Standards Framework Report #1

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Standards Framework Report #1

Section 1 - Introduction

The SCHEMAS project is setting up a forum for metadata schema implementers. It is especially trying to reach those implementers who are involved in the European Commission’s IST programme or in national initiatives within Europe. Implementers in the context of SCHEMAS are pictured as institutions/companies who plan to publish on the Web or who plan to provide information services at a high level of access quality.

SCHEMAS is developing a knowledge base and training material. An important component of the knowledge base is the Standards Framework. The Standards Framework focuses specifically on initiatives for defining or ratifying particular web-oriented metadata schemas as recognised standards. The emphasis here will not only be on standardisation efforts within traditional standards organisations (e.g. CEN and ISO) but also on non-traditional, Internet-based initiatives (e.g. Dublin Core). This present report contains the first version of the Standards Framework. Because of the rapid developments of metadata schemas this framework will be further developed during the coming two years. Since there are many different definitions of metadata we will have to explain how metadata is understood within the SCHEMAS project. In the SCHEMAS project we understand metadata as a broad term covering many types of "structured data about data". This can range from traditional resources such as library catalogues, subject indexes, book reviews and abstracts, to new forms of technical and descriptive data for Web resources like digital signatures, digitised map co-ordinates and online mail order catalogues. Because of the broad diversity of potential applications of metadata, the needs for metadata can best be met by a multiplicity of separate but functionally focused metadata packages that are called schemas.

Metadata schemas are needed in order to be able to organise the content on the web. Metadata schemas have many applications like for example searching and retrieving content, cataloguing content, making content machine understandable or machine-readable, transmitting content, etc. An implementer of metadata can invent a metadata schema him- or herself, but besides running the chance of reinventing the wheel the danger is that it lowers the level of access when the schema is not known to others. A diffused landscape of individual metadata schemas will maybe fulfil the need for localising content but will endanger the accessibility of the content by others. There seems to be a trade-off between localisation and interoperability.

A wide variety of standardisation initiatives have been or are being undertaken. Both within formal standardisation organisations and within other organisations and both at a general level and at a more domain specific level. Standardisation of metadata is a diverse area and the activities are spread over the different application areas and domains of metadata schemas.

As a result, implementers who will need metadata face the challenge of designing schemas that are compatible with both existing and emerging standards. They will need some core elements along with parts of more domain-specific element sets. In some cases they even might find themselves having to invent elements of their own. Since different schemas are needed in different situations, implementers cannot always use schemas "straight from the box".

The Standards Framework is aimed at mapping this wide diversity of metadata standardisation to application areas and to provide information to implementers about what is going on, what they could use and where they can find information about how to use certain standards. This first report describes and analyses 21 initiatives covering a total of 89 separate metadata-related standards. The coming 2 years this Standards Framework will be broadened and deepened. Many standards are still in the development phase and lack good documentation or guidelines.

Again, developments in web-oriented metadata standardisation are going fast. This report will therefore be the first out of 4 and intends to provide after two years a comprehensive and useful Standards Framework for Metadata Schema implementers.

Maintained by: UK Office for Library and Information Networking (UKOLN)
Last updated: 07 August 2001