3. Metadata types and functions

3.1 NISO's definitions

There are three main types of metadata:

• Descriptive metadata describes a resource for purposes such as discovery and identification. It can include elements such as title, abstract, author, and keywords.

• Structural metadata indicates how compound objects are put together, for example, how pages are ordered to form chapters.

• Administrative metadata provides information to help manage a resource, such as when and how it was created, file type and other technical information, and who can access it. There are several subsets of administrative data; two that are sometimes listed as separate metadata types are:

− Rights management metadata, which deals with intellectual property rights,
and
− Preservation metadata, which contains information needed to archive and preserve a resource.

Source:
NISO. (2004) Understanding Metadata.
Bethesda, MD: NISO Press, p.1

3.2 Metadata functions

• Resource discovery
  • Allowing resources to be found by relevant criteria;
  • Identifying resources;
  • Bringing similar resources together;
  • Distinguishing dissimilar resources;
  • Giving location information.
    
    
• Organizing e-resources
  • Organizing links to resources based on audience or topic.
  • Building these pages dynamically from metadata stored in databases.
    
    
• Facilitating interoperability
  • Using defined metadata schemes, shared transfer protocols, and crosswalks between schemes, resources across the network can be searched more seamlessly.
    • Cross-system search, e.g., using Z39.50 protocol;
    • Metadata harvesting, e.g., OAI protocol.
      
      
• Digital identification
  • Elements for standard numbers, e.g., ISBN
  • The location of a digital object may also be given using:
    • a file name
    • a URL
    • some persistent identifiers, e.g., PURL (Persistent URL); DOI (Digital Object Identifier)
  • Combined metadata to act as a set of identifying data, differentiating one object from another for validation purposes.
    
    
• Archiving and preservation
  • Challenges:
    • Digital information is fragile and can be corrupted or altered;
    • It may become unusable as storage technologies change.
  • Metadata is key to ensuring that resources will survive and continue to be accessible into the future. Archiving and preservation require special elements:
    • to track the lineage of a digital object,
    • to detail its physical characteristics, and
    • to document its behavior in order to emulate it in future technologies.

Source:
NISO. (2004) Understanding Metadata.
Bethesda, MD: NISO Press, pp.1-2.

3.3 Getty's definitions on types of metadata

Type	Definition	Examples
Administrative	Metadata used in managing and administering information resources	- Acquisition information - Rights and reproduction tracking - Documentation of legal access requirements - Location information - Selection criteria for digitization - Version control and differentiation between similar information objects - Audit trails created by record keeping systems
Descriptive	Metadata used to describe or identify information resources	- Cataloging records - Finding aids - Specialized indexes - Hyperlinked relationships between resources - Annotations by users - Metadata for record keeping systems generated by records creators
Preservation	Metadata related to the preservation management of information resources	- Documentation of physical condition of resources - Documentation of actions taken to preserve physical and digital versions of resources, e.g., data refreshing and migration
Technical	Metadata related to how a system functions or metadata behave	- Hardware and software documentation - Digitization information, e.g., formats, compression ratios, scaling routines - Tracking of system response times - Authentication and security data, e.g., encryption keys, passwords
Use	Metadata related to the level and type of use of information resources	- Exhibit records - Use and user tracking - Content re-use and multi-versioning information

Source:
Murtha Baca ed.(2000).
Introduction to Metadata, Pathway to Digital Information.
Getty Information Institute. Table 1.

3.4 Dublin Core's elements outline

DUBLIN CORE
Website: http://dublincore.org/
DC Element set

Content	Intellectual Property	Instantiation
Coverage	Contributor	Date
Description	Creator	Format
Type	Publisher	Identifier
Relation	Rights	Language
Source
Subject
Title

 

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