Electronic Records Management Guidelines

Metadata

Summary

Data about data. Information (e.g., creator name, creation date) that is used to facilitate intellectual control of, and structured access to, other information. Metadata is usually defined as "data about data." Metadata allows users to locate and evaluate data without each person having to discover it anew with every use. Its basic elements are a structured format and a controlled vocabulary, which together allow for a precise and comprehensible description of content, location, and value.

While the term itself might sound new and trendy, the concept it describes is not. In some fashion, metadata has always been with us, apparent in everything from program listings in TV Guide to the nutritional information on the back of a cereal box. For government According to the State of Minnesota, an item that documents an official government transaction or action.

"All cards, correspondence, disks, maps, memoranda, microfilm, papers, photographs, recordings, reports, tapes, writings and other data, information or documentary material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, storage media or condition of use, made or received by an officer or agency of the state and an officer or agency of a county, city, town, school, district, municipal, subdivision or corporation or other public authority or political entity within the state pursuant to state law or in connection with the translation of public business by an officer or agency…. The term 'records' excludes data and information that does not become part of an official translation, library and museum material made or acquired and kept solely for reference or exhibit purpose, extra copies of documents kept only for convenience of reference and stock of publications and process documents, and bond, coupons, or other obligations or evidence of indebtedness, the destruction or other disposition of which is governed by other laws" (Minnesota Statutes, section 138.17, subd.1).

"Information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form" (Minnesota Statutes, section 325L.02). records, the familiar forms of metadata are the recordkeeping metadata standard and the records retention schedule.

Anyone who has suffered the exercise in irrelevance offered by an The vast network of computer systems that enables worldwide connectivity among users and computers. Internet search engine will appreciate the value of precise metadata. Because "Data, text, images, sounds, codes, computer programs, software, databases, or the like" (Minnesota Statutes, section 325L.02). information in a digital format is only legible through the use of intermediary hardware and software, the role of metadata in information technology is fundamentally important. In any system, given the volume of information it contains, the uses to which it can be put, and the costs involved, metadata is the basic tool for efficiency and effectiveness.

Whatever you want to do with the information (e.g., protect its confidentiality, present it as evidence, provide citizens access to it, broadcast it, share it, preserve it, destroy it) will be feasible only if you and your partners can understand and rely upon the metadata describing it. Using metadata effectively means understanding and applying the standards appropriate to your needs.

Key Concepts

To understand, create, and use metadata effectively, you will need to know more about:

• Metadata functions

• Legal needs and statutory mandates

• Metadata and technology

• Metadata standards

Metadata Functions
Government agencies routinely use metadata to fulfill a variety of functions, but the primary uses are for:

• Legal and statutory reasons (e.g., to satisfy records management laws and the rules of evidence)

• Technological reasons (e.g., to design and document systems)

• Operational or administrative reasons (e.g., to document decisions and establish accountability)

• Service to citizens, agency staff, and others (e.g., to locate and share information)

In all of these cases, metadata standards will be effective only if they rely on a structured format and controlled vocabulary. "Structured format" means the metadata is defined in terms of specific, standardized elements or fields. For example, a library catalog entry for a book will identify its author, title, subject(s), and location, among other things. Unless all the elements are there, users will not be able to evaluate the metadata; they won't be able to answer the question "Is this the book I want?"

"Controlled vocabulary" means that there is a standard as well for the content of the elements. For example, the nutritional information on the back of a box of cereal is often defined in terms of weight per serving. We know what “sugar: three grams” means. It refers to a standard unit of measurement that allows us to compare the sugar content of one cereal to that of another. But if the box read "just the way you like it" or "pretty sweet," that would mean different things to different people. We couldn't compare a subjective review like that to what's on the back of another box of cereal.

To work effectively, the elements and components of metadata should have an accepted, precise meaning that reflects a common understanding among its creators and its users. That allows for evaluation and comparison, for selecting the information you want from all the information available.

Legal Needs and Statutory Mandates
Because you are part of a government entity, you need to pay particular attention to metadata's value to help you achieve basic legal needs and meet statutory mandates.

For example, Minnesota's Records Management Act mandates that government agencies cannot dispose of records without the approval of the state's Records Disposition Panel. The only way to get that approval is to describe the records: what they are, where they are, what their significance is, and how they should be disposed. All that information is metadata. In the The planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training, promoting, and other managerial activities related to the creation, maintenance, use, and disposition of records. See also Recordkeeping. records management process, metadata usually takes two forms, either a A plan for the management of records listing types of records and how long they should be kept; the purpose is to provide continuing authority to dispose of or transfer records to the Minnesota State Archives. records retention schedule or an Application for Authority to Dispose of Records form (PR–1).

Similarly, the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act classifies data under nine different categories which specify how, when, or if the public may gain access to government data. You cannot guess what level of access or security to provide just by looking at the data itself. You need some additional information—some metadata—in order to follow the letter of the law.

These are some of the laws most pertinent to the use of metadata:

• Official Records Act (Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 15.17) (available at: http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/stats/15/17.html), which mandates that government agencies must keep records in order to be accountable for their actions and decisions.

• Records Management Act (Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 138.17) (available at: http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/stats/138/17.html), which creates the Records Disposition Panel and establishes the records management process for government records.

• Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA) (Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13) (available at: http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/stats/13/), which mandates that your records should be accessible to the public, unless categorized as not-public by the state legislature.

The metadata requirements of all of these statutes are encompassed in the state's Recordkeeping Metadata Standard. For more information on the legal framework you must consider when dealing with government records, refer to the Introduction and Appendix D of the Trustworthy Information Systems Handbook.

Metadata and Information Technology
Metadata is useful for the management of information in any storage format, paper or digital. But it is critically important for information in a digital format because that is only legible through the use of intermediary hardware and software. We can open up a book or even hold microfilm up to a light to determine what it says. But we can't just look at a CD and say what's on it. We cannot possibly hope to locate, evaluate, or use all the files on a single PC, let alone the Internet, without metadata.

If information technology makes metadata necessary, it's information technology that makes metadata useful. Special software applications, such as TagGen, make the creation of standardized metadata simpler. Databases store and provide access to metadata. Most software applications automatically create metadata and associate it with files. One example is the header and routing information that accompany an e-mail message. Another is the set of properties created with every Microsoft Word document; certain elements such as the title, author, file size, etc., are automatically created, but other elements can be customized and created manually. Normally, some combination of automatically and manually created information is best for precise and practical metadata.

Most important, metadata can inform business rules and software code that transforms it into "executable knowledge." For example, metadata can be used for batch processing of files. A date element is critical to records management, as most record retention schedules are keyed to a record's date of creation. Metadata in more sophisticated data formats, such as eXtensible Markup Language (XML), allow for extraction, use, and calculation based on specific components of a metadata record.

Metadata Standards
To work effectively, metadata has to be precise and comprehensible. The entire community of creators and users has to understand what it means. There is a variety of metadata standards in use across the world, but there are three principal standards in general use in Minnesota government today. Minnesota's Office of Enterprise Technology (http://www.oet.state.mn.us/) recommends the following standards in its enterprise architecture:

• Minnesota Metadata Guidelines – Dublin Core
• Minnesota Geographic Metadata Guidelines
• Minnesota Recordkeeping Metadata Standard

Key Issues to Consider

Now that you are familiar with some of the basic concepts and types of metadata, you can consider some of the issues that have to be addressed in order to use metadata effectively. The most important are:

• Audiences: Most people who rely on metadata are unaware they're using it or even that it exists. Nevertheless, when you create metadata, you have to be aware of the audiences for your information in order to determine the appropriate standards and approaches. To make your decisions, you should know which information resources your audiences use, which questions they ask, and what their level of expertise is.

• Partnerships: To increase the value of both metadata and the information it describes, you need to work with other creators, custodians, and users of information. If you agree on metadata standards, tools, and practices in collaboration with others, you will create a much more beneficial information management program for your whole organization.

• Implementation: Selecting a standard is a good first step. Putting it into practice is a more useful and difficult one. Creating and maintaining metadata over time will demand attention, resources, and staff. You will get a good return on that investment if you keep in mind your legal mandates, your business processes, and your customers as you choose what standards and practices are most appropriate for you.

• Education: One critical element of a practical metadata program to keep in mind is education. You will need to know about what others are doing with the standards, the tools, and the uses of metadata. As these change, you will need to keep up with those developments.

• Promotion: To promote the understanding, use, and creation of metadata, as well as to ensure that there are enough resources to support a metadata program, it is important to draw people's attention to metadata and its importance. The State of Minnesota's Information Policy Council supports a metadata awareness program designed by the Land Management Information Center and the State Archives Department of the Minnesota Historical Society. The program promotes reliable and standardized metadata with an educational resource online and a symbol:

  

  When you see this symbol, you are looking at information that is described by metadata created according to a recognized standard. On a web page, the symbol will act as a hot link to a page describing the value and uses of metadata and offering information about specific metadata standards used in Minnesota.

Discussion Questions

• What are the business functions your metadata is supposed to fulfill?

• Who is the audience for your metadata? What are their needs?

• Does your agency have an information and/or technical architecture? What metadata standards does it recommend?

• Are your software applications creating metadata?

• What are your legal needs? Does your agency have a records management or data practices office?

• Do the managers and resource allocators in your agency support a metadata program? Have you made a business case to them?

• Are the offices or departments of your agency already creating metadata? Are they using different standards?

• What are the metadata standards pertinent to your profession or business functions?

Download a copy of the Metadata Key Issues to Consider and Discussion Questions.

Metadata, Annotated List of Resources

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Electronic Records Management Guidelines, March 2004, Version 4.

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