Metadata is data about data. More specifically, metadata is a vocabulary that consists of elements or tags that are used to describe a variety of materials including: books, web pages, journal articles, data sets, images, digital exhibitions, and physical objects.
This Libguide will provide you with information about metadata schema and usage at Bowling Green State University. If you have more questions about how to select a metadata schema for your project or how to use metadata, University Libraries can offer expert help.
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There are multiple types of metadata, including:
1. Descriptive metadata: Used for discovery and identification. This is the most common form of metadata. Almost all metadata you will create will fall into this category.
2. Structural: Describes the physical and/or logical structure of digital resources. -- Definition taken from "Best Practices for Structural Metadata." Best Practices for Structural Metadata created by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
3. Administrative: Provides information about file type, creation date, and technical information. Most administrative metadata is already imbedded in the file. It is not recommended that you add administrative metadata by hand, unless you have to.
4. Rights: Provides information about who owns the rights (intellectual property) to the resource.
5. Preservation: The information needed to preserve a resource.
Examples of everyday metadata: