## Introduction

The Metadata Tool is designed to aid in the efficient production and maintenance of individual resource records. Metadata is the background information which describes the content, quality, condition, and other appropriate characteristics of the resource. At the most basic level, this information can be considered data about data. It allows for the organization, indexing, and classification of data for storage, discovery, and precise retrieval by users.

As shipped, the software offers a default set of metadata fields drawn from the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (ANSI/NISO Z39.85-2001), additions from Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) proposals, DCMI recommended refinements, and three from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Learning Object Metadata (LOM) standard. The DC element set was developed by the DCMI, an organization dedicated to promoting the widespread adoption of interoperable metadata standards and developing specialized metadata vocabularies for describing resources that enable more intelligent information discovery systems. These fields are meant to be both broadly applicable and easily understood. The fields are defined in the Metadata Field Definitions section.

In order to add and edit records, users must use the work template that is available from the Add New Resource and the Edit Resources pages. Initially, each cataloging record template has this default set of fields available. The default fields parallel (at a basic level) the structured approach of a library catalog or commercially available database. The default fields are supplied for convenience only. Apart from the few required fields, portal administrators may disable and delete fields as needed through the Metadata Field Editor. For completing these default fields, no particular cataloging rules, syntax, taxonomy, or other descriptive encoding level are prescribed or required by the portal software. Organizations are encouraged to carefully examine organizational cataloging needs and keep them in mind when establishing which standards, classification schemes, and encoding levels to follow for portal development. Additionally, organizations that customize the database should appropriately modify all help texts to reflect the changes.

By default, the required fields to create a resource record are Title, Url, Description, Date Record Checked, Added by ID, and Release Flag. With the exception of the field that is designated as the Resource Title Field in the System Configuration, the required fields can be changed by a collection administrator in the Metadata Field Editor.

The Metadata Tool has special authorization features for components of the metadata separate from the authorization to add and edit resource records to the database. Because of the nature of Classifications and Names, an organization may wish to restrict access and editing permission of these two tables within the database. This permission only applies to adding/editing/deleting classification or name entries from the database. Unauthorized persons will not be able to view these options. This authorization is controlled by the system administrator.