In so many metadata options of an eBook, which of them are essential for you?

ForsCream · 12-28-2014, 10:38 PM

Hello folks, Happy New Year at first.

I am working on a project about eBook metadata, now I can get about 25-30 metadata elements from multiple sources, and I am confused which of them are necessary.

So I start a poll here, help you can vote the metadata elements which are important/essential for you. This will help me a lot.

Thank you in advance

BWinmill · 12-28-2014, 10:53 PM

As a reader I use: title, author, and series. They help me find the books that I want to read and are reliable. Of the rest, I can file them in three categories: variable quality (e.g. covers), inconsistent availability (e.g. categories), or not of interest (e.g. ISBN). Of course, a lot of metadata will fall into two or more of those categories.

Ripplinger · 12-29-2014, 12:17 AM

For me it's about the same: title, author and series, and I also like a decent cover. By "decent" I mean not pixelated when filling the screen, but compressed correctly so it's never over 100kb or so. I downloaded one book from my public library with a 7mb cover, 6000 x 9000 pixels... ridiculous when a cover is more than 10x the size of the reading content.

susan_cassidy · 12-29-2014, 12:39 AM

I don't think that series is an officially supported metadata field, certainly not for Kindle books. It is in Calibre, but not in the book itself. I suspect several other of your fields have the same issue.

meeera · 12-29-2014, 01:44 AM

I always make sure I have title, author, series, blurb, and a good cover.

crich70 · 12-29-2014, 01:54 AM

Title, author,publisher, publication date, # of pages, cover, # in series (if a series), other - genre and if a short story or novel.

Jellby · 12-29-2014, 03:48 AM

title, author, language, publication date (original), description, cover and series (I wish it were standard).

HarryT · 12-29-2014, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

I don't think that series is an officially supported metadata field, certainly not for Kindle books. It is in Calibre, but not in the book itself. I suspect several other of your fields have the same issue.

Absolutely right. Series info doesn't form part of the Dublin Core Metadata standard, which is what ePub (and Mobi too, for that matter) uses.

DaleDe · 12-29-2014, 02:02 PM

Since there are standards for ePub I must use all of the required standards whether I particularly use them or not. I do like a description although most eBook readers won't allow me to display it. Some publishers might use it for an online description of the book but most want it separately I believe. I like lots of metadata, in particular the publish date for copyright determination is useful. rights was not listed in your list but is useful for the same purpose. You should really look at our wiki and view the Dublin Core list of applicable entries. Subject (genre) is also needed but not in your list.

Dale

JSWolf · 12-29-2014, 08:03 PM

What I find is good to have is author, title, publisher, publish date, cover (as some programs need this to be able to pick out the cover image), description, and language.

Hitch · 12-30-2014, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Absolutely right. Series info doesn't form part of the Dublin Core Metadata standard, which is what ePub (and Mobi too, for that matter) uses.

+1. What Calibre allows and what is actual DC metadata are not the same thing.

Hitch

GreyCat · 01-02-2015, 07:57 PM

When I upload a book to Calibre there are some fields that I will always fill out before I consider the job done.

From Calibre standard setup: title, author, series and series order (if relevant), tag and description.

I have also added some additional metadata to my Calibre setup that I always fill in: purchase date (month, year), read (yes/no), store (or download source, e.g. Amazon, Kobo). I will also include word count if easily available.

BetterRed · 01-03-2015, 04:56 PM

This is for ePubs,

I move any blurb from calibre's Comments (dc: description) to a custom element called blurb/Blurb.
I strip all non-dc elements and the cover with the calibre Modify plugin
I insert a full metadata jacket that includes some of my custom columns at the back of the book using a plugin I hacked out of an old version of Modify.

Good luck with your project. Maybe when its done you could post your findings, I assume this isn't your sole source of information.

BR

ForsCream · 01-04-2015, 04:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Since there are standards for ePub I must use all of the required standards whether I particularly use them or not. I do like a description although most eBook readers won't allow me to display it. Some publishers might use it for an online description of the book but most want it separately I believe. I like lots of metadata, in particular the publish date for copyright determination is useful. rights was not listed in your list but is useful for the same purpose. You should really look at our wiki and view the Dublin Core list of applicable entries. Subject (genre) is also needed but not in your list.

Dale

The reason I didn't list the "Genre" is because it is not a "standard tag", in all the sources I can find, none of them provide a tag called "genre", but "category" or "tag" instead, I don't think they can replace "genre" perfectly.

E.g., for "category", I may get "fiction", "child", "new arrival", obviously, "new arrival" is not a "genre" but just a category in an online book shop. For "tag", I may get "horror" "stephen king" "best of 2014" from Goodreads API, but "stephen king" "best of 2014" are all tags tagged by Goodreads users, not a "genre".

If you can tell where to get correct "genre" information I will be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

I didn't imagine that copyright-related metadata is important, that's why I didn't list them, looks like I am wrong.

Thank you for the valuable information.

DaleDe · 01-04-2015, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForsCream

The reason I didn't list the "Genre" is because it is not a "standard tag", in all the sources I can find, none of them provide a tag called "genre", but "category" or "tag" instead, I don't think they can replace "genre" perfectly.

E.g., for "category", I may get "fiction", "child", "new arrival", obviously, "new arrival" is not a "genre" but just a category in an online book shop. For "tag", I may get "horror" "stephen king" "best of 2014" from Goodreads API, but "stephen king" "best of 2014" are all tags tagged by Goodreads users, not a "genre".

If you can tell where to get correct "genre" information I will be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

I didn't imagine that copyright-related metadata is important, that's why I didn't list them, looks like I am wrong.

Thank you for the valuable information.

The reason I put in in parenthesis just after subject is that it is done in the subject dc metadata.

Dale

View Poll Results: The metadata elements important/essential for you? (Multiple choice)
isbn	14	33.33%
title	42	100.00%
subtitle	11	26.19%
authors	42	100.00%
publisher	15	35.71%
published_date	20	47.62%
description	19	45.24%
isbn_10	2	4.76%
isbn_13	3	7.14%
asin	1	2.38%
pages	14	33.33%
book_type	6	14.29%
rating	5	11.90%
language	15	35.71%
categories	11	26.19%
small_thumbnail	0	0%
thumbnail	1	2.38%
cover	31	73.81%
small	0	0%
medium	2	4.76%
large	0	0%
extra_large	2	4.76%
series	32	76.19%
edition	7	16.67%
Other metadata: please leave it in comment	6	14.29%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 42. You may not vote on this poll

12-28-2014, 10:38 PM	#1
ForsCream Connoisseur Posts: 63 Karma: 495132 Join Date: Jun 2012 Device: iPad, Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite	In so many metadata options of an eBook, which of them are essential for you? Hello folks, Happy New Year at first. I am working on a project about eBook metadata, now I can get about 25-30 metadata elements from multiple sources, and I am confused which of them are necessary. So I start a poll here, help you can vote the metadata elements which are important/essential for you. This will help me a lot. Thank you in advance

12-29-2014, 02:02 PM	#9
DaleDe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,470 Karma: 13095790 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Grass Valley, CA Device: EB 1150, EZ Reader, Literati, iPad 2 & Air 2, iPhone 7	Since there are standards for ePub I must use all of the required standards whether I particularly use them or not. I do like a description although most eBook readers won't allow me to display it. Some publishers might use it for an online description of the book but most want it separately I believe. I like lots of metadata, in particular the publish date for copyright determination is useful. rights was not listed in your list but is useful for the same purpose. You should really look at our wiki and view the Dublin Core list of applicable entries. Subject (genre) is also needed but not in your list. Dale Last edited by DaleDe; 12-29-2014 at 02:06 PM.

01-03-2015, 04:56 PM	#13
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 21,718 Karma: 29711016 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	This is for ePubs, I move any blurb from calibre's Comments (dc: description) to a custom element called blurb/Blurb. I strip all non-dc elements and the cover with the calibre Modify plugin I insert a full metadata jacket that includes some of my custom columns at the back of the book using a plugin I hacked out of an old version of Modify. Good luck with your project. Maybe when its done you could post your findings, I assume this isn't your sole source of information. BR Last edited by BetterRed; 01-03-2015 at 05:03 PM.

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12-28-2014, 10:53 PM	#2
BWinmill Nameless Being	As a reader I use: title, author, and series. They help me find the books that I want to read and are reliable. Of the rest, I can file them in three categories: variable quality (e.g. covers), inconsistent availability (e.g. categories), or not of interest (e.g. ISBN). Of course, a lot of metadata will fall into two or more of those categories.

12-29-2014, 12:17 AM	#3
Ripplinger 350 Hoarder Posts: 3,574 Karma: 8281267 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Midwest USA Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Glo & Glo HD, PW2	For me it's about the same: title, author and series, and I also like a decent cover. By "decent" I mean not pixelated when filling the screen, but compressed correctly so it's never over 100kb or so. I downloaded one book from my public library with a 7mb cover, 6000 x 9000 pixels... ridiculous when a cover is more than 10x the size of the reading content.

12-29-2014, 12:39 AM	#4
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	I don't think that series is an officially supported metadata field, certainly not for Kindle books. It is in Calibre, but not in the book itself. I suspect several other of your fields have the same issue.

12-29-2014, 01:44 AM	#5
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,814 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	I always make sure I have title, author, series, blurb, and a good cover.

12-29-2014, 01:54 AM	#6
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	Title, author,publisher, publication date, # of pages, cover, # in series (if a series), other - genre and if a short story or novel.

12-29-2014, 03:48 AM	#7
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,548 Karma: 19500001 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	title, author, language, publication date (original), description, cover and series (I wish it were standard).

12-29-2014, 08:03 PM	#10
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,740 Karma: 145864619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	What I find is good to have is author, title, publisher, publish date, cover (as some programs need this to be able to pick out the cover image), description, and language.

01-02-2015, 07:57 PM	#12
GreyCat Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 1721 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Oslo, Norway Device: Cybook Gen3 & Opus, Sony PRS-650, Sony PRS-T1	When I upload a book to Calibre there are some fields that I will always fill out before I consider the job done. From Calibre standard setup: title, author, series and series order (if relevant), tag and description. I have also added some additional metadata to my Calibre setup that I always fill in: purchase date (month, year), read (yes/no), store (or download source, e.g. Amazon, Kobo). I will also include word count if easily available.

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