DUBLIN CORE METADATA

Dublin Core Metadata

Dublin Core Metadata

Introduction

Prior to DC-6, the Dublin Core could be characterized as 15 unstructured elements with text-string values. (See sidebar.) The only widely deployed syntax option for encoding these elements was the tag dot syntax that has been in use since 1996. Implementations in many countries and languages and in many disciplines testify to the widely perceived need for such a metadata element set, and the Dublin Core is the leading candidate for achieving the goal of simple resource description for Internet resources.

The basic definitions of the 15 elements of Dublin Core 1.0 have been stable since December 1996, reflecting confidence in the consensus that has been developed about core description elements over the previous four years. However, few applications have found that the 15 elements satisfy all their needs. This is unsurprising: the Dublin Core is intended to be just as its name implies — a core element set, augmented, on one hand, for local purposes by extension with added elements of local importance, and, on the other hand, by refinement through the use of qualifiers. There are many possible approaches to qualifying or refining the elements to meet such needs. Standardization of the semantics and methods for qualification of the basic elements is necessary if such qualification is to be widely interoperable.

Discussion

A Maintenance Agency for the Dublin Core Initiative

The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative began informally as an interdisciplinary workshop on resource description. As it attracted broader international and interdisciplinary interest, it has been necessary to develop greater formality around the process. Providing explicit process and structure for decision making is critical for sustaining community confidence. Steps toward this goal were initiated in 1998 with the formation of the Dublin Core Directorate, a Policy Advisory Committee (PAC), and a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).

The Policy Advisory Committee comprises representatives of major stakeholder communities and serves a liaison role between these communities and the Dublin Core Directorate. The Technical Advisory Committee is made up largely of working group chairs and provides a forum for the discussion and ratification of proposals concerning the Dublin Core. A subcommittee of the two groups has taken on the task of preparing a document to codify the process and provide for stable transition of membership on the advisory committees. The goal is to achieve a stable procedural foundation for the Dublin Core that retains the interdisciplinary, international consensus-building culture that has grown up around the Dublin Core initiative.

Dublin Core Working Groups

Working Groups are formed to address particular problems or clusters of problems. Working groups have charters and scheduled deliverables and are expected to go out of business officially at the end of each workshop cycle (approximately one year). Each Working Group has a mail server to support electronic discussions among its members, and all Working Groups are open to enrollment by any interested parties. All DC mailing lists use the Mailbase system (http://www.mailbase.ac.uk), an electronic discussion forum that supports higher education in the UK. Special thanks are due to Paul Miller of ...