Primary Research Group has published Survey of Academic Library Special Collections: Trends in Metadata & Remediation, a new report examining metadata standards, legacy metadata quality, remediation projects, linked data and BIBFRAME preparation, automated metadata extraction, staffing, cross-department coordination, and the scale of metadata remediation needs in academic library special collections.
The report finds that metadata work is widely recognized as important but remains unevenly staffed and systematized. EAD is the leading standard, used by 53.85% of respondents, while MODS is far less common, used by only 11.54%. EAD use rises with institutional scale, reaching 66.67% among institutions with more than 40,000 students.
Legacy metadata quality is a major concern. No respondents are very satisfied with the quality of legacy metadata. 34.62% are satisfied, 38.46% are neutral, 19.23% are dissatisfied, and 7.69% are very dissatisfied. The largest institutions are the most dissatisfied: among those with more than 40,000 students, 50.00% are dissatisfied and 16.67% are very dissatisfied.
Metadata remediation activity is limited. Only 19.23% have active metadata remediation projects, while 30.77% have active projects that are under-resourced. Fully 50.00% have no active metadata remediation projects, even though more than one-third of respondents report that at least one-quarter of their metadata requires remediation.
Preparation for next-generation metadata workflows remains early-stage. Only 11.54% are preparing for linked data or BIBFRAME workflows, while 26.92% are exploring options and 61.54% are not preparing. Automated metadata extraction tools are also uncommon: 15.38% currently use them, while 19.23% are planning adoption.
Staffing is one of the central bottlenecks. 34.62% of respondents have only 0–0.9 FTE supporting metadata creation or remediation, and 30.77% have 1–1.9 FTE. No respondents report 6+ FTE. Cross-department coordination is also weak-to-mixed: 30.77% are satisfied or very satisfied, while 38.46% are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.