The
prefix "meta" simply means one level of description
higher. Metadata is therefore data that describes data.
It is a tool used to index and classify material.
Much
like the card catalogue in a library, metadata is designed
to aid in the online search for relevant sources. It uses
a number of pre-defined elements to represent attributes
of the resource. An example of these elements would be
title, author, format and description.
Because there is no standard for metadata on the Internet,
researchers, educators and students quickly become frustrated
in their attempts to find relevant and useful educational
material. Developing a standard metadata set, known as
CanCore, is therefore an essential part of the educational
object repository being created by BELLE.
It is important that resources (or learning objects) be
catalogued in a way that allows easy recognition and searching.
Not only will this provide a much greater level of access
to relevant online sources across Canada but it will act
as a lead for any other repository projects that are created.
As the amount of digital information contained within
these repositories continues to grow, they will have a
backbone of interoperability that will avoid the fundamental
problem of "information blindness" on the Internet.
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An
Introduction to Metadata
By Chris Taylor. University of Queensland, April 1, 1999.
A good introduction to metadata and searching.
Desire Information Gateway Handbooks chapter 2.3
"Metadata formats"
DESIRE Information Gateways Handbook chapter 2.4
"Cataloguing"
The DESIRE (Development of a European Service for Information
on Research and Education) group has compiled an extensive
and comprehensive handbook designed to support libraries
and other organizations interested in setting up large-scale
information gateways on the Internet. These two chapters
address metadata attributes and formats, and cataloguing
guidelines and maintenance.
Meta-Objects - An Object Oriented approach to metadata
by Matthew Dovey. Ariadne Vol. 19, March 19, 1999
Author Matthew Dovey argues for the adoption of an object-oriented
approach to metadata to reflect shifts in computer science.
Canadian
Core Metadata Set
The Canadian specification for metadata, known as "CanCore"
.
Dublin Core Metadata Element Set
The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, is a community of
individuals from organizations and institutions all over
the world.
IMS Metadata Set
IMS is a global consortium working to develop
and promote open specifications for facilitating online
distributed learning activities.
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