Metadata Standard

Anita Coleman, Asst. Prof.
School of Information Resources &
Library Science, University of
Arizona, Tucson

Outline

• Metadata
• The Invisible Work of Metadata Creation
• Metadata Communities
• The Benefits of Metadata Standards
• Focus on Learning Objects
• Metadata for Education
• The Future of Metadata Standards

Metadata - A Dictionary Definition

• meta-, prefix
  • programming languages. metadata n., a set of data that describes and gives information about other data.
    • 9 disciplinary uses: medicine (resulting from), Geology (metamorphism), Botany & Zoology, Chemistry, Anatomy & Zoology, Science, Computing, Logic & Linguistics
      • Source: OED Online, New edition: draft entry Dec. 2001

What is Metadata?

• Descriptive information
• Subject information
• Other types of information based on community or user needs; for example, provenance, spatial coverage
• More than ’about’ it is ’beyond, above, at a higher level’ - ’fits the intellectual access goal’

Another Definition

• Database management (Information Systems) perspective
  • Data about data. Metadata describes how and when and by whom a particular set of data was collected, and how the data is formatted. Metadata is essential for understanding information stored in data warehouses.
  • Source: Webopedia, URL: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/m/metadata.html

Process of Metadata Creation

Content standard - Conceptual (elements of description)
Encoding standard - Container (markup or container scheme)
elements of description - embedded, associated, or external
Levels of Data - Controlled vocabularies or free-text
Rules governing metadata elements, Inputting Guidelines.

Invisible Work

• Metadata process
  • Creation of metadata = Cataloging
  • In both processes, there is a record that is the resulting product - surrogate record, bibliographic record, metadata record
  • Metadata may be either embedded with the data it describes (meta tags), be associated (FGDC CSDGM records) or external (catalog records)

Metadata Standards/Frameworks

• ISBD: MARC (used in conjunction with AACR2R)
• Dublin Core (DC) - Z39.85
• Global Information Locator Service (GILS)
• Encoded Archival Description (EAD)
• Content Standard Digital GeoSpatial Metadata (CSDGM) - FGDC
• Learning Object Metadata (LOM) - IEEE (IMS)
• Core Catagories for Visual Resources (CDWA)

Communities

• Librarians, Data managers, Software developers
• ISO/DIS 19115 Metadata Standard
  • ISO/TC (Geographic Information)
  • How metadata standards are constructed
  • Based on FGDC CSDGM
  • Incorporates DC
  • Data/Resources to be described are varied: datasets, research reports, instructional materials

Benefits of Metadata

• Interoperability
• Discovery
• Sharing
• Identifiation
• Management
• Integration and Repackaging

Focus on Learning Objects

• Instructional resources
  • Syllabi, modules, interactive multibedia presentations
  • Created in educational and commercial settings
• Digital Assets
  • Any electronic resource (no learning objective)
  • Stakeholder (suppliers and users) needs formetadata is now extended to Reuse, Uepackaging, Preservation, Context of Use-Associated Features (Annotations, Grade & Comments)

Metadata for Education Initiatives

• NSF Initiative to build digital libraries that support learning
  • NSDL (National Science, Mathematics, Technology Education Digital Library); DLI-2; International DLI Initiatives - Joint Information Systems Committee (UK) & European Union (EU) - NSDL; ARIADNE; EdNA
• GEM - funded by US Dept. of Education -
  http://www.geminfo.org/
• MERLOT - CSU founded but now a consortium of gigher education institutions http://www.merlot.org/