Descriptiveresource

Descriptiveresource is a term used in information science to denote the descriptive metadata that describes a resource. It comprises information intended to aid identification, discovery, and understanding of the resource, rather than to manage its access or its technical structure. In library and information science, descriptiveresource is typically treated as descriptive metadata, distinct from administrative and structural metadata.

Content commonly found in a descriptiveresource includes the title, creator, date, subjects, abstract or description, language, format, extent, rights statements, and identifiers. This descriptive information may be drawn from cataloging rules, repository practices, or automatic extraction, and it supports users in recognizing and selecting resources.

Descriptiveresource metadata is structured according to standards and schemas such as Dublin Core, MARC, MODS, or schema.org. In digital libraries and repositories, descriptive records can be carried in catalog entries, embedded in files, or stored in separate metadata stores. The descriptive metadata may accompany digital objects as metadata sheets, embedded metadata, or external catalogs.

Descriptiveresource sits alongside administrative metadata (which covers rights, provenance, preservation, and access) and structural metadata (which describes relationships among components of a compound object). Its primary role is discovery and inspection: to enable search, filtering, and citation, and to provide enough context for users to assess the resource’s relevance.

In practice, descriptiveresource is created by librarians, metadata specialists, or automated pipelines. Quality depends on consistent encoding, controlled vocabularies, and alignment with applicable standards and thesauri. Overall, it supports effective retrieval and informed use of both physical and digital resources.