Metadata and your projects how it all fits together

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Metadata and your projects - how it all fits
together

• Nick Poole
• ICT Adviser
• Resource The Council for Museums, Archives and
  Libraries

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Introduction

• When to use metadata (and what to use)...
• Why use metadata?
• Metadata and your existing information
• Project example - Crossroads
• e-Government and metatdata
• Contact information
• This presentation available online at
  http//www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk/team/poole

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When to use metadata (and what to use)

• Metadata is involved throughout the digitisation
  process
• Images
• NISO Metadata Dictionary for Still Images
• http//www.niso.org/committees/committee_au.html
• covers preservation, migration, formatting
• also RLG Working Group on Preservation Issues
• http//www.rlg.org/preserv/presmeta.html
• Resource discovery
• RSLP Collection Description metadata framework
• http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/rslp/
• Creating learning resources
• Metadata for Education Group
• http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/education/

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Why use metadata?

• Good housekeeping
• Digital preservation
• Resource discovery
• Rights management
• Turning stuff into information

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Why use metadata - good housekeeping

• The good news if you keep object records, you
  already use metadata
• The naming conventions used in your records
  (name/subject, collector, date acquired, location
  etc) relate directly to those required by a
  metadata schema
• The adoption of a metadata schema enforces a
  standard approach to the way you collect and
  manage this information

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Why use metadata - digital preservation

• Metadata preserves the core of important
  contextual information alongside the object
  record itself
• Metadata enables a structured approach to the
  management and preservation of information
• Organised metadata provides a meta-collection
  which can be searched and referenced more
  efficiently than the original records themselves

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Why use metadata - resource discovery

• Indexed metadata provides a fast and simple means
  of searching across and retrieving large numbers
  of records
• Standard applications of metadata (eg the RSLP
  CLD/ Dublin Core) enable cross-searching between
  different databases even where different field
  names/ terminologies have been applied
• Enables the reuse of information to suit
  different priorities
• Owner/manager - information management
• User/software agent - locating interpreting
  information
• Third-party agent - promotion re-use of
  information

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Why use metadata - rights management

• Metadata preserves rights information alongside
  the original object record
• Enables content to be re-used and distributed in
  a way that maintains the link to its original
  creators
• The RSLP CLD schema preserves not only the
  specific contextual information but also the
  relationship information - for example the
  relationship between an institution, a subject
  collection and a named sub-collection
• In other words, metadata not only preserves
  information about provenance, but also about
  management and status of the collection

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Why use metadata - stuff to information

• Overall, metadata is the bridge between the
  individual object record, and the much wider
  context to which it belongs
• Metadata enables the meaningful re-use of the raw
  data. It allows users to discover, interpret and
  re-purpose the information to create resources
• Metadata facilitates the grouping of data into
  meaningful sets of information
• Metadata also preserves the necessary rights and
  institutional details alongside the re-applied
  information

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Why use metadata?

• At a minimum, metadata should conform to
  developing e-Government and UfI metadata
  standards and should be capable of supporting the
  delivery of item-level Dublin Core (DC)
  descriptions of all project resources.
• - Source, NOF-digitise technical standards (V3.1)

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Metadata and your existing information

• There are a number of approaches to metadata
  generation, depending on
• which stage of information gathering/content
  creation the project has reached
• the technical architecture of your information
  store
• the schema, or conceptual architecture of your
  information
• the requirements of resource discovery, retrieval
  and delivery
• Options include
• a proprietary schema that maps directly to RSLP
  CLD field names
• a rich schema that can be distilled into a simple
  metadata set such as Dublin Core
• a Content Management System that is able to
  generate metadata dynamically from object records
• a CMS that is able to generate metadata in XML,
  or a pure XML expression of the dataset

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Metadata and your existing information

• There are one-off tools which will distill
  rich information into a simple metadata set
  like Dublin Core
• These run on a page by page basis
• For example, the dc.dot tool available either
  as a download or direct from the UKOLN website
• http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/dcdot/help/persona
  l.html
• Or the Metty product from ClickFire at
• http//www.clickfire.com/freeware/metty/

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but, this approach is too resource-intensive for
batch-processing of information. Where records
are held in a Content Management System, it is
much easier to generate metadata on the fly.
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Metadata and Content Management Systems
(with thanks to Pete Johnston for the diagram)
Metadata
Website
Metadata
Resources (held in a CMS)
Metadata
Metadata

In other words, metadata provides the bridge
between user and information in the automated
process of resource discovery.
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Metadata and Content Management Systems

• Most current Content Management Systems will
  support the publishing of metadata in a number of
  formats direct from the database
• It is relatively easy to distil a simple set of
  metatags from the rich environment of a CMS.
• The important thing is to establish a map between
  your field names and the elements of the relevant
  metadata set
• Eg..

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Metadata and Content Management Systems
Record within the CMS..
DC metadata
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Project example

• Crossroads project
• A cross-domain project to enable online access to
  library, museum and archive collections in the
  West Midlands
• Field/database structure based on the RSLP
  Collections Description Schema
• CLD revised to suit the purposes of the project
  but retains the core DC.elements to enable
  resource discovery
• Sample input form and background information now
  available at http//crossroads-wm.org.uk

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dc.title
dc.identifier
dc.description
dc.coverage
dc.language
And so on. The form is designed using the RSLP
CLD as a basis, which enables it to retain
sufficient granularity to describe the
collections and relationships, but is also
capable of exporting a simplified set of
information based on the DC element set.
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e-Government and metadata

• e-Government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF)
  specifies protocols and standards for
  interoperability between public-sector services
  online
• Full documentation available at
  http//www.govtalk.gov.uk
• Provides a Government Category List (GCL) now
  published in full, intended for use with the
  Subject element of the e-Government Metadata
  Standard
• Standard arises from the e-Government Metadata
  Framework. This document specifies the standard
  approach to metadata, including the role of
  Dublin Core, for public-sector bodies
• NOF -digitise projects will need to familiarise
  themselves with the e-GMF

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e-Government and metadata

• UfI (learndirect) implementation standards
• Specified in NOF-digi technical standards
• Provide information and guidance of relevance to
  the re-use of your content for lifelong learning
• Full documentation available at
  http//www.learndirect.co.uk/personal/helpandadvic
  e/suppliers/

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Contact

• Nick Poole
• ICT Adviser
• Resource The Council for Museums, Archives and
  Libraries
• 16 Queen Annes Gate
• London
• SW1H 9AA
• Tel [phone]
• Email nick.poole_at_resource.gov.uk
• Web http//www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk