Metadata is the information we hold in order to manage, access, preserve and describe our objects, archives, and collections. This metadata is key to the delivery of our current and future services, including Resource Discovery. The ADS will create metadata that aligns with all relevant community standards.

Metadata Standards

ADS follow the broad categories of metadata types used by the Getty Research Institute.

• Administrative: the Metadata used in managing and administering collections and information resources (e.g. rights)
• Descriptive: Metadata used to identify, authenticate, and describe collections and related trusted information resources
• Preservation: Metadata related to the preservation management of collections and information resources
• Technical: Metadata related to how a system functions or metadata behaves
• Use: Metadata related to the level and type of use of collections and information resources

These classifications are applied at two levels:

• The Objects themselves (such as a report, a database, or a shapefile)
• Archives that contain multiple Objects that derive from the same project or undertaking

All types are broadly applicable to both Archives and Objects, although in practice the use of certain types is dependent on if we are documenting a single file, or a collection of files. For example Technical metadata such as where a file is stored within ADS systems, its checksum, content type and file format are all stored at the Object level.

Data structure standards

Our metadata structure for Administrative, Descriptive, and Use, uses the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (DCMES) plus DCMI recommended qualifiers. Our Object-specific structure (Preservation and Technical) uses the PREMIS (PREservation Metadata: Implementation Strategies) Standard to model entities associated with the digital preservation process.

Our metadata structure has been mapped to:

• The ARIADNE AO-Cat model, an application profile of the CIDOC CRM.
• The DataCite Metadata Schema.
• The MEDIN metdata Discovery Standard, which complies with GEMINI v2.3.
• MIDAS Heritage.

Data value standards

We use the following controlled vocabularies, thesauri, and controlled lists to populate our data structure standard:

• Each Archive is described using at least one entry from the Library of Congress Subject Headings.
• The spatial location of each Archive is described using at least one entry from the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names.
• Subject and Period terms for Archives and Objects use UK Heritage thesauri
• Preservation metadata uses the PREMIS Data Dictionary