1. Richard Sapon-White
March 11, 2013

2. Scheme:
A set of metadata elements and the rules for their
use that have been defined for a particular
purpose
2

3.  Dublin Core Metadata  Government
Element Set (DC) Information Locator
 Visual Resources Service Profile
Association Core  GEM (Gateway to
Categories (VRA) Educational
 Encoded Archival Materials)
Description (EAD)  ONIX
 Data Documentation  Content Standard for
Initiative Digital Geospatial
Metadata (CSDGM)
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4.  Semantics – meanings of metadata elements
 Content rules – selection and representation of
metadata element content
 Syntax – encoding of elements
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5.  AACR2 specifies element names and definitions
(e.g., author, other title information, publisher)
[semantics]
 AACR2 also specifies content rules (e.g.,
selection and representation of author names)
 ISBD and MARC specify syntax
◦ 245 $a Title : $b other title information / $c author.
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6.  Some schemes can accommodate multiple
content standards
Examples:
DC + DACS + LCSH
DC + AACR2 + LCSH
MARC + AACR2 + MeSH

7.  Documenting the creation, version, and reuse of
information resources
 Organization and description
 Validation – documenting the authoritativeness or
trustworthiness of the information resource
 Search and retrieval
 Utilization and preservation
 Accessioning and deaccessioning

8.  Is metadata always digital?
◦ No. Metadata can also exists in paper form.
 Is metadata always descriptive?
◦ No. Metadata can also record the creation,
management, preservation, and history of an
information resource.
 True or False: Metadata for a given information resource can
come from many sources.
◦ True.

9.  True or False: Metadata accrues during the life of a digital
object.
◦ True.
 True or False: Metadata is not data and data is not metadata.
◦ False. “The distinctions between what constitutes data
and what constitutes metadata can often be very fluid.”

10.  Increased accessibility
 Retention of context
 Expanding use
 Learning metadata
 System development and enhancement
 Multiversioning
 Legal issues
 Preservation and persistence

11.  High quality descriptive metadata…
◦ Enhances retrieval
◦ Enables searching across multiple collections
◦ Enables creation of virtual collections
 Especially possible when common elements are
present in different metadata schemes
 Example: OSU’s conversion of EAD/DACS-based
finding aids to MARC bibliographic records (M.
Elwood Smith papers)
http://oasis.oregonstate.edu/

12.  Metadata can document the relationships that an
information resource has with people, places, and
things, including other information resources
 Example: Archival finding aids can indicate other
related collections as well as the structure of
within a collection, providing context for users

13.  Provides access to the entire universe of users,
wherever they are
 Enables the manipulation of the information
resource for users with special needs, different
language skills, etc.

14.  Specialized forms of metadata can be used to
promote learning by students of all ages.
 Example: http://
www.thegateway.org/browse/20651

15.  Metadata can document changing uses of
systems and content
 In turn, can use this feedback to make systems
development decisions
 Examples: search log data, download counts, etc.

16.  A digital object may exist in several forms within a
resource, such a images in thumbnail and full-size
 Metadata enables users and machines to
distinguish between the multiple versions of a
resource

17.  Metadata documents:
◦ Licensing
◦ Legal rights
◦ Reproductions
◦ Restrictions on access or use
◦ Privacy concerns

18.  Technical, descriptive, and preservation metadata
◦ Document how an information resource was:
 created,
 maintained,
 how it relates to other information objects