What is Metadata?
Metadata is technically defined as data about data. It provides content information and context that is needed for the description and categorization of media - both individually and as groups. Metadata provides a crucial link between media and education, transforming properly taged media from simple digital objects to learning objects.
Within the metadata field, there are several different schema that are followed; the Digicenter uses the schema created by the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative as the basis for it's metadata organization.
The Digicenter's Metadata Standards
With metadata, more is always better, but standards must be kept to simplify the search for and organization of the digital objects once they have been added to LUNA and are in regular use. To encourage standardization, the Digicenter has adopted standard terminology for reference when applying metadata.
In general, the Digicenter encourages the creation and inclusion of as much metadata as possible; in practice, however, the Digicenter understands that time is a finite resource, so it is not always possible to be as thorough as we may like. That said, there are some elements that must be included in the metadata about both the collection and its individual digital objects. The Digicenter seeks to make the creation of each collection as quick and easy for the contributor, so we will assist in the creation, organization, and entering of metadata; often, however, the contributor of the content is our best resource, and we will require input and information from him/her.
Metadata Elements
Information Furnished by the Digicenter*
- Identifier: The file name of the digital object (including file extension)
- Date.Digital: The date that the object became digital
- Contributor: The entity responsible for making contributions to the collection (ex: Furman University)
- Type: The nature of the digital object (Ex: MovingImage, Sound, StillImage, Text, etc.)
- Format.Digital: The digital format of the object
- Format.Original: The original format of the digital object (Ex: slide, photograph, book)
- Language: The language of the digital object (if text)
- Rights: Copyright information about the digital object
Information Provided by the Contributor
- Title: The name by which the digital object will be known
- Creator: The entity who created the content of the digital object
- Description: A textual description of the digital object
- Location: Where the original objects resides (if physital) or where the digital object was created (ex: where an photo or video was taken)
- Date.Original: The date the original object came into existance (ex: for a photograph or slide, the date that the original image was taken)