Standards Framework Report #2

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Standards Framework Report #2

Section 1 - Introduction

The SCHEMAS project is 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 information services. 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. the International Organization for Standardization ISO) but also on non-traditional, Internet-based initiatives (e.g. Dublin Core). This present report contains the second version of the Standards Framework.

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.

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.

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 second Standards Framework used the results of the first Standards Framework and the feedback of the workshops to evaluate to which extent the standardisation activities have progressed and/or developed. It provides also an insight into some new activities, which have been identified during the research.

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