metadataformats
Metadata formats are standardized schemas for encoding metadata about digital objects, enabling discovery, management, preservation, and exchange across systems. They define what metadata to record and how to structure it, rather than the data itself. Metadata formats are used across libraries, archives, museums, and digital repositories to describe items such as manuscripts, images, datasets, and born-digital records.
They are often categorized as descriptive, structural, or administrative. Descriptive metadata supports discovery and identification (title,
Common formats include Dublin Core, a simple, widely adopted set of elements suitable for broad description;
Interoperability is facilitated by crosswalks between formats and by harvesting protocols such as OAI-PMH, which allows
Key organizations include the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) and standards bodies such as NISO; national