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Metadata - An Overview

What is metadata?

Metadata simply described is 'information about information'. It enables people to search for and locate the information they need on the Internet, and can help them to determine whether or not a particular information resource is the one that meets their needs.

Metadata facilitates the finding of information by allocating precise descriptors to a document. In effect it is summary information about a resource. As such, it helps in the identification, location and retrieval of online resources by end-users.

We are exposed to metadata in our everyday lives, often without realising it. When we look up a mail order catalogue to select a consumer product. When we look up a library catalogue to locate a book. We are facilitated in finding and selecting products by exposure to summary information describing the content, the availability, the nature or the constituents of those products.

In relation to online information, metadata can answer the following questions:

• Who is responsible for producing the content and making it available?
• What is the subject matter?
• Where can I locate it?
• Why was it provided?
• What language is it in?
• When was it produced and last updated?
• Can I access it on my computer?
• From what sources was the information compiled?
• What is the intended audience?
• Are there restrictions on its use?

Metadata can also facilitate the management of records, by including such information as when a record ought to be archived or destroyed, who has access rights and rights to amend, and a change history of the record.

Why use metadata?

The concept of "information overload" has become an all too familiar one with the vast amount of information available in electronic form. One of the problems associated with having a vast amount of information available is the difficulty in finding the right information. Information available via the Internet can be of variable quality, and it can be difficult to verify its authenticity and value.

In conjunction with a search engine capable of performing a metadata search, metadata can greatly facilitate the user in locating the information they seek, thus reducing the problems associated with vast quantities of information being available for searching.

• Document creators and providers making use of the same elements to capture and display particular data facilitates more precise and accurate information retrieval.
• Document owners are facilitated by the identification of a clear and consistent set of metadata elements for the storage of information about those documents.
• Metadata contributes to the integration of public services online through the improved means of retrieval resulting from standardised data entry and description.
• Consistent use of metadata facilitates information sharing across systems and organisations.
• More precise searches result from the facility to search on particular elements. For example, with metadata descriptors it is possible to distinguish between a search looking for Joe Green in the Creator field and The Green Paper on Adult Education in the Title field to help the user find precisely what they are looking for.
• Search precision is enhanced by the ability to provide relevant details about a resource, details that may be missing from the actual resource itself. Terms accurately relaying the concepts inherent in a document but missing from the body of the document can be readily included.
• It becomes easier to locate information and the time spent searching is reduced.
• Metadata provides for a way to store relevant, clear and consistent data.
• Maintenance is helped by allowing for the identification of information that requires updating or archiving, or that has not been updated for a certain period of time. It can indicate who is responsible for maintaining a record and when it ought to be reviewed.
• Care given to the creation of metadata can be evidence of the quality of the resource described and the information provided.
• The metadata can act as a surrogate or summary that facilitates the selection process. By viewing a metadata record, users can determine the suitability of a document.