In order to ensure long-term accessibility or resources one of the key activities is creating good quality preservation metadata.
“Preservation metadata are intended to store technical details on the format, structure and use of the digital content, the history of all actions performed on the resource including changes and decisions, the authenticity information such as technical features or custody history, and the responsibilities and rights information applicable to preservation actions.”
From PADI: Preservation metadata.
What metadata are required will normally be discussed when talking about which digital object you are preserving. It will usually include information on:
- Provenance (who owns the digital object)
- Authenticity (is it what it says it is)
- Preservation activity (what’s been done to the object),
- Technical environment (how can you recreate the digital object)
- Rights Management (what are the IPR issues)
The metadata captured may include bibliographic, administrative, legal, preservation, technical, educational and structural metadata.
These chunks of information may be useful to record in any preservation process, see for example the archiving of the JISC Preservation of Web Resources (PoWR) blog.
There may also be a requirement to preserve metadata housed on a database or other system, or as text-based information, such as in XML.
Further Resources
- PADI: Preservation metadata
- Wikipedia: Preservation metadata
- DCC: What are Metadata Standards
- DCC: Using Metadata Standards
- Digital Preservation for Beginners – Metadata
- LOC: PREMIS Preservation Matadata Maintenance Activity
- Wikipedia: Open Archival Information System (OAIS)
- LOC: Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard (METS)
- ADS: Guides to Good Practice: Project Documentation and Metadata
