290 likes | 493 Views
An Introduction to Metadata by Wendy Duff. ECURE 2000 October 6, 2000. Metadata. The term "meta" comes from a Greek word that denotes something of a higher or more fundamental nature. Metadata, then, is data about other data.
E N D
An Introduction to Metadata by Wendy Duff ECURE 2000 October 6, 2000
Metadata • The term "meta" comes from a Greek word that denotes something of a higher or more fundamental nature. Metadata, then, is data about other data. • The term refers to any data used to aid the identification, description and location of networked electronic resources
Defining Metadata • Does data about data mean anything? • Librarians equate it with a complete bibliographic record • Information technologists equate it to database schema or definitions of the data elements • Archivists include context information, restrictions and access terms, index terms, etc.
Bibliographic Metadata • Providing a description of the information package along with other information necessary for management and preservation • Encoding • Providing access to this description • Predominantly discovery and retrieval
Encoding • Surrogate records are encoded by assigning tags, letter, or words • Why encode? • For display • Provide access • Integration of surrogates
Beyond Discovery and Retrieval • Gilliland-Swetland (1998) explains “metadata also documents how that objects behaves, its functions and use, relationship to other objects and how it should be managed”.
Different Communities ….Different Metadata • Developers of the Interoperabilty of Data in E-Commerce Systems (indecs) ideintified metadata for protecting intellectual property rights of creators and publishers. • The Research Library Group’s Working Group on Preservation Issues of Metadata identified metadata for “digital master files that have preservation-based intent”.
Metadata to Information Technologists • The data that defines the data elements in a table • Data that controls or explains other data • Something that is not part of the bit stream of a record but needed to understand the data in the record • One systems metadata is another systems data
Source of Metadata • Automatically generated • Supplied by creator of electronic resource • Supplied by 3rd party
Dublin Core • Metadata to improve information retrieval of internet resources • Developed predominantly by the bibliographic community. Elements similar to bibliographic surrogate
Characteristics of Dublin Core • Simplicity • Semantic Interoperability • International Consensus • Extensibility • Metadata Modularity on the Web
Content Coverage Description Type Relation Source Subject Title Intellectual Property Contributor Creator Publisher Rights Dublin Core Elements
Dublin Core Element • Instantiation • Date • Format • Identifier • Language
Resource Description Framework(RDF) • RDF provides interoperability between applications that exchange machine-understandable information on the Web
Metadata and XML • Provides a means of encoding and exchanging metadata • EAD, TEI, VERS
XML Example • <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?> <!DOCTYPE FAQ SYSTEM "FAQ.DTD"> <FAQ> • <INFO> <SUBJECT> XML </SUBJECT> • <AUTHOR> Lars Marius Garshol</AUTHOR> • <EMAIL> larsga@ifi.uio.no </EMAIL> <VERSION> 1.0 </VERSION> • <DATE> 20.jun.97 </DATE> • </INFO> <PART NO="1"> <Q NO="1"> <QTEXT>What is XML?</QTEXT> <A>SGML light.</A> </Q> ...</PART> </FAQ>
Electronic Records Metadata Project • Functional Requirements for Evidence in Recordkeeping • The SPIRT Metadata Project • VERS • GILS - and the AGLS
Functional Requirements for Evidence in Recordkeeping Metadata Model • Six Layers • Handle Layer • Terms and Conditions Layer • Structural Layer • Contextual Layer • Content Layer • Use History Layer
Victoria Recordkeeping Model • VERS is an exchange standard that allows transfer of metadata (and content) from the system it was created in to future systems as yet unbuilt. • A VERS Encapsulated Object (VEO) – a record – is designed to be self documenting so that the record can subsequently be extracted without reference to external documentation.
Encapsulated Object • A VEO includes metadata that supports the management, finding, and retrieval of the electronic record. • A VERS record contains one or more documents, each of which may be stored as one or more encodings (physical file formats).
Metadata Facts to Remember • Metadata does not have to be digital • Metadata relates to more than the description of an object. • Metadata can come from a variety of sources • Metadata continue to accrue during the life of an information object or system. • One information object's metadata can simultaneously be another information object's data.(Anne Gilliland-Swetland, Setting the Stage)
Developing Metadata Schemes • Identify the purpose of the metadata model • Level of specificity of the elements • Identify resources • Infrastructure - who will supply it? • What type of information package is it? • Who will use the metadata? • Existing metadata models
Other Sources • Introduction to Metadata: Pathways to Digital Information. http://www.getty.edu/gri/standard/intrometadata/index.htm • CLIR Reports http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/reports.html • Digital Libraries: Metadata Resources http://www.ifla.org/II/metadata.htm • Australian Government Locator Service (AGLS) Metadata Standard. http://www.naa.gov.au/recordkeeping/gov_online/agls/summary.html
More Sources • SPIRT Recordkeeping Metadata Project http://www.sims.monash.edu.au/rcrg/research/spirt/index.html