Metadata plays an important role in the discovery, access, and use of materials in institutional repositories (IRs). Thus far, little empirical research been conducted to assess and evaluate metadata quality practices in place. This study begins to address that gap in knowledge by gathering data on current practices and procedures relating to metadata quality and evaluation in institutional repositories. A survey was distributed to individuals at ARL-member institutional repositories with knowledge of their institution's metadata procedures. The survey specifically gathered data on what metadata practices were in place and whether quality control procedures were being used. Forty respondents provided results that offer a state of the art view into the current metadata quality practices in place at IRs. Survey results indicate that metadata activities may not yet be streamlined into institutional workflow. For most institutions, metadata quality checking is a manual process, with only a small percentage (4%) employing the use of automated tools. Additionally, institutions rely on users as much as repository to staff to discover quality problems. Other results indicate that the majority of institutions surveyed are maintaining documentation relating to metadata policies. For example, 75% of respondents reported that their institution had developed either minimum metadata requirements or metadata submission guidelines for contributors. Overall, these results reflect the challenges and growing pains facing institutions as they adapt to managing materials in the digital world
