Adding Resource Records

1. Log into the portal using your login name and password, and then select the Metadata Tool.
2. Click on Add New Resource. The portal software will supply a cataloging form or template.
3. Complete form by filling in all metadata fields that are appropriate for your organization's needs. The required fields for Metadata Tool to establish a record are the URL, Title, Date Issued, Description, Date of Record Creation, and Date Record Checked.

   In some cases (e.g., Description), default values may be defined in the Administration database editor. In these cases, when a record is created without a field value, the default value is automatically supplied by the portal software. Default values may be overwritten by resource editors at any time. NOTE: Default values persist in a record after deletion in the portal administration database editor. This is the intended behavior, since there is no way to determine whether the value was assigned because it was the default, or because a resource administrator entered that value.

   If the Date of Record Creation and Date Record Checked are left blank, the software automatically enters the current date. More information on acceptable date form can be found in the Metadata Field Definitions section.

   Limited HTML tags are permitted to increase visual appeal in the Text and Paragraph field types. As the software is shipped these fields include: Title, Alternate Title, URL, Source, Relation, Coverage, Rights, Email Address, and Description. The allowable html tags include the following: bold <b>, italics <i>, underline <u>, strike <s>, anchor <a>, superscript <sup>, subscript <sub>, paragraph <p>, quote <q>, and preformatted text <pre>. An additional HTML tag is permitted in Paragraph type fields (for example, Description), break or <br> tag. Any <br> tags in text fields will be stripped after adding or updating the record in the Metadata Tool. Other than specifically allowed HTML markup, no text within these fields should be contained within angle brackets. NOTE: All HTML tags will be stripped from metadata harvested via RSS and OAI.

4. To assign Creator, Contributor, or Publisher names, click on the Add More Creators or Add More Publishers buttons. You will be prompted to search for an existing name already in the database. Enter a name, and click on the Search button.

   If that name matches names already existing in the Names table, a results list will be generated and returned. Check all the appropriate boxes, and click update. The Metadata Tool will add all names checked to the resource record. NOTE: It is important to remember that this table is populated by the user, so when you begin using it, there will be no names included (i.e., after supplied sample records are removed). As you add records, you will be adding names and will eventually build up the Names table.

   If that name does not exist [as will be the case often when you begin using the Metadata Tool], or none of the results are the correct name, you may then add that name to the table. The portal software's Metadata Tool allows for a Controlled Name and a Variant Name. A Controlled Name is an official form of a name applied to all records uniformly to avoid confusion or misidentification that may impede retrieval. The Variant Name is intended to record all other forms associated with the name including acronyms, honorary titles, dropped initials, diminutives, etc. Having both a Controlled Name and Variant Names allows all records associated with this name to be linked and also for editing easily across records. The ability to add all variants makes it possible to retrieve those name forms when searching for records. Multiple Variant Names are allowed within the field. NOTE: It is recommended practice to use a semi-colon to separate the distinct values of Variant Names.

5. Assigning a classification to a resource record is very similar to adding a new name, but in this case, use the Classification Table. If your portal has less than 250 classifications a dropdown menu will be available to chose classifications to add to the resource. If your portal has more than 250 classifications then you must click on the Add more Classifications button. This will bring you to a screen where you can check all the classifications you want and then assign them to the resource.
6. Complete other metadata fields (Source, Relation, Coverage, Rights, Email, etc.) as appropriate.
7. Select Resource Type(s), Language(s), Audience(s), and Format(s) from the drop down menus. You may select as many as appropriate. One default term may be selected for each of these Option Fields (or any Option type metadata field the portal administrator may add). Default term selection is done in the Edit Option List section of the Metadata Tool. Selecting a default will cause that term to be highlighted in the Metadata template when adding new resource records. Resource administrators may choose additional terms or deselect the default term for any resource record.
8. Images of .jpg, .gif, and .bmp file types (depending on what is supported by the PHP version installed on your web server) may be added to the record as an illustration or for other purposes. File selection begins using the Browse button found to the right of field. After selecting the image, the file name will automatically be added to the resource record. To complete the process, click on the Upload Image button. A small image (thumbnail) will appear within the resource record.

   Only one image may be added to each particular Screenshot field. Additional fields are required to accommodate additional images.

   After an image has been added to a record a Remove Image button will appear. To remove an image already associated with a resource record, simply click on this button. The desired image should then be deleted from the resource record.

   Portal developers are strongly encouraged to also complete the Screenshot Description field whenever adding an image(s) to a resource record. This field provides explanatory text for images and graphics. According to established guidelines of accessiblity for World Wide Web resources, images or graphics should always provide appropriate explanatory text to ensure that the image's meaning is understood by persons using screen reader software (generally those who are blind or with low vision). Completing this field is an easy method to incorporate this practice into portal development workflow without modification to HTML code.

   Additionally, the Screenshot Description field provides text that can be searched (when enabled by portal administrators) by the Keyword, Advanced Search, and Metadata Tool search engine.

9. The Release flag is used administratively to signify whether a record is complete and ready for 'public' viewing. If appropriate, depending on institutional work flow and other editorial factors, you can set the Release flag to 'approved' or 'not approved' for viewing.
10. Click Add Record button. This adds the completed new resource work from to the database linking it with other resources. The software modifies the Added by field automatically with the log in name of the appropriate resource administrator.