The MetaMap, an Online Tool for Learning about Metadata

The MetaMap ( <http://mapageweb.umontreal.
ca/turner/> ) is a graphic study aid and reference
tool to help people understand how approximately 200 metadata
initiatives worldwide are related to information management
in digital libraries. It represents these in the form of a subway
map to help the user navigate metaspace, and leans heavily on
the conventions of the London Underground Map (London ),
noted for its clarity in helping users sort out complex reality.
Each metadata standard, set, or initiative (MSSI) is represented
as a station on a line. Each line has a theme, and these include
processes of information management (Creation, Organisation,
Dissemination, Preservation), institutions with expertise in
information management (Libraries, Archives, Museums), and
types of digital documentation (Text, Still Images, Moving
Images, Sound). In addition, organisations deeply involved in
Web activity and metadata norms, such as the World Wide Web
Consortium, the IETF, and the IEEE are included on a separate
line. When the user passes the mouse over a station name, the
expanded name of the acronym appears. A mouse click on the
name opens a window with other useful information such as
the purpose of the MSSI, its sponsor, and links to the official
and other useful Web sites. The MetaMap is available in English
and French, and there is some information online in Spanish
and Portuguese while these versions are being built. We are
also negotiating with potential partners to build versions in
several other languages.
The arrival of the World Wide Web and the new networked
environment for information has already radically changed the
approach to information management. This new information
environment has no analogue in history and over the past ten
years or so, it has been necessary to re-think the techniques and
methods used for organising information. Various types of
metadata are being developed in response to various information
management needs. Descriptive metadata is used for
identification, discovery and access, and can also help in
evaluating resources. Recordkeeping metadata helps to order,
to validate, and to archive an organisation's resources and, with
the arrival of electronic information is also considered "a tool
that can help ensure the meaning, manageability and longevity
of records and the information they contain" (New South
Wales). In addition, preservation metadata plays the specific
role of contributing to longterm conservation of digital
resources. But whatever the particular reasons for which
metadata is used, all types of metadata have in common the
physical and intellectual management of resources to ensure
access to them both now and in the long term. Basic readings
which are helpful to those who wish to get a grasp on the
concept of metadata include articles by Hodge and Hillman.
The latter article is on use of the Dublin Core (DCMI). Without
common rules and principles for metadata construction, the
metadata and the corresponding resources would remain
underused or would not be used at all (Soft Experience). This
need for uniformity explains why the adoption of metadata
standards quickly became so necessary.
The metadata standards and sets constructed to date already
constitute a long list. As this list continues to grow, it becomes
more and more difficult to keep track of this information, which
forms the basis of the Semantic Web. In addition to standards
and sets, a number of initiatives have been undertaken, often
with a number of collaborators, in order to serve as testbeds
for metadata sets and standards and to demonstrate the
effectiveness of additional techniques for organising networked
information. A number of major players assume the
responsibility for several initiatives (e.g. IETF 2004, IEEE
2003, W3C 2004, DCMI 2004).
The idea of developing a tool such as the MetaMap arose from
the idea that it would be useful to gather in a single place
information about the many MSSIs that have come into
existence over the last several years. Since the focus of attention
in the information management community is the Web, and
since the Web is the chief source for information about metadata
for managing networked information, it was thought to be
particularly helpful to produce a Web-based tool, in addition
to a poster (in colour, French and English recto-verso, 90 x 60
cm) which is available free of charge. The MetaMap is
sponsored by the Groupe départemental de recherche en
information visuelle (GRIV 2003) at the Université de Montréal.
Work on the MetaMap is funded by CoRIMedia ( <http://
www.corimedia.org> ), a research consortium based at
the Université de Sherbrooke. Bibliography
dublincore.org. Accessed 2004-11-21. <http://www.du
blincore.org/>
Hillman, Diane. Using Dublin Core. . Accessed 2001-04-12.
<http://www.dublincore.org/documents/2001
/04/12/usageguide/>
Hodge, Gail. Metadata made simpler. . Accessed 2005-03-25.
<http://www.niso.org/news/Metadata_simple
r.pdf>
ieee.org. Accessed 2005-03-21. <http://www.ieee.or
g/portal/index.jsp>
ietf.org. Accessed 2005-03-14. <http://www.ietf.or
g/>
London Underground: tube maps. . Accessed 2005-03-21. <h
ttp://tube.tfl.gov.uk/content/tubemap/def
ault.asp>
mapageweb.umontreal.ca. Accessed 2004-11-21. <http:/
/mapageweb.umontreal.ca/turner/francais/g
riv.html>
New South Wales Recordkeeping Metadata Standard. .
Accessed 2004-03-02. <http://www.records.nsw.g
ov.au/publicsector/rk/rib/rib18-en.pdf>
Peccatte, Patrick. Métadonnées: une initiation Dublin Core,
IPTC, EXIF, RDF, XMP, etc.. Soft Experience, 2004. <http
://peccatte.karefil.com/Software/Metadata
.htm>
The MetaMap. . Accessed 2005-01-08. <http://mapage
web.umontreal.ca/turner/>
W3C: The World Wide Web Consortium. Accessed 2005-03-21.
<http://www.w3c.org>