Workbook on Digital Private Papers > Administrative and preservation metadata > Using METS for the preservation and dissemination of digital archives
Using METS for the preservation and dissemination of digital archives
Introduction
Using other schemas with METS
Other metadata schemas can be incorporated into a METS file or referred to from it. Some of these are included in the schema as values within the MDTYPE attribute associated with the <mdWrap> and <mdRef> elements. Not all of these have XML schemata that are endorsed by the METS Editorial Board: approved schemes are known as METS Extension Schemas and a list of these is provided on the official METS website; usually the Board endorses a particular XML schema only when it has been officially sanctioned by the organisation supporting its development. External schemas commonly used include:
For descriptive metadata:
- Simple Dublin Core: developed by the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative to produce a core set of metadata terms for all kinds of digital objects, and to promote resource discovery across domains. Commonly used for the purposes of OAI-PMH metadata harvesting.
- Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS): developed in a joint initiative led by the Library of Congress; richer than Dublin Core and designed specifically to work with METS. In order to create self-describing digital objects, Paradigm used MODS in its METS files to record item-level descriptive metadata that can be automatically extracted.
- Encoded Archival Description (EAD): administrative and descriptive metadata developed specifically to encode archives and manuscript collections.
- Machine Readable Cataloguing (MARC) in the form of the MARCXML Schema: widely used by libraries to describe analogue and digital materials.
- Visual Resources Association (VRA): a scheme for describing visual images.
- Text Encoding Initiative Header (TEIHDR): a schema for encoding metadata associated with TEI-encoded texts.
For administrative metadata:
- Schema for Technical Metadata for Text (TextMD): for textual documents.
- NISO Technical Metadata for Digital Still Images (XML encoded as MIX): metadata scheme described by a data dictionary that can be used to describe a number of formats of still images.
- Technical metadata for audiovisual formats as specified by the Library of Congress A/V prototyping project (LC-AV).
- Schema for Rights Declaration (METSRights): designed for use with METS to record basic metadata about the intellectual property rights associated with a digital object or its parts.
- Preservation metadata developed by the OCLC-RLG Preservation Metadata Implementation Strategies Working Group (PREMIS); some PREMIS XML schemas have been developed.
Other types of metadata can also be used with METS, by selecting the OTHER value in the MDTYPE attribute and naming the scheme within the OTHERMDTYPE attribute.
