Metadata Schema Registries

What is metadata? – Explains, very basically, what metadata is Metadata Elements – Simple introduction to metadata elements Metadata Standards – Explains metadata standards, focussing on Dublin Core Brief example – Looks at a simple example of metadata Why use a metadata schema registry – Outlines the reason behind a metadata schema registry Architecture of a metadata schema registry – Brief explanation of the architecture The Application Profile Complication – An insight into the world of Dublin Core What is metadata? Metadata is often described as “data about data”, information that typically describes what a document is, what it is about and where one may locate it (Zeng & Jin, 2008). The concept of metadata is not new; for every document, picture, video, or any type of file, metadata is generated by the computer or inputted by the user (e.g. File Name, Date Modified). What is new, is the potential that metadata provides in developing rich digital ‘libraries’. Metadata Elements Elements are the actual data fields, such as title, author, etc. The schema in which these elements are placed may be a flat structure, or may have more complex hierarchical structures, where an element ‘author ’ may contain elements ‘name, Data of birth, Gender’. Metadata Standard