Lifecycle Metadata for Digital Objects

November 22, 2004Usage and Rights Management Metadata

What is Usage Metadata?

Internal users (with respect to the creator)

External users (with respect to the creator)

Internal users (with respect to the repository)

External users (with respect to the repository)

Creator Usage The creator’s actual use of the object

– Version control

The creator’s colleagues’ use of the object– Object function– Object used for reference, template

The creator’s customers’ use of the object– Object function: mediates relationship– Object function: profit for creator

Repository Usage

Management usage– Object maintenance and preservation– Object analysis

Designated user community– Object viewing– Object acquisition

Why and whether track usage I (external) Observe what individuals use

– Library/archives ethics– The law (FBI access—but thwarted by mere IP

addresses in logs) Serve users better

– Who• Designated user community• Everyone

– How• Give ‘em what they want• Adjustments to acquisition policies, schedules• Adjustments to preservation policies, schedules

Why and whether II (internal) Manage the repository

– Expansion of capacity– More efficient use of capacity

Protect the repository– Detect malicious intrusions– Detect suspicious activity

Manage dissemination better Manage objects better in the repository

– Monitor user trends for storage management– Monitor user trends for preservation management

So is this metadata?

Some of this log material is metadata with respect to the objects being managed – Popular objects will get fat– Popularity and selection may define new

classes of “archival bond” and hence new metadata for objects

Some of it is data with respect to the management task

How to track usage

The system can do it for you– OPACs– Web server logs– Firewall logs

Depends on what the logs track and how deeply they identify individual resources

What is Rights Management?

Protection of copyright Protection of patent Protection of the integrity of the digital

object (and thereby reputation of the author/creator herself)

What is being protected?

Object itself (integrity) Uses of the object (access controls)

– Limiting use (protecting rights of the owner)– Enabling use (protecting rights of the user)

Protection against theft

Threats of the law Fully document with metadata and

protect the metadata Authentication of users and user

requests Watermarking/steganography

What about integrity of the digital object? Relevant even in public domain E.g. “copyleft” agreement:

http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.txt See but not change, or change only with

notification

Rights management metadata for copyright (DMCA)

Identify object Identify creator Identify owner of rights Identify terms and conditions of use Pointers to details Other stuff per Copyright office

Rights possession metadata for the user Personal identification

– Authentication schemes– Digital signature

Institutional identification– Web of trust– Certification

Automating everything: elaboration on the OAIS access module User’s authentication authority Database of rights protection

requirements for objects Repository authentication authority

checks one against the other Request is allowed or denied

And now for something completely different

Student webpages: a few remarks

Pathfinder/webpage structure Cover page Essay on research subject: history, evaluation Metadata set or specification DTD sample

– Can use sample from other set that uses subject material

XML document (same as above re sample) Annotated bibliography on domain Please separate your work in this way so that

a uniform structure can be imposed on all the pages afterwards

Subject essay

Definition of the subjectHistoryEvaluation of major relevant metadata

initiative(s)Evaluation of choice of elements as solving

domain problemsShould be fully documented; annotated

bibliography should be a superset of the citations used

Metadata set

Detailed description of elements Can be tabular or element by element;

both forms can help clarity– element by element to present detailed

description, cite comparative sources– tabular for a summary

Target objects

Be sure to describe the kind(s) of object to which your metadata pertains:– Text– Webpage– Still image– Database– Etc.

What is an annotated bibliography? A list of the most important (most frequently

cited) resources on the subject of interest, with full citation

Annotated with a clear description of the contents of the source: You describe it—don’t just get a blurb from somewhere

For our purposes the annotation should include what YOU think about the source and why you found it useful or why it is totally useless