What is metadata?

Simply put, metadata is data about data. For example, if an article is "data," then the author's name and when and where the article was published are "metadata."

Metadata is used to facilitate information retrieval. Items in the Academic Commons -- or any online database -- would be difficult to find without basic information such as as author, title, date, and file format. In some collections, more metadata than this will be necessary.

With the growth of the Internet, metadata and metadata standards have become increasingly important to us all, since they help sift through the surplus of available information. The metadata in the Academic Commons may be harvested by numerous Internet services. The quality and consistency of this metadata matters.

How to provide metadata

Individuals who add items to the Academic Commons are responsible for providing their own metadata. In the case of Community Collections, this will be done by completing a simple, step-by-step submission procedure.

A collection's metadata requirements are established by, or in consultation with, Academic Commons staff. The metadata requirements for most Academic Commons collections will be simple; exceptions will be archival and other currated collections designed for advanced researchers.

Library staff are available to help you to create good metadata for your collection. Academic Commons staff also reserve the right to amend or modify metadata to improve access to content.

For more information, contact the Academic Commons Coordinator.