CIRCA:Metadata

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*Discovery and identification
*Discovery and identification
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:Metadata helps people retrieve and identify resources. Usually these metadata includes but not limits to, author, title, date, keyword, and other simple information.
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:Metadata helps people retrieve and identify resources.  
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:Usually these metadata includes but not limits to, author, title, date, keyword, and other simple information.
*Cataloging
*Cataloging

Revision as of 15:32, 22 November 2012

Contents

History

The term "Metadata" was first created by Philip Bagley in 1968, in his book Extension of programming language concepts. Since then the fields of information management, information technology, information science, librarianship and GIS have widely adopted this term.

What is Metadata?

To be brief and simple, metadata is "data about data", defined by OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) and NCSA (National Center of Supercomputing Applications). To be precisely, metadata is structured information that describes, explains, locates, or otherwise make it easier to retrieve, use, or manage an information resource.

Metadata has been applied in many fields, and each of which has a unique definition of metadata. So there isn't an agreed definition that describes all kinds of metadata used in every field.

card cataloge of a book


Here's an example of simple metadata, a card cataloging of a book in past days. There are author, title, subtitle, publisher, date of publication, place of publication, etc. All data about a book, which is also data.


Now we mostly focus on metadata in digital format and web resources.

Types

There are three basic types of metadata, sorted by NISO (National Information Standards Organization).


  • Structural Metadata - data about containers of data
This is actually what Philip meant when he first mentioned the word "metadata".
Structural metadata shows how compound objects are put together.
e.g. How pages are ordered to form chapters.
Structural metadata often means the inner order, structure, schema of data.


  • Descriptive Metadata - data about data content
This is the type of metadata which is the most similar to the definition of "data about data".
Descriptive metadata means a resource for purpose such as discovery and identification.
e.g. title, abstract, author, keyword, publisher, etc.


  • Administrative Metadata - provides information to help manage a resource
e.g. when and how it was created, location, who has the authority to access, file type, etc.

What does metadata do?

  • Discovery and identification
Metadata helps people retrieve and identify resources.
Usually these metadata includes but not limits to, author, title, date, keyword, and other simple information.
  • Cataloging
Metadata helps people catalog and describe data cell. These metadata often includes many information of the data, like contents, carriers, location, etc.
  • Resource administration
Metadata helps people manage, store and use information.
Besides cataloging information, these metadata also includes right/Privacy management, Digital signature, Seal of Approval/Rating, Access management, Payment and accounting, etc.
  • Preservation and Archiving
Metadata helps support long-term preservation for resources.
Besides the description and identification of resources, these metadata also includes specific information of format, creation, migration methods, etc.
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