Metadata and Digital Libraries

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Metadata and Digital Libraries

• T.B. RajashekarNational Centre for Science
  InformationIndian Institute of ScienceBangalore
  560 012
• (E-Mail raja_at_ncsi.iisc.ernet.in)
• October 2003

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About This Presentation

• Goal To describe metadata, types, examples,
  standards and use in DLs
• You will learn
• What is metadata
• Types of metadata
• Examples
• Uses of metadata
• Metadata schemes
• Standards particularly Dublin Core projects

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Digital Libraries Some Key Issues

• Digital Librarian
• Content management (workflow, quality)
• Access and rights management
• Resource discovery
• Preservation
• Linking, sharing, exchange

• User
• Resource discovery (search, identify, locate,
  access)
• Seamless access bibliographic fulltext
• Access across DLs
• Perpetual access

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Metadata is key for Content Organization and
Management,Bibliographic Control, Resource
discovery, Rights Management,Access Management,
Preservation,Linking and data exchange
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What is Metadata?

• Data about data - Digitalspeak for what
  librarians have been doing much before the
  Internet surrogates, catalogs
• A metadata record consists of a set of
  attributes, or elements, necessary to describe
  the resource in question
• Structured information
• Describes, explains, locates an information
  resource
• Makes it easier to retrieve, use or manage an
  information resource

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What Does Metadata Describe?

• papers, articles
• information pages
• images
• sound
• collections
• user profiles
• Spatial data

...Digital and physical manifestations
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Author Title .Subject Source type
Format .
META DATA
Author Title .Subject Source type
Format .
Documents
Audio
Video
Database
Author Title .Subject Source type
Format .
Digital material
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Types of Metadata

• Descriptive
• Purpose Resource discovery and identification
• Ex. Title, abstract, author, URL, keywords, etc.
• Administrative Rights Management
• Purpose Help manage a resource
• Ex. Who created and when, who can access,
  content format, rights information, etc.
• Structural metadata
• Purpose Document structure
• Ex. Chapter, section, paragraph

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• Metadata Example GSDL Digital Library
  Collections
• Use of Metadata for Browse and Search
• Use of Metadata for Document Structuring
  (Hierarchical Browsing)

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A GSDL DL Collection Metadata Browse Search
Metadata Browse
Metadata Search
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A GSDL DL Collection Associated Metadata
ltFileSetgt ltFileNamegtcp01aelt/FileNamegt
ltDescriptiongt ltMetadata name"Subject"
mode"accumulate"gt13.6lt/Metadatagt ltMetadata
name"Publisher" mode"accumulate"gtcpslt/Metadatagt
ltMetadata name"Howto" mode"accumulate"gtpre
vent alcoholism in developing countrieslt/Metadatagt
ltMetadata name"Subject"
mode"accumulate"gt13.5lt/Metadatagt
lt/Descriptiongt lt/FileSetgt ltFileSetgt
ltFileNamegtec119elt/FileNamegt ltDescriptiongt
ltMetadata name"Subject" mode"accumulate"gt23.15
lt/Metadatagt ltMetadata name"Publisher"
mode"accumulate"gtecclt/Metadatagt ltMetadata
name"Howto" mode"accumulate"gttake national
languages into accountlt/Metadatagt ltMetadata
name"Subject" mode"accumulate"gt6.8lt/Metadatagt
lt/Descriptiongt lt/FileSetgt
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A GSDL DL Collection Hierarchical Document Browse
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A GSDL DL Collection Document Structure
ltP ALIGN"JUSTIFY"gtc) as a working document for
meetings and workshops related with neo-literate
programmes in general and materials development
programmes in particularlt/PgtltP
ALIGN"JUSTIFY"gtlt/PgtltP ALIGN"JUSTIFY"gtAccordingl
y, the guidebook as a whole or any part of it
could be adapted or adopted in its original form
or in translated form in any language of the
countries. (This could be arranged by writing a
letter to ACCU, Tokyo.)lt/PgtltP ALIGN"JUSTIFY"gtlt/P
gtltP ALIGN"JUSTIFY"gtnbsplt/PgtltBgtltP
ALIGN"CENTER"gtlt/Pgtlt!lt/SectiongtltSectiongt
ltDescriptiongt ltMetadata name"Title"gtSection
I Rationale and principle of learning
materialslt/Metadatagt lt/Descriptiongt--gtlt/BgtltP
ALIGN"JUSTIFY"gtlt/PgtltBgtltPgtlt/Pgtlt!ltSectiongt
ltDescriptiongt ltMetadata name"Title"gt1.
Rationale and principle of learning
materialslt/Metadatagt lt/Descriptiongt--gt
Structural Metadata
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Metadata Example E-Print archive
software Context Content management in an
academic intranetIssue How do we enforce
metadata standard across an organization? Example
eprints_at_iisc
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E-publishing in an intranet
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Content management E-Print Archives
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Content management E-Print Archives
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Content management E-Print Archives
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Content management E-Print Archives
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Content management E-Print Archives
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Content management E-Print Archives
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Metadata Example XML-based metadata (IOP
Publishing) (View the example using I.E.)
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Uses of Metadata

• Resource discovery
• Finding, searching and identifying resources
• Field-based browse/ search
• Organizing electronic resources
• Ex. Internet resource catalogues (web resource
  directories), Institutional publication archives,
  intranet content management
• Interoperability
• Exchange of data between systems metadata
  standards facilitate cross-searching and sharing
  (metadata harvesting OAI protocol)

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Uses of Metadata

• Digital identification, Bibliographic control
• Uniquely describe, identify locate the digital
  object referred by the metadata
• PURL, DOI (CrossRef), OpenURL
• Archiving and preservation
• Data elements to track the lineage, physical
  characteristics, etc.
• Efforts are on to define metadata schemes for
  digital preservation (e.g. ISOs Open Archival
  Information System OAIS)

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Metadata Schemes

• Set of metadata elements, with associated
  semantics and syntax for describing a particular
  type of resources
• Components (semantics, syntax, content)
• Metadata elements and their meaning/ definition
• Content rules how content must be identified
  and formulated
• Representation rules how content must be
  represented
• Content Values given to metadata elements
• See for e.g. ROADS cataloguing guidelines and
  K-Library Content Management manual
• See discussion on elements of IO schemes in
  Topic-9

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Examples of Metadata Schemes

• Dublin Core (www.dublincore.org)
• Network information resources
• Widely adopted
• Government Information Locator Service (GILS)
  (www. dtic.mil/gils/)
• Govt. resources
• TEI Header (www.tei-c.org)
• Electronic texts like novels, poetry, plays, etc.

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Examples of Metadata Schemes

• The Encoded Archival Description (EAD)
  (www.oc.gov/ead/)
• Archives and special collections
• The Visual Resources Association (VRA) Core
  Categories
• Describe visual materials such as buildings,
  photographs, paintings, etc.
• ONIX International Online Information Exchange)
• XML-based metadata for communication of book
  trade information being expanded to cover
  journals, conferences, etc.

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Examples of Metadata Schemes

• IMS Metadata (www.imsproject.org/metadata/)
• Specs and software for managing online learning
  resources resource discovery, IPR, commerce

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Examples of Metadata Schemes

• Metadata for datasets
• Numerical and statistical data
• Content Standard for Digital Geophysical Metadata
  (CSDGM) (www.fgdc.gov/metadata/contstan.htm)
• Topographic, demographic, GIS and computer-aided
  cartographic files
• Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) standard
  (www.icpsr.umich.edu/DDI/codebook.html)
• Social science data sets
• XML DTD

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Resource Description Communities
Communities
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Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI)

• International standard for describing network
  digital resources
• Consists of 15 elements, each repeatable, none
  mandatory
• Conceived in 1994
• Has reached standard status W3C, NISO, ISO
• Widely used in several projects around the world
• Being refined further

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The Dublin CoreMetadata Element Set

• Title
• Author/Creator
• Subject /Keywords
• Description
• Publisher
• Other Contributor
• Date

• Resource Type
• Format
• Resource Identifier
• Source
• Language
• Relation
• Coverage
• Rights Management

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Key Features of DC

• Simplicity of creation and maintenance
• Small and simple element set
• Non-specialists can create metadata records
• Enable effective search and retrieval
• Commonly understood semantics
• Generic, common element set facilitates
  cross-domain accessibility (e.g. creator -
  document, music)
• International scope
• DC element set in several languages
• Extensibility
• Linkages with other metadata sets

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Uses of DC

• Used mainly for describing document-like objects
  metadata standards for other domains exist
  (e.g. e-commerce, education)
• DC record can be embedded in the resource itself
  (e.g. Meta tag of HTML)
• DC elements may be contained in a record separate
  from the resource
• Database of DC element records, each describing a
  separate electronic resource (e.g. subject
  gateways)

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DC in HTML

• lthtmlgtltheadgt
• lttitlegtUKOLN Home Pagelt/titlegt
• ltmeta name"DC.Title content"UKOLN UK Office
  for Library and Information Networking"gt
• ltmeta name"DC.Subject" content"national centre,
  network information support, library community,
  awareness, research, information services, public
  library networking, bibliographic management,
  distributed library systems, metadata, resource
  discovery, conferences, lectures, workshops"gt
• ltmeta name"DC.Description" content"UKOLN is a
  national centre for support in network
  information management in the library and
  information communities. It provides awareness,
  research and information services"gt
• ltmeta name"DC.Creator" contentUKOLN
  Information Services Group"gt
• lt/headgt
• ...

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DC Recent Developments

• Initial focus was on defining the element set for
  resource description
• Qualifiers for elements have now been defined
  (e.g. Creator type) and values (encoding rules
  e.g. ISO standard for Date)
• Vocabularies for rendering content
• Tools for generating, editing and processing DC
• Crosswalks (e.g. MARC and DC)

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Metadata Example Use of DC in an intranet
information portal
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Use of DC in Corporate Intranet Management
Metadata in a corporate intranet. Kelly Doran.
Online. 1999, January/February 43- 50.
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DC in Corporate Intranet

• Case study Weyerhaeuser (A forest products
  company) intranet 10,000 employees 25,000
  remote locations
• Adopted DC for corporate intranet in 1998
• Goals
• To provide in-depth, consistent access to
  information on Weyerhaeuser intranet

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DC in Corporate Intranet

• Developed a 19 field metadata scheme
• Bibliographic, management and descriptive
  information
• Scope Use in HTML pages (via META tag)ltMETA
  NAMEWY.fieldname CONTENTfieldcontentgt
• Implementation
• Metadata generator HTML form CGI script
• Mechanism for incorporating the generated
  metadata into HTML pages

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DC Projects

• Implemented in over 100 projects in several
  countries
• Government Information
• Australian Government Locator Service
• Danish Online Government Information
• Finnish Online Government Information
• Libraries and DLs (e.g. CORC Cooperative Online
  Resource Catalogue, of OCLC)
• Intranets Nokia, Boeing, Ford, Weyerhaeuser

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DC Projects

• Science and Mathematics
• Environment Australia, Swedish EnviroNet, German
  Mathematical Society Preprint Project
• Education
• EDNA (Educational Network of Australia)
• GEM (Gateway to Educational Materials)
• German Education Resources Server
• IMS (Instructional Management System)
• DC discipline-specific elements

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DC Projects

• Humanities
• AHDS Arts and Humanities Data Service
• CIMI Metadata Testbed Project
• SCRAN (Scottish Cultural Resources Access
  Network)
• Publishing/ e-commerce
• E-books (www.openebook.org)
• INDECS (Interoperability of Data in E-Commerce
  Systems) (www.indecs.org) - data model for IPR
  management in publishing, recording industry

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Metadata Creation

• Who creates metadata?
• Author
• Technical staff (cataloguers)
• Combination
• Integration into DL workflow
• Manual/ automated processes and tools
• Quality control
• Develop/ adopt metadata standards key to
  successful DL development management

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Summarizing

• We covered
• What is metadata
• Types of metadata
• Examples
• Uses of metadata
• Metadata schemes
• Standards particularly Dublin Core
• DC Projects

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Related Resources

• Metadata made simpler A guide for libraries.
  Gail Hodge. 2001. (www.niso.org)
• Dublin Core (dublincore.org)
• Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (Std.)
  (www.niso.org)
• CrossRef and reference linking (www.crossref.org)
• Digital Object Identifier (www.doi.org)

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Thank You! Any Questions? Comments?