the information science field to understand how these new systems and standards will impact their careers and professions. Author Erik Mitchell explores definitions of information and presents an up-to-date consideration of user needs in information systems to provide necessary background before moving on to in-depth discussions of metadata, information organization practice, and information system design. Each chapter incorporates hands-on activities to complement the reading material, allowing readers to build technical skills alongside the important conceptual learning in this content area. Readers will gain conceptual understanding and skills that will allow them to analyze and transform structured data, develop metadata-rich information systems, and design systems with user needs and digital literacies in mind. This book is intended for library and information science students taking information organization, metadata, or other core "digital cataloging" classes, but will also be highly useful for professionals seeking to learn the details of metadata systems and theory using a hands-on approach.