Welcome to DC-2014 in Austin, Texas! This gathering of researchers, practitioners and students of metadata for the annual meeting and conference of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) marks the twenty-second formal meeting of our community. It also marks the end of a year of reinvention and reimagining of the way DCMI works, manifested in large part through a return to the organizational model found in the early years of the initiative, with responsibility for direction and management resting in the hands and minds of the membership.
Much of the groundwork for this re-envisioning came from meetings of the Advisory Board held at the annual meeting in Lisbon last year, and has been shepherded through early stages by the newly elected officers of the Advisory Board, the newly named Governing Board (formerly the Oversight Committee), and the newly formed Technical Board, along with critical assistance from our current Managing Director, Stuart Sutton. We believe the end outcome will be a stronger, member-driven organization that opens new doors for ideas and initiatives that will build on the strengths and reputation DCMI has already established in the international community.
The program this year has a number of new innovations designed to foster this goal, ranging from the Best Practice Posters & Demonstrations, which will showcase concrete examples of current practice in metadata applications, to the Next Generation Metadata Specialist Program, which provides an opportunity for emerging professionals to network with veterans throughout the conference. As always, there are many opportunities to catch up with some of the boundary-pushing technical work being accomplished by task groups and your colleagues in their everyday work, as well as pre- and post-conference workshops and tutorials. Many thanks to the program committee and chairs for creating a stimulating and diverse program this year.
As you participate in this year's conference we hope that you will think about how you can contribute to the growth and strengthening of DCMI in the coming year—through contributions to the technical work and outreach being accomplished by task groups, by volunteering to take on a role as a chair or co-chair of one of the Standing Committees or the Technical or Advisory Board, by helping engage new members or re-engage old participants, or just by joining as an Individual Member to help support the important work DCMI is doing that we all benefit from in our own activities during the rest of the year.
I personally hope that many of you will also take advantage of the opportunity to add your voice and support to the background work critical to keeping DCMI alive and thriving by attending the Annual Meeting on Saturday October 11th. Active members are important in keeping the initiative moving ahead, and this is a chance to join in that work and meet some of the people who contribute their time and effort to making it possible for all of us to reap the benefits of the thought and creativity engendered through DCMI's activities.
We are sure that you will find the conference and meeting exciting and that you will leave Austin with an even greater commitment to the work DCMI is doing, and a deeper engagement with your colleagues in the world of metadata throughout the coming year. Enjoy!!
Michael Crandall, Chair, DCMI Governing Board
DCMI's work is supported, promoted and improved by « Member organizations » around the world:
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DCMI's annual meeting and conference addresses models, technologies and applications of metadata
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