Metadata & Repositories Jackie Knowles RSP Support Officer

Aim of the session To gain an understanding of the purpose of metadata in a repository context To re-enforce the importance of using metadata standards within your repository to enable interoperability and harvesting

Metadata in the repository Metadata can be confusing! Easier to understand if you think of it as it appears in two different contexts in the repository Metadata as collected from the author via the submission interface within the repository Metadata as it is stored and used by services

Why do we need metadata? To help you organise your repository content To facilitate harvesting of your repository content by external systems To facilitate discovery of your repository content To support archiving and preservation

Metadata and your software Different level of engagement with metadata will be required depending on which software you use Different level of configuration and technical know how may be needed to adapt your metadata … it is still useful to know about and understand metadata!

Current standards in use The most commonly used standard within the repository community, and the one required for interoperability and harvesting via the OAI-PMH, is Dublin Core.

Simple Dublin Core – 15 elements Title Creator Subject Description Publisher Contributor Date Type Format Identifier Source Language Relation Coverage Rights

Qualified Dublin Core Takes the 15 Dublin Core elements and adds some further levels of detail. Two types of qualifiers used: Element refinement Encoding scheme

DC Tags – some examples Field labelDC tagContent ‘Title’dc:titleThis is the title. ‘Author’dc: authorKnowles, J. ‘Date’dc.date2007 ‘Abstract’dc:description.abstractThis is the abstract of my example content.

The Dublin Core Web Site Demonstration

A recent expansion to the DC terms Recent expansion to terms: AccrualMethod AccrualPeriodicity AccrualPolicy Provenance Audience InstructionalMethod RightsHolder

Other metadata schemas Simple Dublin Core Qualified Dublin Core MODS DIDL MARC METS PREMIS MIX …. ACRONYM HEAVEN!

Application Profiles application profiles are a type of metadata schema can be thought of as ‘packages’ of metadata declaration specifying which metadata terms an organization, information provider, or user community uses in its metadata. application profiles consist of data elements drawn from one or more metadata schema or element set, combined together by implementors, and optimised for a particular local application.

SWAP – Scholarly Works Application Profile Extend DC to make it richer and more functional Provide an unambiguous method of identifying the full text Help with version control and identification Introduce vocabularies Implement OpenURL and citation analysis

SWAP - the model in pictures ScholarlyWork Expression isExpressedAs Manifestation isManifestedAs Copy isAvailableAs isPublishedBy isEditedBy isCreatedBy isFundedBy isSupervisedBy AffiliatedInstitution Agent

A SWAP Example - in pictures ScholarlyWork Publisher’s PDF Manifestation Word Document Manifestation PDF Manifestation Conference paper Expression Journal article Expression PDF from Conference repository Copy DOC in IR Copy PDF from Publisher’s site Copy PDF in IR Copy

Application profiles Are really needed! Something of a catch 22, until the harvesters can use better quality metadata why should we invest time in providing it? Application profiles need to be adopted by the software so they come out of the box and repository administrators don’t need to worry about this.

Advanced metadata case study Oxford Research Archive

Issues and problems to look out for … Lots of standards in use – no overarching standard and unlikely to ever be one Make sure your input forms and submission process is clear and collecting enough information. But be realistic about how much metadata a submitter will be prepared to give you! Get extra metadata elsewhere? Incorrect metadata being stored. Getting confused – don’t worry this is normal

Out of the box … local extensions Realistically most people will work with what comes out of the box when establishing repositories … but fields can be added and schemes customised. Explore the types of content you are working with and the field structures you will need at an early stage and establish your metadata scheme. Consider local needs such as departmental and research group structures and any local decisions needed about subject classification etc.

Conclusion Don’t get overwhelmed Learn from the practical exercise this afternoon Learn from others … ask lots of questions & find out what others are doing! Seek support and advice from the RSP

Jackie Knowles