Metadata: Building Blocks of Digital Libraries

Descriptive Metadata: "data about data contents, for resource description and also for discovery

Structural Metadata:  "data about the containers of data", indicates the component parts, such as how pages are ordered to make chapters.

Administrative Metadata: about the record itself, helps manage a resource regarding how and when it was created / modified, also contains technical information regarding the software

Important Subsets:

1. rights management metadata, for intellectual property

2. preservation metadata, information needed to archive and preserve a resource

Metadata in the context of the digital library

Parallels traditional libraries - card catalogue followed by OPAC with MARC encoded records

Dublin Core (DC) – a popular metadata standard and simple concise method of description for electronic material 15 elements: Title, Creator, Subject, Description, Publisher, Contributor, Date, Type, Format, Identifier, Source, Language, Relation, Coverage, and Rights

all optional and repeatable

Dublin Core Format Pros: simple vs. LCSH and AACR2 multi-purpose greater flexibility for DL cataloger international *interoperability* Cons: description does recommend the use of controlled

values for fields where they are appropriate (i.e. controlled vocabularies for the Subject field), it is not mandatory

* Interoperability*“the ability of multiple systems with different hardware and software platforms, data structures, and interfaces to exchange data with minimal loss of content and functionality,” (NISO, Understanding Metadata, 2004).

Metadata Systems Architecture

1. Elements 2. Format 3 .Framework Title Dublin Core RDF Creator Type Rights 4. Protocol - harvests (or collects) the metadata descriptions in an archive so that services can be built using metadata from many archives i.e. OAI-PMH (Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting)

A Digital Library: Metadata in Application

American Shakespeare Festival Theatre DL www.asftlibrary.org/omeka2