Metadata

 Dublin Core

Metadata is data that describes other data. Metadata summarizes basic information about data, which can make finding and working with particular instances of data easier. For example, author, date created and date modified and file size are examples of very basic document metadata.  Having the ability to filter through that metadata makes it much easier for someone to locate a specific document. A good example is Dublin Core. 

The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) is an open organization engaged in the development of interoperable metadata standards that support a broad range of purposes and business models. DCMI's activities comprise work on architecture and modeling, discussions and collaborative work in DCMI Communities and DCMI Task Groups, annual conferences and workshops, standards liaison, and educational efforts to endorse large approval of metadata standards and practices.

DCMI had its foundation when the World Wide Web was in its early stages. This metadata system was designed for describing resources on the web. Eventually, the set of 15 metadata elements was finalized and as an RFC. The Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (DCMES) became a national standard in 2001 and an international standard in 2003. 

The mission of the DCMI is to make it easier to find resources using the Internet through developing metadata standards for discovery across domains, defining frameworks for the inter-operation of metadata sets, facilitating the development of community or discipline-specific metadata set that work within the frameworks of cross-domain discovery and metadata interoperability.


http://dublincore.org/