4. Metadata standards -- a selected list

• Metadata schemas (also called schemes) generally
  specify names of elements and their semantics.
• Optionally, they may specify:
  • rules for how content must be formulated (for example, how to identify the main title),
  • representation rules for content (for example, capitalization rules), and
  • allowable content values (for example, terms must be used from a specified controlled vocabulary).
• Many metadata schemas are being developed in a variety of user environments and disciplines.
  • Some of the most common ones are listed on this page.
  • An expanded list of schemes and element sets is provided on the following page.

4.1. Bibliographic Description

• MARC (MAchine-Readable Cataloging)
  http://www.loc.gov/marc/
  MARC provides the mechanism by which computers exchange, use, and interpret bibliographic information, and its data elements make up the foundation of most library catalogs used today. MARC became USMARC in the 1980s and MARC 21 in the late 1990s.

  MODS (Metadata Object Description Schema)*
  http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/
  MODS includes a subset of MARC fields and uses language-based tags rather than numeric ones, in some cases regrouping elements from the MARC 21 bibliographic format. MODS is expressed using the XML schema language of the World Wide Web Consortium.
  

• DUBLIN CORE
  http://dublincore.org/
  • Dublin Core Metadata Element Set: http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/
  • DCMI Metadata Terms:
    http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/
    • Including:
      • The Dublin Core Metadata Element Set
      • Other Elements and Element Refinements http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/#H3
      • Encoding Schemes
      • The DCMI Type Vocabulary
    The Dublin Core metadata element set is a standard for cross-domain information resource description. It is now a U.S. national and international standard.
    
    
• Text Encoding Initiative (TEI)
  http://www.tei-c.org/
  An international standard for representing all kinds of literary and linguistic texts for online research and teaching.
  
  • TEI Header
    In addition to specifying how to encode the text of a work, the TEI Guidelines for Electronic Text Encoding and Interchange also specify a header portion, embedded in the resource, that consists of metadata about the work.

4.2. Visual Objects

• Categories for the Description of Works of Art (CDWA)
  http://www.getty.edu/research/institute/standards/
  cdwa/index.html
  CDWA Outline: PDF file
  For describing works of art, architecture, groups of objects, and visual and textual surrogates.
  
  
• VRA Core Categories version 3.0
  http://www.vraweb.org/vracore3.htm
  For creating records to describe works of visual culture as well as the images that document them.
  

4.3. Geospatial Data

• Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM)
  http://www.fgdc.gov/metadata/contstan.html

4.4. Archives

• EAD (Encoded Archival Description) DTD
  http://www.loc.gov/ead/
  For encoding archival finding aids using the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML).
  

4.5. E-Commerce

• The INDECS project
  http://www.indecs.org/
  The <indecs> metadata framework: Principles, model and data dictionary
  http://www.indecs.org/pdf/framework.pdf
  Created to address the need, in the digital environment, to put different creation identifiers and their supporting metadata into a framework where they could operate side by side, especially to support the management of intellectual property rights. The main focus of <indecs> is on the use of what is commonly (if imprecisely) called content or intellectual property.
  
  
• ONIX (Online Information Exchange)
  http://www.editeur.org/onix.html
  Built on the <indecs> Framework, developed and maintained by EDItEUR jointly with book industries.
  The ONIX for Books Product Information Message is the international standard for representing and communicating book industry product information in electronic form. It has elements to record a wide range of evaluative and promotional information as well as basic bibliographic and trade data.

4.6. Educational-purpose

• Learning Object Metadata (LOM)
  http://ltsc.ieee.org/wg12/index.html
  Schema: IEEE 1484.12.1-2002, 15 July 2002.
  http://ltsc.ieee.org/wg12/files/LOM_1484_12_1_v1_Final_Draft.pdf (PDF file)
  Focused on the minimal set of attributes needed to allow learning objects to be managed, located, and evaluated. Learning Objects are defined here as any entity, digital or non-digital, which can be used, re-used or referenced during technology supported learning.

4.7. Media-Specific

• MPEG-4 and MPEG-7 for Audio and Video (ISO/IEC standards developed by MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group))
  
  • MPEG-4
    A standard for multimedia for the fixed and mobile web.
    Overview: http://www.chiariglione.org/mpeg/standards/mpeg-4/mpeg-4.htm
    
  • MPEG-7
    A standard for description and search of audio and visual content.
    = Multimedia Content Description Interface
    Overview: http://www.chiariglione.org/mpeg/standards/mpeg-7/mpeg-7.htm

4.8. An expanded list of metadata schemes and element sets

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