Determining a metadata schema and valuable user interface will be continually developed due to issues with preservation and user accessibility. It will employ the best of different organizational techniques specifically for the unique subject that we are organizing in this archive.

Our approach to organization will hopefully make users’ experience with the archive an interactive yet academically fulfilling one. Users will, from the beginning of the archive’s release, have the option of traditional browsing, using a pre-coordinated system of organization. Later on, we will add on post-coordinated elements as interest in user participation increases. For a simple explanation for pre- and post-coordinated systems, C M Sperberg-McQueen addresses the advantages and uses of both in A Companion to Digital Humanities ¹. Memes will be pre-coordinated using a modified Dublin Core format. The memes will be categorized using the following categories:



Title
Creator
Subject
Description
Contributor
Date
Type
Format
Identifier
Source
Language
Coverage

The creator section will list the creator of the original image that inspired the meme is that is applicable. The contributor section will state the first place the image that inspired the meme appeared on the Internet. The Date section will actually label the span of dates the meme is estimated to have been established and distributed. The Type section will simply be labeled as image. The format will be in .jpeg because of that format’s universality and familiarity. The identifier of the meme will be an arbitrary number. The source will not be used except in cases of famous photos used for a meme. The language will be labeled as English in almost all cases.

Typical elements in the Dublin Core format that will not be used are publisher, relation, and rights due to the nature of memes. Those elements do not typically apply to them. If the project becomes successful, we will add more additional organizational elements such as monitored open tagging to enhance users’ experiences and to include users in participating with the archive. Users who wish to participated in the archive, they will have to register with the archive’s administrators. Registered users will have the ability to tag meme entries with keywords and also they will have the ability to submit new entries and information. Consideration for the suggestions and additions by our registered users will be supervised by a select board of website administrators. They will be appointed to oversee and edit the updated content added by users over time and approve or reject additions to the archive. They will also oversee the tags added over time, editing our list of customized Dublin Core standards as the demands of our subject evolve.  This all encompassing approach will doubtless have to be tweaked with practice since this is an ongoing project. More details can be found on the Subject Access Content page.

Hopefully we can utilize the best of of casual browsing, detailed query searches, and user interaction together to attract our diverse user audience and keep the context of memes present for our users. Our attitude though is to always be aware of changes in user needs so we can change to meet them.

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¹Sperberg-McQueen, C. M. (2004). Classification and its Structures. In S. Schreibman, R. Siemens, & J. Unsworth (Eds.), A Companion to Digital Humanities. Oxford: Blackwell. Retrieved December 10, 2012, from http://www.digitalhumanities.org/companion/