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Metadata Elements and Vocabularies

Template for Elements:

Element Name
Definition
Dublin Core
Repeatable
Mandatory
Example(s)
Comment

Elements:

Element Name	Creator
Definition	The entity primarily responsible for creating the resource.
Dublin Core	Creator
Repeatable	Yes
Mandatory	Yes
Example(s)	Kiwanis Club
Comment	May be a person, organization, or group of people (for example, Rockvale faculty). If a person, use Lastname, Firstname format. Do not abbreviate organization names. For example, use “Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association” rather than “TN Secondary School Athletic Assn.”

Element Name	Date Collected
Definition	The date the resource was collected by the repository.
Dublin Core	Date Submitted
Repeatable	No
Mandatory	Yes
Example(s)	04/01/1960 April 1960 1960
Comment	Use month/day/year format and add leading zeros when needed. If only a partial date is known, use the partial date. If the partial date consists of a month and year, use “month year” format, for example “April 1960”.

Element Name	Date Created
Definition	The date the resource was created.
Dublin Core	Date Created
Repeatable	No
Mandatory	Yes
Example(s)	04/01/1960 April 1960 1960
Comment	Use month/day/year format and add leading zeros when needed. If only a partial date is known, use the partial date. If the partial date consists of a month and year, use “month year” format, for example “April 1960”. If the date is uncertain, use “approximately”, EX: approximately 1950. If no date is available, use “unknown”. Do not use abbreviations.

Element Name	Description
Definition	A physical description of the item.
Dublin Core	Description
Repeatable	No
Mandatory	Yes
Example(s)	Black and white photograph of girl’s basketball team in uniform with coach and managers.
Comment	Include: Shape, color, damage, presence and location of inscription. Do not include: what the inscription is, unnecessary detail. Use straightforward language in full sentences. Do not use acronyms or abbreviations. Use “gold-colored”, not “gold” because it is highly doubtful there is any actual gold.

Element Name	Dimensions
Definition	Size of the original physical item.
Dublin Core	Format
Repeatable	No
Mandatory	Yes
Example(s)	7 3/4" x 3 1/2" x 2 1/2" inches
Comment	Width x length x depth Use inches or feet as units.

Element Name	Donor
Definition	The entity primarily responsible for creating the resource.
Dublin Core	Provenance
Repeatable	Yes
Mandatory	Yes
Example(s)	Kiwanis Club
Comment	May be a person, organization, or group of people (for example, Rockvale faculty). If a person, use Lastname, Firstname format. Do not abbreviate organization names, for example use “Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association” rather than “TN Secondary School Athletic Assn.” If the donor is unknown, use “unknown”.

Element Name	File Name
Definition	The name of the file or files the metadata is associated with.
Dublin Core	Identifier
Repeatable	No
Mandatory	Yes
Example(s)	RHS_0001A
Comment	Naming convention is RHS_[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9][optionally a capital letter] Capital letter is optional, marks files as related. For example RHS_0003A, RHS_0003B, RHS_0003C all are related to the same item. This is the unique identifier. See guidelines for renaming information.

Element Name	Inscription
Definition	Words or numbers on the resource.
Dublin Core	Abstract
Repeatable	Yes
Mandatory	Yes
Example(s)	“Rockvale Yearbook 1953”
Comment	Only include content of inscription; information such as size, location,etc. goes in the description element. Use quotation marks around inscription. Preserve original spelling and punctuation. If part or all of an inscription is obscured or illegible, use [illegible]. Do not guess at the contents of an illegible inscription; that is for researchers to do. Do not use for items that are mostly text, such as yearbooks.

Element Name	Item Name
Definition	How the resource is commonly known.
Dublin Core	Title
Repeatable	No
Mandatory	Yes
Example(s)	Kiwanis Club Invitational Sportsmanship Award.
Comment	Capitalize nouns and adjectives. Very brief description of object. Do not worry about name being unique. Save details for description field. “Basketball Photo” is better than “b/w boys basketball team in uniforms w/coach & manager”. If item has a title (such as yearbooks, pamphlets, etc.) use that title.

Element Name	Language
Definition	The language of the resource.
Dublin Core	Language
Repeatable	Yes
Mandatory	Yes
Example(s)	English
Comment	Use for language of inscription.

Element Name	Location
Definition	Current location of the resource.
Dublin Core	Coverage
Repeatable	No
Mandatory	Yes
Example(s)	On display Rockvale High School, Murfreesboro, TN
Comment	All materials are located at Rockvale High School in Murfreesboro, but indicate whether the item is in storage or on display. If in storage, list storage location.

Element Name	OLD ID
Definition	A unique identifier for the item.
Dublin Core	Alternative Title
Repeatable	No
Mandatory	Yes
Example(s)	AT1965G
Comment	Original ID that Xan came up with. Do not use as unique identifier. If item does not have one, use “none”. For internal use only - do not publish.

Element Name	Rights
Definition	Information about rights held over the resource.
Dublin Core	Rights
Repeatable	No
Mandatory	Yes
Example(s)	“There are currently no donation permission or usage forms required by the institution’s collection.“ “Currently, there are no privacy infringements, as all materials created are in the public domain.“
Comment	Use “unknown” or “n/a” as necessary. More information about rights can be found in the collection development policy.

Element Name	Uploader
Definition	The person who created and uploaded the metadata.
Dublin Core	Contributor
Repeatable	No
Mandatory	Yes
Example(s)	Smith, John
Comment	Use Lastname, Firstname format For internal use only - do not publish.