Metadata Concerns in Document & Records Management

Dennis E. HamiltonAIIM DMware Technical Coordinator

NuovoDoc System ArchitectDennis.Hamilton@acm.org

http://Dmware.info/activities/A030101.htm

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The Bottom Line

All aspects of Metadata matter in Document and Records Management.

That importance will increase. It is not a keen issue in current DM

standards activity.

Thesis: Interoperability and coherent integration are not (yet) mantras of the DM and RM world.

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If WebDAV is the Answer, What is the Question?

What open, public and heterogeneously-implemented specification provides a foundation for standards-based custody of managed materials?

Caveat 1: The WebDAV Working Group

does not have managed materials on their radar and probably won’t.

• Caveat 2: The IETF is not going to do it. It is seen as out-of-scope. W3C? OASIS?

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Metadata Concerns in DM & RM

The Bottom Line If WebDAV is the Answer, What is the

Question?

What’s Important About Metadata in DM Expansion of Interoperability and

Interchange Current DM Standards Initiatives Anti-patterns: Where’s the Bandwagon? WebDAV Opportunities

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What’s Important About Metadata in EDM and ERM

Documents are situated in the world. All systems are embedded systems. It matters to establish and relate the context.

The content material is insufficient. There is context and there is context history. Maintaining perspectives and relationships in

terms of collection membership, situation, and history. Even for “detached” documents.

Provenance, authenticity, authority and chain of custody all matter. Question of degree.

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Expansion of Interoperability and Interchange

Government and civil authorities migrating to Web and XML as part of eGovernment initiatives for coordination of all agencies

Financial institutions and commercial firms using XML for eBusiness and Business-to-Business transactions (replacing EDI)

Healthcare services and insurers adopting XML profiles for interchange and preservation of digital medical records

Increasing interchange between different application domains served by XML

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Expansion of Interoperability and Interchange - II

Accountability for electronic records expanding in civil, public, and commercial systems

Electronic-document preservation expands with adoption of ISO 9000, CMM, and other quality processes.

Document Management and Records Management each require archiving and preservation. Common solution desired.

Commodity products are everywhere being used in mission-critical applications.

Documents become managed at any time, requiring interoperability into the future

Must assume that managed-document may be accessed by others in the future – cannot employ isolated technology

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Awareness of Metadata Concerns for DM (?)

AIIM Standards Efforts http://standards.aiim.org/ Digital imaging standards activities putting some attention

to metadata concerns ARMA Standards Efforts

http://www.arma.org/standards/ Looking at software and migration issues

NARA http://www.nara.gov/records/ Source of DoD 5015.2 and related US information Addressing Electronic Records Archiving

OASIS: http://www.oasis-open.org/ Digital Preservation: http://digitalpreservation.org/ Metadata Registration Repositories: ISO/IEC JTC1 SC32

efforts

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AIIM Functional Requirements for Electronic DM/RM:

Level of Metadata Consideration

Metadata Usage Considering “Requirements for ERMS Metadata” (UK Public

Records Office) Appeal to ISO 15489 Is functional and structural, not format or protocol Have surveyed different schemes (DoD 5015.2, etc.) for

metadata elements Attention is on metadata of the management regime

Metadata Description Textual, functional

Model Descriptions and Resource Schemata Not identified

Registry and Repository Consideration Not identified

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AIIM Evidentiary Support:Level of Metadata Consideration

Metadata Usage Defining Specific Metadata to be affixed to or

embedded in content Similar to CENSA/GESA Interest

Metadata Description Presumably fixed

Model Descriptions and Resource Schemata Not needed

Registry and Repository Consideration Not addressed

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AIIM Metadata Committee:Level of Metadata Consideration

Metadata Usage Concerned with Metadata in Image Management Reinventing metadata taxonomy (inspired by Getty

Museum work) Functional – not addressing interchange formats

Metadata Description Text descriptions provided recommended elements

Model Descriptions and Resource Schemata Not addressed

Registry and Repository Consideration Not addressed

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AIIM Image Metadata Committee:

Level of Metadata Consideration Metadata Usage

Defining XML Schema for Metadata of Image Content Essentially Technical Metadata about Image

Representation Federation of other Metadata not addressed

Metadata Description Text descriptions on the nature of the elements

Model Descriptions and Resource Schemata Essentially fixed model

Registry and Repository Consideration Not addressed

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Digital Preservation Consortium:Level of Metadata Consideration

Metadata Usage Not addressed in current materials Attention is on preservation of raw digital content

over time, and different technological approaches (migration, emulation, translation)

Metadata Description Not identified – perhaps thought of as more content

Model Descriptions and Resource Schemata Not identified

Registry and Repository Consideration Not identified

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WebDAV:Level of Metadata Consideration

Metadata Usage Arbitrary attributes for filed objects (HTTP resources) XML elements for properties and expression of values Standard properties – support the protocol and

WebDAV model

Metadata Description Fledgling effort based on XML schema datatype model

Model Descriptions and Resource Schemata Not on WebDAV agenda

Registry and Repository Consideration Minimal registry using text records about identified

properties Working group unaware of metadata registry work

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ODMA:Level of Metadata Consideration

Metadata Usage Small fixed set of specifically-named attributes

identified Tunneling possible for using attributes of specific service

Metadata Description None: tag and some character string value

Model Descriptions and Resource Schemata None but what shows through from document manager

disguised in one-file = one-document model

Registry and Repository Activity Irrelevant in this model

Adoption Marginal and diminishing: being retired

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DMA:Level of Metadata Consideration

Metadata Usage Extensive open-ended metadata system

Metadata Description Full support for unstructured properties of fixed data-types,

including lists and arbitrary objects of constrained type Model Descriptions and Resource Schemata

Configurable and extensible object model for documents and collections; model is discoverable as a property on every object

Registry and Repository Activity Enabled by use of globally-unique naming system and

never taken up Adoption

Never achieved demonstrable interoperability - abandoned

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Anti-Patterns:Where’s the bandwagon?

Disciplined following of document-management requirements intrudes on people with jobs to do. Ease of use is paramount and difficult.

The business case for using interoperable, standards-based approaches is not that clearly established. True for customers & vendors.

Interoperability and substitution of components exposes vendors to commoditization and price competition.

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WebDAV Opportunities: Metadata Opportunities

GAP WebDAV allows arbitrary metadata – is basic

carrier of properties. No agreed mechanism for knowing what

metadata is required and rules to follow to satisfy management requirements on different objects.

OPPORTUNITY Supplement WebDAV with Standard Practice for

discovery of metadata requirements and rules Provide means for inter-working with other

metadata schemes using registry standards Deal with every DMS being its own “registry”