Download Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web

Government of Canada
Metadata Implementation Guide
for Web Resources
2nd edition – May 2003
Prepared by the
Ad Hoc Committee of Federal Metadata Experts
Metadata Action Team
Council of Federal Libraries
st
1 edition entitled "Common Look and Feel Metadata Implementation Guides", September 2002
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
2nd edition
Table Of Contents
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1:
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
Introduction
What is Metadata?
Why Does It Matter?
Why a Common Standard?
Common Look and Feel (CLF) Mandatory Metadata Elements
Optional Metadata Elements
HTML Metatags
Chapter 2: Guidance for Metadata Developers
2.1
General Guidance
2.2
Guidance Applicable to All Metadata Elements
CLF Required Elements
2.3
Creator
2.4
Date
2.5
Language
2.6
Subject
2.7
Title
Optional Elements
2.8
Geographic Coverage
2.9
Description
2.10
Type
Chapter 3:
3.1
3.2
3.3
Guidance for Managers
Introduction
Departmental Information Management Activities and Metadata Implementation
Meeting the Metadata Requirement
Chapter 4:
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
Specific Metadata Elements - Considerations
Creator
Date
Subject
Title
Geographic Coverage
Description
Type
References
Chapter 5: Updates to the Guide
Chapter 6: Staying on Top of Government of Canada Metadata Policies and Developments
Chapter 7: For More Information
Appendix A: Options for Linking Metadata to Web Pages
Appendix B: Sample CLF Metadata Source Code
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
2nd edition
Acknowledgements
This Guide is a project of the Council of Federal Libraries' Metadata Action Team. The Guide draws on
the expertise of metadata practitioners in several disciplines and government departments who pooled
their thoughts on the issues and best practices involved in the implementation of Treasury Board
1
Common Look & Feel (CLF) Standard 6.3 and Treasury Board Information Management Standard
2
(TBITS) 39 . The practitioners' expertise, time and commitment were invaluable in the creation of this
document.
For their support in the creation of this edition, the Council of Federal Libraries thanks:
Name
Department
Maria Bencsath
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Diane Brooks
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
Marie-Claude Côté
Treasury Board Secretariat
Nikki Cox
Human Resources Development Canada
Alain Lanoix
Library of Parliament
Gay Lepkey
Depository Services Program, Communication Canada
David L. McCallum
Consultant (Group Facilitator and Writer)
Cindy Mitchell
Natural Resources Canada
Tony Moren
Statistics Canada
Karen Morgenroth
CISTI, National Research Council Canada
Sylvie Régimbal
Veterans Affairs Canada
Gregory Renaud
Treasury Board Secretariat
Cecil Somerton
Health Canada
Deane Zeeman
National Library of Canada (Group Coordinator and Editor)
Team members thank Carole Julien, CFL Library Officer, for the excellent administrative services that
kept the background running so smoothly.
The Council of Federal Libraries (CFL) also wishes to acknowledge the contribution of the many
volunteers from federal government departments who reviewed the Guide with an eye to ensuring that it
would meet the needs of metadata developers and managers.
The Guide was produced with support from the Information Management Division of the Chief Information
Officer Branch of Treasury Board Secretariat.
1
Government of Canada Web sites must include five metadata elements to describe their Web resources: Title,
Creator, Language, Date and Subject.
2
The Dublin Core metadata standard (http://dublincore.org/) adopted by Treasury Board ministers as the metadata
standard for the Government of Canada.
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
2nd edition
Chapter 1
Introduction
In the year 2000, the Treasury Board of Canada issued a government-wide directive making it mandatory
for federal government Web sites to include descriptive metadata, structured information about the
content of Web-based resources. A Web resource is defined as a single Web page, a document
(consisting of multiple Web pages), a digitized image, a sound file, or an animation such as a movie.
3
The metadata requirements are stated in Common Look and Feel (CLF) Standard 6.3 .The official
deadline for implementing this standard for external Web sites was December 31, 2002. Requirements
are still in effect.
4
The first edition of the Metadata Implementation Guide was written by an ad hoc group of federal
metadata experts facilitated by the Metadata Action Team of the Council of Federal Libraries in June
2002. Its purpose was to assist those responsible for implementing this standard, and for the ongoing
maintenance of the metadata mandated by it. This second edition was undertaken by a similar ad hoc
group of experts in February 2003.
The introduction to this edition explains what metadata is and why it is important, and sets out the
metadata elements that Government of Canada Web sites are expected to carry in order to comply with
CLF Standard 6.3.
The section for metadata developers offers practical assistance to those responsible for creating
metadata content for federal government Web resources in accordance with Government of Canada
metadata standards. It explains the tasks to be performed, demonstrates how the required information
should be created, and directs users to other resources. It also provides instructions on how and where to
insert the required source codes into a Web document.
The section for metadata managers offers assistance to managers responsible for developing metadata
management policy and for meeting Government of Canada metadata standards in their departments or
agencies.
Your comments on these documents and suggestions for improvement are welcomed. Please send your
input to the Metadata Coordinator at the National Library of Canada (mailto:[email protected]).
1.1
What is Metadata?
Metadata is structured information about the characteristics of a physical or digital object.
Imagine an unlabelled, sealed tin can. It could contain motor oil, red kidney beans or cat food. The only
way to ascertain its contents is to open it. But if it had a label, you'd know what was inside without
opening it. And if it had a really useful label, you'd know at a glance everything you needed to about the
contents of the tin and be able to make an informed decision about whether to buy and/or open it.
Metadata serves the same function as a label. Just like other labels, metadata provides information about
the contents of an object – in this case, an electronic resource on the World Wide Web. The information
provided facilitates resource discovery in the same way that library catalogues provide paths to required
information. Metadata is used by search engines to improve the matching between user queries and
descriptions of resources indexed by the engine.
A typical label for a tin can of red kidney beans might consist of the following information:
title:
creator:
ingredients:
date of manufacture:
3
Yummy Delicious Red Kidney Beans
Hubert's, part of the Vegetables Division of the World Wide
Foods Branch of the BWG Corporation
red kidney beans, distilled water, salt, ascorbic acid
2002-06-14
See CLF - Navigation and Format Standards and Guidelines - Standard 6.3 at http://www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/clfupe/6/6a_e.asp#6.3).
4
Common Look and Feel Metadata Implementation Guides (http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/cfl-cbgf/s37-4016-e.html).
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
2nd edition
The label could also contain additional information, from allergy alerts to a toll-free number for
consumers. Some jurisdictions, including Canada, require food processors to include a certain amount of
mandatory information on their product labels or packaging. In addition, Canadian regulations require that
the information be expressed in both of Canada's official languages.
The Government of Canada's metadata standards are analogous to Canadian product labeling
regulations in that they require that federal government Web pages contain certain mandatory information
(metadata), expressed in a certain way (standard).
The basic unit of metadata is a two-part set called a metadata element. The first part, the name, specifies
a property being described such as title, creator, language, subject matter or date of creation. The second
part, the content, provides specific information about the named property of a particular resource and
distinguishes it from other resources. Metadata elements sometimes include a third part, called a
scheme reference, which identifies that the content information has been selected from a specified list of
possible entries for a given label name. For example:
<meta name="XXXXX" scheme="XXXXX" content="XXXXX">
Metadata elements are sometimes called metatags or tags, and creating the content for these elements is
also referred to as meta tagging.
1.2
Why Does It Matter?
Good metadata helps people find the information they're looking for. A search through unstructured text
(i.e. a full-text search) or uncontrolled terminology (i.e. keywords) may yield tens of thousands of results,
the vast majority of which are often completely irrelevant to the searcher. The structure of metadata
allows searching for terms in discrete elements (e.g. title, subject) of metadata records. The resulting
search results are smaller and more focused.
Quality control and consistency are important. If a Web resource lacks essential metadata, or if the
metadata is inaccurate or incorrect, search engine results will be negatively affected.
In the Government of Canada context, metadata serves three separate but interrelated functions
simultaneously:
•
Direct resource discovery by Canadians, a primary goal of Government Online.
Web crawlers and indexes in departments, at the Canada Site and at other government information
aggregation services are configured to use the metadata to create searchable central indexes of
departments and agency Web resources.
•
Information sharing and exchange between federal organizations and their partners.
Metadata will also be used by clusters and gateways to identify appropriate content.
•
The information management needs of federal organizations.
1.3
Why a Common Standard?
Adopting a single metadata standard ensures that metadata on federal government Web sites will be
coordinated, cost-effective and client-focused. In the context of the Government of Canada, a single
standard makes it possible for Canadian citizens and federal employees to search the Government of
Canada domain for Web information without needing to know which government department or agency
produced it.
A common standard also makes it possible for systems to communicate the existence and characteristics
of electronic information resources to other electronic applications or search tools, and permits efficient
migration of information from one application or search system to another.
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
2nd edition
1.4.
Common Look and Feel Mandatory Metadata Elements
5
In the CLF standard 6.3 , Treasury Board mandates five elements for description of Government of
Canada Web resources. These five mandatory elements are title, creator, date, language and subject.
6
In TBITS 39.1 , Treasury Board adopted the international Dublin Core metadata standard for use in the
Government of Canada. Of the sixteen (16) Dublin Core metadata elements, the 5 required by CLF are
mandatory, the rest are optional.
The five mandatory elements are intended only as a starting point for federal organizations using
metadata as part of their information management strategy. Expanding the metadata element set beyond
the mandatory five to include such elements as "coverage", "description", and "type" is encouraged, as is
the use of local elements, provided that evolving guidance from the Government of Canada and the
Treasury Board Secretariat is followed. Canadians will benefit from improved resource discovery, and
Web site managers will benefit from the improved information management capabilities provided by
including additional resource characteristics in resource descriptions.
The five mandatory elements are described below. Please note that detailed guidance for each element
may be found in the Developers' section, and in IMRC “Common Look and Feel Metadata Standard
Definitions and HTML Examples" at http://www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/im-gi/meta/clf-nsi-meta/clf-nsi-meta_e.asp.
Title
"Title" specifies the title given to a resource. When a title is ambiguous or unclear, an enhanced title may
be developed. The Dublin Core name for this element is <dc.title>.
Creator
"Creator" specifies the name of the department or agency that created and maintains the resource.
Depending on local convention, this name may include an organizational hierarchy including the
responsible unit as well. The Dublin Core name for this element is <dc.creator>.
Date
"Date" specifies one of two dates:
The Dublin Core element <dc.date.created> is used to identify the date the resource was first posted on
the Web. This element is mandatory.
The Dublin Core element <dc.date.modified> is used to identify the date a substantially revised version of
the resource was last posted. This element need be included only when the intellectual content of the
resource has been substantially modified.
Language
"Language" indicates the language of the resource. The Dublin Core name for this element is
<dc.language>.
Subject
"Subject" contains one or more words or phrases (descriptors) selected from an authorized controlled
vocabulary to describe the subject of the intellectual content of the resource. The Dublin Core name for
this element is <dc.subject>.
Choosing descriptors from a controlled vocabulary ensures that documents are indexed and can be
searched using consistent terminology (e.g., everything about aircraft, airplanes or planes will be grouped
together using a preferred term, "aircraft").
5
See CLF - Navigation and Format Standards and Guidelines - Standard 6.3 at http://www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/clfupe/6/6a_e.asp#6.3).
6
See TBITS 39: Treasury Board Information Management Standard, Part 1: Government On-Line Metadata
Standard at http://www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/its-nit/standards/tbits39/crit391_e.asp.
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
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7
Under TBITS 39.2 , Treasury Board has mandated the Government of Canada Core Subject Thesaurus
(CST) as the authorized controlled vocabulary to describe subject(s) of Government of Canada Web
resources. This thesaurus was developed and is maintained by the Depository Services Program,
Communication Canada (http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/index-e.html) specifically to provide subject access
to Canadian government information.
8
Departments and agencies are urged to use CST descriptors in the subject metadata element for
metatagged information resources. Using CST terms will enhance the utility of departmental information
resources on Government of Canada portals.
1.5.
Optional Metadata Elements
Guidance is provided on the use of optional Dublin Core metadata elements "coverage", "description",
and "type". Future editions will cover the elements "audience", "format", and possibly more.
1.6
HTML Metatags and Title Element
Because some commercial search engines may not be configured to read and use Dublin Core meta
elements as adopted by the Government of Canada, it is highly recommended that in addition to the
mandatory Dublin Core metadata elements, the non-Dublin Core metatags <description> and
<keywords> as well as the HTML <title> tags be included in Web resource descriptions:
<title> Insert title text here </title>
<meta name="description" content="Insert description text here">
<meta name="keywords" content="Insert keywords here">
For more information, consult the Best Practices section of "CLF - Navigation and Format Standards and
Guidelines (http://www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/clf-upe/6/6a_e.asp).
The HTML <title> tag and the Dublin Core metatag <dc.title> should have the same content.
The HTML <description> metatag is a short, plain language résumé of the intellectual content of the
resource. Some search engines display this description in search results. Users use this information to
determine which items in the search results most closely match their needs. If no description metatag is
included in the resource, a search engine may display the first words that appear on the Web page (often
the text of navigation links).
The HTML <keywords> metatag content should be additional words or phrases to serve as access points
for search engines, and may be useful in the context of your local information management system.
Keyword values are often natural language terms that are not part of a controlled vocabulary. Whether
and how keywords are used depends on your local metadata access policies and search engine.
Guidance on using keywords will be available soon.
7
8
See http://www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/its-nit/standards/tbits39/crit392_e.asp
See http://en.thesaurus.gc.ca
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
2nd edition
Chapter 2
Guidance For Metadata Developers
2.1 General Guidance
As a metadata developer you will be expected to identify the information components necessary to
describe your Web resources. The Common Look and Feel (CLF) Standard for Internet requirements
are for five metadata elements: title, creator, date, language and subject.
How you will populate these elements depends on what policies have been established by the
Information Management / Information Technology (IM/IT) sections of your organization, and the
information system(s) used. Although it is likely that you will input the information using some form of
graphical interface, on an HTML page the metadata will look like this (the metadata values are added in
the spaces between the double quotation marks):
<link rel="schema.dc" href="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
<meta name="dc.title" content=" ">
<meta name="dc.creator" content=" ">
<meta name="dc.date.created" content=" ">
<meta name="dc.date.modified" content=" ">
<meta name="dc.language" scheme="ISO639-2" content=" ">
<meta name="dc.subject" scheme="gccore" content=" ">
Depending on the policies of your department or agency, additional metadata elements may be required.
The preceding template is the same for all Web pages whether they are in English only, in French only, in
both official languages, or in any combination of English, French and any other language.
When a Web page contains text in more than one language, the title, creator, language and subject
elements are repeated so that there are separate elements for content in each language. It is
unnecessary to repeat the date elements as the content is a numeric value.
For some elements (e.g. "subject", "coverage" and "type"), content MUST be selected from an authorized
list of values. The lists from which values can be selected are available on the National Library of
Canada Canadian Government-maintained Controlled Vocabularies and Thesauri Web page at
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/8/4/r4-281-e.html.
Note that you MUST include the name of the scheme in the metadata tag. Guidance on which schemes
to use for which metadata elements is presented below.
2.2 Guidance Applicable to All Metadata Elements
2.2.1. Metadata Element Structure
Metadata elements must always appear as they are shown in the examples.
Follow the examples as to the use of upper and lower case, quotation marks and angle brackets.
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
2nd edition
2.2.2. Syntax
In the context of metadata, syntax refers to the rules for the construction of metadata elements.
The basic syntax takes the form:
<meta name="abc" content="xyz">
where abc is the element name (e.g. dc.title), and xyz is the information pertaining to the element (e.g.
the title of a resource). The content information must be in the language of the resource being described.
If more than one language is used, the element is repeated for each language.
When a scheme is required as part of the element, the syntax takes the form:
<meta name="abc" scheme="def" content="xyz">
where abc is the element name (e.g. dc.subject), def is the label of a recognized scheme (e.g. gccore in
the case of the Government of Canada Core Subject Thesaurus), and xyz is the information pertaining to
the element (e.g. the subject term or terms selected to describe what the resource is about). If content
from more than one scheme is used, the element must be repeated for each scheme.
This syntax is NEVER translated. Although the words such as name and content appear to be English,
they are in fact internationally recognized machine-readable codes, which, if modified, would not be
recognized by search engines.
Additionally, the content of meta "name" is a code and never translated. For example, do not use
<name="dc.sujet> on French pages. <dc.subject> is the correct syntax regardless of the language of the
content of the resource.
2.2.3. Use of the Validation Statement
The following statement is necessary for machine validation of the Dublin Core schema and must appear
once in the <head> of every Web resource:
<link rel="schema.dc" href="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
For further information on the technical aspects of this coding, consult: "Encoding Dublin Core in HTML"
by John Kunze (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2731.txt).
2.2.4. Use of Upper and Lower Case
As a general rule, upper and lower case characters may be used ONLY in the content of
<dc.title>
<dc.creator>
<dc.subject>
in the mandatory Dublin Core elements.
Terms selected from authorized controlled vocabularies must be exactly as they appear in the controlled
vocabulary being used, including case and punctuation.
2.2.5. Proper Use of Schemes
Schemes are authorized lists of values from which content for metadata tags may be selected.
DO NOT use values from a scheme identified for use with one element as the content of another element.
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
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For example, it would be wrong to use a term from the Core Subject Thesaurus (the default scheme for
use in <dc.subject>) in the <dc.coverage.spatial> element. Only values from schemes registered for use
in <dc.coverage.spatial> should be used as content for this element.
Because schemes are uniquely linked to their elements, misuse will have a negative impact on the
reliability of search results and defeat the purpose of using metadata at all.
2.2.6. French Accents
Be consistent.
As is the case with Web document content in general, metadata content can include an accented
character (e.g., "é") or a character entity equivalent (e.g., "&eacute;"). Although using the character entity
equivalent provides an extra measure of assurance that the accented character will be widely
decipherable, using the accented character itself is usually sufficient since most modern browsers and
search engines interpret and display the ISO Latin-1 Character Set.
2.2.7
Abbreviations, Acronyms and Initialisms
Generally, do not use.
Refer to the guidance for specific metadata elements. Depending on the element, these shortened
versions are either not permitted, or are permitted provided that certain rules are observed.
2.2.8
Description vs. Evaluation
Do not editorialize. Metadata describes Web resource content; it does not evaluate or comment on that
content.
2.2.9
Assigning Roles and Responsibilities
Each department will decide whether metadata developers will provide all or just some of the required
metadata content, how the progress of metadata development will be tracked and verified.
Departments have considerable latitude in selecting the content for HTML metatags such as
<description> and <keywords>.
2.3 Creator – CLF Required Element
2.3.1
Definition
The government department or agency primarily responsible for making the content of the resource.
2.3.2
Usage
The <dc.creator> element is expressed in the form:
<meta name="dc.creator" content="abc">
where abc is the name of the responsible department or agency.
2.3.3
Guidance
All departmental or agency names must begin with "Government of Canada" followed by the
departmental or agency name (e.g. Government of Canada, Natural Resources Canada).
For English-only, or French-only Web resources, use:
<meta name="dc.creator" content="ddd">
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
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where ddd represents EITHER the name of the department or agency (preceded by "Government of
Canada") OR includes the full bureaucratic hierarchy of the responsible organizational unit.
If more than one department or agency is responsible for the information resource, repeat the
<dc.creator> element as many times as necessary to specify every responsible organization.
On bilingual pages, repeat the element for the creator name in English and the creator name in French.
2.3.4
Values
Depending on local metadata policies and operational requirements, the department or agency name
may be followed by the name of a major organizational division, which in turn may be followed by the
name(s) of additional organizational sub-divisions in a hierarchical chain, ending with the name of the
entity responsible for creating the Web resource.
2.3.4.1 Authorized sources of terminology
In order to ensure successful retrieval of Web resources, it is very important that the form of the name of
the originating department or agency be identical in all Government of Canada metadata records.
Authorized sources for organizational names must be used.
For department/agency names, use the current form of name as provided in the Treasury Board of
9
Canada Secretariat Titles of Federal Organizations . This information is also available in French as
10
Titres des organismes fédéraux .
For names of organizational divisions and sub-divisions, use the form of name that appears in the
Government Electronic Directory Services (GEDS) (http://direct.srv.gc.ca/cgi-bin/direct500/BE).
2.3.4.2 Abbreviations, Acronyms and Intitialisms
Do not use abbreviations for organizational components (e.g. Use Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, not
AECL).
2.3.4.3 Changes of name
Always use the current form of creator name for your department or agency. Do not retrospectively
change the creator name assigned to static and unchanging resources such as annual reports and other
legacy documents. Such resources were created by the organization under its name at the time of
publication, and metadata should not be updated to reflect subsequent name changes.
2.3.4.4 Punctuation
Separate levels in the organizational hierarchy with a comma (",") or a period ("."). Use one or the other
consistently, following the guidelines established by your department or agency.
9
See http://www.tbssct.gc.ca/Pubs_pol/sipubs/TB_FIP/titlesoffedorg_e.html.
See http://www.tbs-sct. gc.ca/Pubs_pol/sipubs/TB_FIP/titlesoffedorg_f.html
10
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
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2.3.5
Examples
2.3.5.1 For a resource in English
The content of <dc.creator> is" Government of Canada, Natural Resources Canada".
Expressed in HTML as :
<meta name="dc.creator" content="Government of Canada, Natural
Resources Canada">
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
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The responsible entity is the Geological Survey of Canada, a subdivision of Natural Resources Canada.
The content of <dc.creator> is "Government of Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Earth Sciences
Sector, Geological Survey of Canada". This text represents the full bureaucratic hierarchy of the unit
responsible for the page. The full hierarchy is applied because some Web users may believe the
Geological Survey of Canada to be an independent entity.
Expressed in HTML as:
<meta name="dc.creator" content="Government of Canada, Natural
Resources Canada, Earth Sciences Sector, Geological Survey of
Canada">
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
2nd edition
2.3.5.2 For a resource in French
The responsible entity is Ressources naturelles Canada.
The content of <dc.creator> is "Gouvernement du Canada, Ressources naturelles Canada".
Expressed in HTML as:
<meta name="dc.creator" content="Gouvernement du Canada,
Ressources naturelles Canada">
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
2nd edition
The responsible entity is the Commission géologique du Canada, a subdivision of Ressources naturelles
Canada.
The content of <dc.creator> is "Gouvernement du Canada, Ressources naturelles Canada; Secteur des
sciences de la Terre; Commission géologique du Canada". This text represents the full bureaucratic
hierarchy of the unit responsible for the page. The full hierarchy is applied because some Web users may
believe the Geological Survey of Canada to be an independent entity.
Expressed in HTML as:
<meta name="dc.creator" content="Gouvernement du Canada,
Ressources naturelles Canada, Secteur des sciences de la Terre,
Commission géologique du Canada">
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
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2.3.5.3 For a bilingual Web resource
The content of <dc.creator> is BOTH "Library and Archives of Canada" AND "Bibliothèque et archives du
Canada". On bilingual pages, repeat the element for the creator name in English and the creator name in
French.
Expressed in HTML as:
<meta name="dc.creator" content="Government of Canada, Library
and Archives of Canada">
<meta name="dc.creator" content="Gouvernement du Canada,
Bibliothèque et archives du Canada">
2.4 Date – CLF Required Element
2.4.1
Definition
A date associated with an event in the life cycle of the resource.
2.4.2
Usage
Two date-related metadata elements are required for Web resources:
<dc.date.created> contains the date the resource was first posted on the Web.
<dc.date.modified> is used for the most recent date a substantially revised version was re-posted on the
Web.
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
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2.4.3
Guidance
DO NOT use <dc.date> metadata elements for Web resources whose content is always changing (e.g.
Web pages generated dynamically from a database).
For Web resources whose content is not subject to continuous change (i.e. "static" HTML Web pages),
a)
Use <dc.date.created> when the resource is first posted on the Web; and
b)
When the intellectual content of the resource has been substantially changed, add
<dc.date.modified> with the date of re-posting.
These rules apply whether the Web resource is English, French or bilingual.
If necessary because of technical requirements of local systems or processes, it is permissible to add the
<dc.date.modified> tag at the same time as the <dc.date.created>. In this case, at the time of initial
posting, add both date elements, but DO NOT include a date in the content of <dc.date.modified>.
Instead, insert a single blank character between the quotation marks following content= as follows:
<meta name="dc.date.modified" content=" ">
See Section 4.2 of the Managers Section for an illustration of this option.
2.4.4
Values
The <dc.date> elements are expressed as YYYY-MM-DD, where YYYY is the year, MM is the month of
the year between 01 (January) and 12 (December), and DD is the day of the month between 01 and 31.
If only the year and month are known, enter "01" for the day, e.g., 2003-04-01.
If only the year is known, enter "01" for both the month and the day, e.g., 2003-01-01.
Since automated information retrieval systems retrieve on all eight digits of the international date,
constructing dates in this manner will ensure the systems' ability to search and retrieve on either month
and year, or year only.
The <dc.date.created> value NEVER CHANGES.
2.4.5
Examples
For a Web resource first posted on November 20, 2002 and last substantially modified on May 6, 2003
•
On the original posting date, the contents of <dc.date.created> is the date of posting.
<meta name="dc.date.created" content="2002-11-20">
•
Any time after that date when punctuation or typographical errors are corrected and the resource is
re-posted, the <dc.date.created> value is not changed.
<meta name="dc.date.created" content="2002-11-20">
•
When the resource is re-posted with intellectual content substantially changed, <dc.date.modified> is
added and contains the date of posting of this substantially changed version; the <dc.date.created>
value is not changed.
<meta name="dc.date.created" content="2002-11-20">
<meta name="dc.date.modified" content="2003-05-06">
NOTE: As noted above, depending on the requirements of local systems and/or processes it may be
necessary to include <dc.date.modified> when the metadata for the resource is first created. The
organization's metadata strategy should define the approach followed. Apply it consistently.
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2.5 Language – CLF Required Element
2.5.1
Definition
The language of the intellectual content of the resource.
2.5.2
Usage
The element is expressed in the form:
<meta name="dc.language" scheme="ISO639-2" content="abc">
where abc is a language code, and ISO 639-2 refers to the language coding scheme mandated for use in
the Government of Canada domain.
2.5.3
Guidance
If the Web resource is in one language, enter the appropriate language code.
If the resource is available in more than one language, repeat the <dc.language> element using the
corresponding code for each language.
2.5.4
Values
The language codes are three-character lower-case alphabetic strings, usually based on the first three
letters of the English form
English
eng
French
fre
Codes for other languages may be found in "Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages"
(http://lcweb.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/englangn.html).
2.5.5
Examples
2.5.5.1 English-only Web resource
Use:
<meta name="dc.language" scheme="ISO639-2" content="eng">
2.5.5.2 French-only Web resource
Use:
<meta name="dc.language" scheme="ISO639-2" content="fre">
2.5.5.3 Bilingual Web resource (i.e both English and French content)
Use:
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<meta name="dc.language" scheme="ISO639-2" content="eng">
<meta name="dc.language" scheme="ISO639-2" content="fre">
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2.5.4.4 Multilingual Web page (e.g. English, French and German)
Use:
<meta name="dc.language" scheme ="ISO639-2" content="eng">
<meta name="dc.language" scheme ="ISO639-2" content="fre">
<meta name="dc.language" scheme ="ISO639-2" content="ger">
2.6 Subject – CLF Required Element
2.6.1
Definition
The topic of the content of the resource.
2.6.2
Usage
The subject element is expressed in the form:
<meta name="dc.subject" scheme="abc" content="def">
where abc refers to an authorized list of controlled vocabulary terms, and def refers to one or more values
chosen from that vocabulary list.
Multiple subjects selected from the same scheme can be used in the element; values should be
separated by a semi-colon (";"). A semi-colon is used as a separator rather than a comma because a
controlled subject term may include a comma within the term.
2.6.3
Guidance
Follow the guidance established by your organization's metadata strategies and policies to assign values
to <dc.subject>.
2.6.4
Values
Always select terms that describe what the resource is about. Be aware that the title does not always
reflect the content of a resource. For example, the book "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" is
about male-female communication, not astronomy.
Always keep the user in mind. Ask yourself, "f I were searching for information using this term, would I
want to retrieve this particular resource?"
Be specific; do not use terms that are too broad, or too narrow. Using a broad term (e.g. "Oceans") to
describe a resource on a more specific topic (e.g. "Pacific Ocean") would mean that users searching for
information on "Oceans" would retrieve all information about all oceans – a possibly overwhelming set,
not directly relevant to their search. Similarly, terms for individual oceans should not be used for a
resource focusing on "Oceans"' as a whole, even if particular oceans are mentioned.
Use as many terms as required to accurately describe the resource. Trying to be too specific will result in
the terms selected only covering a small portion of the content of the resource. Remember to ask
yourself, "If I were searching for information using this term, would I want to retrieve this particular
resource?"
If your department uses more than one authorized controlled vocabulary list for dc.subject, a separate
dc.subject tag must be used for each vocabulary.
For example, do not include terms from the e-Health Thesaurus in a metatag containing terms from the
Core Subject Thesaurus, and vice versa. Precede each content= value with the registered scheme name
of the thesaurus.
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2.6.5
Examples
2.6.5.1 English-only Web resource using terms from the Core Subject Thesarus
http://www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/inter/index_e.html
<meta name="dc.subject" scheme="gccore" content="Natural
resources; Climate; Forests; Minerals; Metals; Maps; Energy;
Energy conservation; Geology; Environmental management">
2.6.5.2 French-only Web resource described using terms from the Core Subject Thesaurus
http://www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/inter/index_f.html
<meta name="dc.subject" scheme="gccore" content="Ressources
naturelles; Climat; Forêt; Minéral; Métal; Carte; Énergie;
Conservation de l'énergie; Géologie; Gestion de
l'environnement">
2.6.5.3 Bilingual Web resource described using terms from the Core Subject Thesaurus
http://www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/inter/index.html
<meta name="dc.subject" scheme="gccore" content="Natural
resources; Climate; Forests; Minerals; Metals; Maps; Energy;
Energy conservation; Geology">
<meta name="dc.subject" scheme="gccore" content="Ressources
naturelles; Climat; Forêt; Minéral; Métal; Carte; Énergie;
Conservation de l'énergie; Géologie">
2.6.5.4 Multiple vocabularies to describe a single Web resource
2.6.5.4.1 English-only Web resource described using terms from both the Core Subject Thesaurus and
the eHealth Thesaurus
<meta name="dc.subject" scheme="gccore" content="[one or more
English terms from the Core Subject Thesaurus]">
<meta name="dc.subject" scheme="gcicth" content="[one or more
English terms from the e-Health Thesaurus]>
2.6.5.4.2: French-only Web page described using terms from both the Core Subject Thesaurus and the
eHealth Thesaurus
<meta name="dc.subject" scheme="gccore" content="[one or more
French terms from the Core Subject Thesaurus]">
<meta name="dc.subject" scheme="gcicth" content="[one or more
French terms from the eHealth thesaurus]>
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2.7 Title – CLF Required Element
2.7.1
Definition
The name given to the resource.
2.7.2
Usage
The <dc.title> element is expressed in the form:
<meta name="dc.title" content="abc">
where abc is the title of the resource.
2.7.3
Guidance
The title is transcribed from the authoritative source. For Web resources, this is the resource itself.
On individual Government of Canada Web sites, no two pages should have identical titles.
When evaluating or formulating a title, keep it as brief as possible, spell out any acronyms, and avoid
abbreviations.
In the case of bilingual Web pages (i.e. "Welcome" or "splash" pages), DO NOT place the English and
French titles in the content of a single <dc.title> element; make TWO separate <dc.title> element entries,
one containing the English title and one containing the French title.
2.7.4
Values
To determine the content for <dc.title>, take the following steps in the order presented:
1. If the Web page of the resource has an HTML title (contents of the coloured bar at the top of the
browser window, or select View-Source (Internet Explorer) or View-Page Source (Netscape) too see
the content of the HTML <title> tag in the coded version of the page),
Web page HTML <title:
About us – XYZ
Content for <dc.title>:
About us – XYZ
Where XYZ is the name of a department or agency, or of an organizational unit within it.
2. If there is no HTML <Title> tag, use a prominent textual (i.e. non-graphic) heading displaying at the
beginning of the page contents, use this textual heading as the title.
HTML <title> :
<blank>
Web page textual heading:
About us – XYZ
Content for <dc.title>:
About us – XYZ
Where XYZ is the name of a department or agency, or of an organizational unit within it.
3. If there is no prominent text heading at the beginning of the Web page contents, but the page
contains a title graphic, use the text provided by the graphic as the resource title.
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4. If the HTML <title> tag, textual heading or title graphic do not provide enough information to uniquely
identify the resource, the <dc.title> content may be enhanced to provide context.
HTML <title>, Web page textual
heading or graphic:
About us
Enhanced content for <dc.title>
About us – XYZ
Where XYZ is the name of a department or agency, or of an organizational unit within it.
5. If by following these rules two or more pages are assigned the same title, create a brief qualifier to
differentiate between the pages.
HTML <title> tag, Web page
textual heading or graphic:
National Research Council Canada
Qualified content for <dc.title>:
National Research Council Canada Home page
National Research Council Canada Main search page
6. If none of these sources provides title information, contact the person responsible for the Web
resource for guidance; if no suitable guidance is forthcoming, create a suitably informative title for use
in <dc.title>.
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2.7.5
Examples
2.7.5.1 HTML <title> as source for the title of the Web page
Use the content of the HTML <title> (in the coloured bar at top of browser screen).
The content of <dc.title> is "CSA - Home Page of Canadian Space Agency"
Expressed in HTML as:
<meta name="dc.title" content="CSA – Home Page of the Canadian Space
Agency">
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The HTML <title> tag contains good, specific identifying information.
The content of <dc.title> is "Environment Canada's Green Lane - About Environment Canada"
Expressed in HTML code as:
<meta name="dc.title" content=" Environment Canada's Green Lane About Environment Canada">
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2.7.5.2 HTML <title> tag contains insufficient information
The HTML <title> tag "Government" provides no context. Enhancement from the graphical title will be
necessary.
The content of <dc.title> is enhanced with the organization name to be "National Archives of Canada –
Government".
Expressed in HTML code as:
<meta name="dc.title" content=" National Archives of Canada –
Government">
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2.7.5.3 HTML <title> conflicts with other sources of title information
The HTML <title> tag "Electronic Commerce Task Force" differs from the textual heading "Electronic
Commerce in Canada" which is the same as the graphical title "Electronic Commerce in Canada".
The content of <dc.title> uses information from both sources to create an enhanced title, "Electronic
Commerce Task Force - Electronic Commerce in Canada".
Expressed in HTML code as:
<meta name="dc.title" content="Electronic Commerce Task Force Electronic Commerce in Canada">
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2.7.5.4 HTML <title> and graphic title differ
Neither the HTML <title> nor the graphical title contains sufficient information to identify the resource.
The content of <dc.title> is "Finance Canada – About the Department".
Expressed in HTML code as:
<meta name="dc.title" content="Finance Canada – About the
Department">
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2.7.5.5 Bilingual "Welcome" Page
HTML title and graphical title indicate that the title is "Library and Archives of Canada / Bibliothèque et
archives du Canada".
The content of <dc.title> is
English: Library and Archives of Canada
French: Bibliothèque et archives du Canada
Expressed in HTML code as:
<meta name="dc.title" content="Library and Archives of Canada">
<meta name="dc.title" content="Bibliothèque et archives du
Canada">
2.8 Geographic Coverage – Optional Element
2.8.1
Definition
Used to document the geographic extent of the content of a resource.
2.8.2
Usage
The geographic coverage element is expressed as
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<meta name="dc.coverage.spatial" scheme="abc" content="def">
where abc is the label for an authorized list of geographic names and def is a specific location chosen
from the authorized source, or a set of geographic coordinates.
2.8.3
Guidance
Follow the guidance established by your organization's metadata strategies and policies to assign values
to <dc.coverage.spatial>.
Guidelines for use of specific encoding schemes are available at http://publiservice.cio-dpi.gc.ca/mwggtm/gcs-scg/docs/docs_e.asp.
2.8.4
Values
Repeat <dc.coverage.spatial> as needed, using the appropriate scheme name for each location
described in the metadata.
Use specific location information.
Do not use "Canada" as a default. There is no advantage in populating coverage with a value of
"Canada" when a resource is implicitly "Canadian". Canada is a valid descriptor when the resource
explicitly pertains to all of Canada (e.g. a map of Canada). Otherwise, it should not be used as a default
value.
In some cases, it could be appropriate to apply the same term to both the coverage and subject metadata
elements, but only if the resource is actually about the geographic area in question, and if the subject
element were selected from an authorized list of terms.
2.8.5
Examples
Using GeoNames, <dc.coverage.spatial> for a resource describing plans for a national historical site in
Halifax would be expressed as:
<meta name="dc.coverage.spatial" scheme="gcgeonames"
content="Canada; Nova Scotia; Halifax">
The <dc.coverage.spatial> for a resource that contains employment opportunity information for
Peterborough and North Bay would be expressed as:
<meta name="dc.coverage.spatial" scheme="gcgeonames"
content="Canada; Ontario; Peterborough">
<meta name="dc.coverage.spatial" scheme="gcgeonames"
content="Canada; Ontario; North Bay">
Note that each geographic location is in a separate dc.coverage.spatial element.
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2.9 Description – Optional Element
2.9.1
Definition
A narrative account of the content of the resource.
2.9.2
Usage
The <dc.description> element takes the form:
<meta name="dc.description" content="abc">
where abc is the description of the resource.
2.9.3
Guidance
An accurate, clear, concise and objective description assists users in determining whether a resource will
be useful to them.
The words in a description can be indexed by search engines and displayed in search results. As a
general rule, descriptions should be no more than 50-80 words in length. Because only the first few lines
of a description may be displayed in a listing of Web resources, it is important that the most meaningful
information be contained in the first few sentences.
2.9.4
Values
2.9.4.1 Preparing a description.
•
Determine the key concepts, characteristics and significant content of the resource by reviewing it in
total (if it is of practicable length), or by reading the table of contents, prefatory material, introductions
to sections and conclusions. Use any existing summary of the resource as a starting point.
•
Draft a descriptive text, keeping the following tips (below) in mind:
•
•
•
•
•
Review and edit the draft text with a view to:
•
•
•
•
Begin with a verb (e.g. "Gives..." "Presents..."), and use the objective third person point of view.
Avoid using "We provide..." or "You can find...".
Do not repeat the title. Instead, provide more detail about the contents of the resource.
Make the description understandable to a wide audience; avoid jargon and overly technical
descriptions.
Use simple and direct language, omitting unnecessary words.
Condensation – Are the essential contents of the resource reflected?
Clarity – Is the text simple, understandable at first glance?
Correctness – Are the grammar and spelling correct?
The contents of the HTML <description> metatag and of <dc.description> element content should be
identical.
2.9.4.2 Abbreviations, Acronyms and Intitialisms
These may be used, provided they are also spelled out in full.
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2.9.5
Examples
2.9.5.1 English-only Web resource
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/trains/index-e.html
<meta name="dc.description" content="Contains three main
sections. Ties That Bind provides a short history of railways in
Canada and how they marketed their passenger services, providing
a context for the other two sections, Transcontinental Tour and
Tracking Time.">
2.9.5.2 French-only Web resource
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/trains/index-f.html
<meta name="dc.description" content="Compte trois sections
principales. La section Lignes qui unissent présente un bref
historique des chemins de fer au Canada et de la manière dont
les compagnies ont commercialisé leurs services voyageurs. Cet
historique sert de cadre aux sections Circuit transcontinental
et Ligne chronologique.">
2.10 Type – Optional Element
2.10.1 Definition
The nature or genre of the content of the resource.
2.10.2 Usage
The type element is expressed in the form:
<meta name="dc.type" scheme="abc" content="def">
where abc is the label for a specific scheme, and def is a term selected from the scheme to describe the
type of resource.
2.10.3 Guidance
Type includes terms to describe general categories, functions, or genres of Web resource contents. It is
NOT the same as format (the physical manifestation of the resource).
Including a value for <dc.type> helps users find the information by giving them an additional way to
narrow their search queries. When users select a resource type along with other terms (such as title,
subject, date, etc.) in a search query, they will be able to narrow their search for an event, presentation,
report, policy, etc. For example, a user can drastically reduce the results of a subject search for
"information management" by also selecting the type "event" or "policy".
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2.10.4 Values
It is strongly recommended that metadata developers use values from the Government of Canada Type
11
Scheme , which includes terms that describe a wide variety of resource types found on Government of
Canada Web sites.
It is registered as a controlled vocabulary by the National Library of Canada. The scheme label for the
Government of Canada Type Scheme is gctype.
When a web page is described using more than one type, repeat the type element, including the type
scheme, for each different type.
NOTE: While the Government of Canada Type Scheme includes a broad range of terms, it is not
intended to be an exhaustive list of types. Follow your department or agency metadata guidelines for use
of additional terminology.
2.10.5 Examples
2.10.5.1 English resource
The National Flag of Canada
http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/sc-cs/df1_e.cfm
<meta name="dc.type" scheme="gctype" content="still image">
2.10.5.2 French resource
Le drapeau canadien
http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/sc-cs/df1_f.cfm
<meta name="dc.type" scheme="gctype" content="image fixe">
2.10.5.3 Bilingual resource
Welcome page of Canadian Heritage
http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca
<meta name="dc.type" scheme="gctype" content="welcome page">
<meta name="dc.type" scheme="gctype" content="page de
bienvenue">
11
See http://publiservice.cio-dpi.gc.ca/mwg-gtm/typ-typ/docs/schem_e.asp.
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Chapter 3
Guidance for Managers
3.1 Introduction
Common Look and Feel (CLF) Standard 6.3
description of federal Web resources.
12
mandates the use of five metadata elements in the
13
Under Treasury Board Information Management Standard (TBITS) 39.1 , Treasury Board adopted the
Dublin Core metadata standard as the method of expressing the required metadata. Software and
systems acquired by the Government of Canada for the purpose of creating, editing, generating, parsing,
harvesting, extracting, indexing, browsing or displaying metadata for Web resources must support this
international standard.
This chapter is directed to those individuals or groups responsible for implementing CLF Standard 6.3 in
their federal departments or agencies, and to those who provide advice and guidance on metadata within
those organizations.
Before reading this section, please review the preceding chapters in this Guide.
14
The first version of this Guide was posted on the Web in September 2002 to provide assistance to
departments and agencies in meeting the CLF metadata implementation requirement by December 31,
2002. That deadline represented not the end, but the beginning of the process for incorporating metadata
into departmental Web sites.
The December 2002 date can be seen as a beginning because:
•
New Web resources must have metadata developed for them as they are created;
•
Since Web resources are continuously updated, metadata must be adjusted to reflect current
content;
•
As search engines (including the search engine on the Canada Site) continue to change and
improve, local systems and practices will require adjustment;
•
Organizations may decide to incorporate more than the five mandatory elements into the
metadata descriptions of their resources. The Treasury Board Secretariat will develop further
specifications for optional elements such as audience and format, and departments may require
other non-Dublin Core metadata elements;
•
Best practices will evolve as departments gain experience with metadata;
•
The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative itself will evolve;
•
Your organization's Internet / metadata strategies will evolve, leading to possible extensions and
modifications of current practices;
•
The Web is dynamic by nature. It is important to expect changes and to remain flexible and open
to new developments in Web-related technologies.
This section of the Guide aims to provide useful explanations, directives, and best practices to metadata
managers in the Canadian public service. Managers are urged to adapt the Guide to suit the particular
Information Management (IM) needs, policies, practices and technologies of their organizations.
Important sites and contacts for information and questions include:
•
Your organization's CLF Centre of Expertise for Internet (see list at http://www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/clfupe/common/cei-contact/cei-contact_e.asp);
•
Your organization's representative on the GOL Metadata Working Group (see list at
http://publiservice.cio-dpi.gc.ca/cioscripts/committees/members/member-membre_e.asp?who=/mwg-
12
See CLF - Navigation and Format Standards and Guidelines - Standard 6.3 at http://www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/clfupe/6/6a_e.asp#6.3).
13
See TBITS 39.1 http://www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/its-nit/standards/tbits39/crit391_e.asp
14
Common Look and Feel Metadata Implementation Guides (http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/cfl-cbgf/s37-4016-e.html).
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gtm/&id=83)
If your organization does not have a representative on the Working Group, the Information
Management Division, Treasury Board Secretariat should be contacted for advice on securing
appropriate representation at [email protected];
•
Your departmental library or information resource centre;
•
The Treasury Board Secretariat's Information Management Resource Centre (http://www.ciodpi.gc.ca/im-gi/index_e.asp; questions may be sent by e-mail to [email protected]);
•
The Metadata Coordinator, National Library of Canada, at [email protected]; and
•
The Government of Canada Core Subject Thesaurus Manager at http://dsppsd.communication.gc.ca/Thesaurus/thesaurus_contact_e.html
3.2. Information Management Activities & Metadata Implementation
3.2.1 Purpose of the Metadata Requirements
Each federal organization has a unique combination of data, needs and technologies, and will have its
own requirements for metadata to support its objectives. The required metadata elements may extend
beyond the basic five mandated by CLF.
How metadata is implemented will be determined by an assessment of what information is posted on the
Web, who will access that information, and the technologies available to create and search for
information, including organizational IM / IT systems and search engine(s), the search engine of the
Canada Site and commercial search engines.
To meet these varied needs, it is important to regard the creation and maintenance of metadata as an
integral part of the development, production and review of information on the Web, and to regard
metadata as an essential element of an overall organizational Internet/intranet strategy.
If your metadata needs extend beyond the required and optional elements, consult Information
Management officials at the Treasury Board Secretariat for guidance ([email protected]) before
developing any departmental/agency or domain-specific metadata elements.
3.3
Meeting The CLF Metadata Requirement
A survey conducted by Treasury Board in 2002 identified that 76% of federal departments and agencies
have established a strategy for meeting the requirements of CLF Standard 6.3. The following
suggestions should be reviewed in the context of those strategies. Organizations that are still creating
their strategies may wish to use them as a starting point.
There are two crucial considerations:
•
Ensure roles and responsibilities are clear (i.e., who is responsible for performing which action by
which date).
•
Set realistic expectations for achievable results that can be delivered within reasonable time frames.
Don't oversell metadata as a panacea for resolving all problems related to organizational information
management.
3.3.1
Identifying and briefing key individuals
Identify the following key contacts:
• Who is accountable for meeting the overall CLF requirements?
•
Who is accountable for meeting the CLF metadata requirement?
•
Who represents the organization on the Government On-Line (GOL) Metadata Working Group?
If your organization is not represented in this group, contact the Information Management
Division, Treasury Board Secretariat for advice on securing appropriate representation
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([email protected]). This person may also serve as the link between your organization and the
Government of Canada Core Subject Thesaurus, or may know who does.
Ensure that all sectors within the organization know who is responsible for meeting the CLF metadata
requirement, that they are informed about the process and that they understand their roles.
Provide a briefing for key personnel on the CLF metadata requirement and their respective duties. Key
personnel include Web masters and Web content creators, as well as those responsible for the following
areas:
• Communications
• Information Management (IM)
• Information Technology (IT)
• Library (or Libraries) / Information Resource Centre(s)
• Records Management
In large organizations, consider establishing a formal metadata implementation committee.
3.3.2
Assessing the technology
Understand how the organization's Web pages are created, and how best to incorporate the metadata
required by CLF into them. If there are plans for system modifications and/or replacement, become a
participant or at least an advisor in that process.
If the organization does not already have software that supports the creation and incorporation of
metadata, consult Appendix A to this Guide for options on how to add metadata to your Web-based
resources.
Get to know the people responsible for the organization's search engine(s). With their help, learn the
characteristics of the system(s), including:
•
Search engine functionality. If possible, take a training course on search engines in general, and
on the search engine used by your organization in particular;
•
How your search engine(s) handle upper and lower case characters (both?, lower case only?).
With some search engines, only search criteria in lower case or exact case will match a mixed
upper- and lower-case term;
•
How French accents are represented;
•
What information is gathered by the search engine and how it is processed;
•
Configuration options;
•
How easy or difficult it is to make modifications. Some systems are proprietary (i.e. controlled by
a commercial entity) and may be impossible or costly to modify. Others are "open source" and
may be less costly to modify.
Following the directives in Chapter 2 (Guidance for Metadata Developers), develop some test metadata
for various parts of your organization's Web site. Ask your representative on the GOL Metadata Working
Group to review these exercises and to validate the metadata using departmental search engines so as
to confirm that they are able to accept, understand and use the metadata.
3.3.3
Raising awareness
Hold information sessions for key IM/IT personnel, for senior management, and for the organization as a
whole, covering:
•
The value and benefits of metadata in general;
•
The CLF metadata requirement itself;
•
The need for metadata to be accurate, complete, consistent and up-to-date;
•
How your department will meet the CLF metadata requirement; and
•
The duties of IM/IT personnel, senior managers and the organization as a whole in meeting the
requirement.
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3.3.4
Planning
Assess the need for additional metadata elements beyond the five mandatory CLF elements. Having
determined the elements required for your organizational needs, develop an appropriate "application
profile", which lists the elements you will use locally and provides guidance in how to populate them. For
more information on departmental application profiles, contact your organization's representative on the
GOL Metadata Working Group (see Section 7), and/or the IM Division of the Treasury Board Secretariat
([email protected]).
Best practice is to complement the mandatory Dublin Core metadata elements with the non-Dublin Core
metatags <description> and <keywords> and the HTML <title> tag (see section 1.6 in the Introduction).
Determine how your organization's metadata elements will be populated (see Appendix A: Options for
Linking Metadata to Web Pages).
Decide who will create metadata and apply it to your Web resources. Options include:
•
In-house originators (authors only, authors assisted in some way, Library / Information Resource
Centre only, or a combination of these);
•
Contracting out; or
•
A combination of in-house originators and contracting out.
Decide whether it is necessary to use more than one authorized controlled vocabulary list. [For more
information on controlled vocabularies and thesauri, refer to Section 4.3].
Establish an order of priority for applying metadata to your Web resources [See "Setting Priorities",
below).
If your organization does not already have one, develop an indexing policy. For guidelines on creating
such a policy, see http://www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/im-gi/meta/index/indexpr_e.asp?format=print.
Incorporate the process of metadata creation as an integral part of the workflow in your organization's
development, production and review of information in Web-based resources. Ideally, the process will
ensure that metadata is properly specified and coded before a new resource is posted and that metadata
is verified for modified Web pages.
Develop a process to track the pages containing metadata.
Develop a mechanism for continuously tracking your organization's progress in meeting the metadata
requirements.
Develop a control process to maintain metadata quality over the long-term. Address questions such as:
Who will review which pages? How often? How will personnel be kept informed of any procedural
changes / updates?
Develop a training plan, identifying:
•
•
•
•
3.3.5
Who should be trained (i.e. trainers or the actual metadata providers);
Content (including actual examples from your department's Web site);
Duration of training; and
Logistics (facilities required, etc.).
Setting Priorities
According to the Common Look and Feel standard, the five mandatory CLF metadata elements must be
created for all Government of Canada Web resources. It is the responsibility of each department or
agency to determine how metadata will be added to its Web resources.
Use a phased approach based on resources available.
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
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According to TBITS 39.1 , as a starting point, the five mandatory Dublin Core elements must be applied
to the following kinds of pages
•
Welcome pages and Home pages (the major entry point to an institution or an organizational unit
of an institution that is likely to be perceived by the public as a distinct entity);
•
Topics/services in high demand by the community served by the institution (high-demand
services can be selected on the basis of statistics or by a subjective determination of which
documents have the greatest potential public interest);
•
Information required by the public to understand their entitlements to government assistance or
obligations;
•
Pages that provide an actual on-line service to the public (such as payment forms and application
forms);
•
Pages required to meet a prescribed legal or service obligation by the institution;
•
Entry points to specific on-line services and indexes (e.g., an entry point to a legal database);
•
Major formal publications (e.g., annual reports, corporate strategic plans, public policy and
accountability documents, etc);
•
Media releases;
•
Major entry points or indexes and menus to a range of closely related topics, programs or
policies;
•
Information about agency powers affecting the public, and manuals and other documents used in
decision making that affects the public; and
•
Substantial descriptive or marketing information about institutions, their services, activities and
collections.
Note that this does NOT mean that metadata must be added to every Web page. Often Web resources
are "cut up" into multiple files for more effective information management and/or speed of download. Each
of these sub-pages would logically contain the same metadata content (since each page is part of the
larger whole). Adding identical metadata to multiple pages will seriously compromise effective searching
as not only the main page (title page or table of contents) but all the parts would be returned in search
results, swamping searchers with too much information.
3.3.6
Implementation
Develop a metadata input template for your organization. For an example of such a template, see Natural
Resources Canada's Web site at http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/communications/clf-upe/metadata_e.html.
Templates may also be developed for various parts of the organization, with some of the mandatory
required elements (e.g. creator) pre-filled. This ensures that the full name of each organizational unit is
provided consistently, and reduces the work required.
Deliver appropriate training sessions, and maintain a list of all personnel who were trained so that they
can be informed of any changes or updates.
Work with your departmental partners on an ongoing basis to determine what other elements should be
incorporated into your Internet / metadata strategies.
Stay attuned to changes and trends affecting your departmental partners (for example, needs, policies,
structure, technology, etc.) and to developments at the government-wide level (see Staying on top of
Government of Canada Metadata Policies and Developments below).
15
See TBITS 39 Part 1: Government On-Line Metadata Standard (http://www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/itsnit/standards/tbits39/crit391_e.asp#app
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
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Chapter 4
Specific Metadata Elements - Considerations
4.1 Creator
The metadata policy of your organization should include guidance on the level of detail within the
organizational hierarchy to be used in describing departmental Web resources.
While use of the departmental or agency name alone is acceptable practice and is usually sufficient, the
addition of organizational levels could be helpful or necessary. For example, when a major organization is
part of a larger department or agency, and would not appear in <dc.creator> at all if the parent
organization alone were used, lower levels in the organizational hierarchy should be included.
4.1.1 Example:
The Geological Survey of Canada is part of Natural Resources Canada and would not appear in
<dc.creator> if "Government of Canada, Natural Resources Canada" alone were. The following
hierarchical structure includes its name and its hierarchical relationship to the parent organization.
<meta name="dc.creator" content="Government of Canada, Natural
Resources Canada, Earth Sciences Sector, Geological Survey of
Canada">
Because the same content for the creator element will recur in the metadata for many different Web
resources, local implementations may "pre-fill" this field as appropriate.
4.2 Date
16
Although the Dublin Core mandates the World Wide Web Consortium Date and Time Format (W3CDTF)
as the scheme for use with dates, in the Government of Canada context, inclusion of the scheme name is
optional.
Depending on the requirements of local systems or processes, one of the following two approaches may
be adopted for adding <dc.date> elements:
4.2.1 Option 1
•
On the original posting date, include <dc.date.created> only with the date of posting of the resource.
•
Any time after that date when punctuation or typographical errors are corrected, re-post the resource.
DO NOT change the content of <dc.date.created>.
•
Any time that the intellectual CONTENT of the resource is substantially changed, on re-posting, add
<dc.date.modified>, with the date of re-posting.
4.2.2 Option 2
•
On the original posting date, include <dc.date.created> with the date of posting of the resource AND
<dc.date.modified>, inserting a single blank character between the quotation marks following
content= (i.e. content=" ").
•
Any time after that date when punctuation or typographical errors are corrected, re-post the resource.
DO NOT change the content of <dc.date.created>, and DO NOT add content to <dc.date.modified>.
•
Any time that the intellectual CONTENT of the resource is substantially changed, complete the
<dc.date.modified> tag by adding the date of most recent modification.
16
See http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-datetime
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
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4.3 Subject
Using terms from a controlled vocabulary to describe the subject or "aboutness" of Web resources
provides an additional method of accessing information produced by many different creators. Using
standardized terminology from one or more lists of controlled subject terms or thesauri allows searchers
to find resources on the same subject consistently and efficiently.
A Treasury Board survey on metadata implementation in federal organizations has revealed that
populating the subject element presents significant challenges. Namely, the correct selection of terms
from controlled vocabularies is not normally in the skill set of people responsible for managing Web
resources. Rather, it is principally a skill of professional librarians and indexers. The complexity of the
challenge of selecting terms increases when more than one controlled vocabulary is employed.
Managers are urged either to provide appropriate subject analysis training for their metadata developers
or to consider obtaining assistance from their Library / Information Resource Centres, or external
contractors, in populating this crucial field.
4.3.1 What is a Controlled Vocabulary?
A controlled vocabulary is a set of standardized words or phrases used in indexing and information
retrieval. Controlled vocabularies prescribe a single term to identify a concept, thereby reducing or
eliminating choice and, consequently, the use of synonyms. Examples include subject heading
compendia such as Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and thesauri such as the Government
of Canada Core Subject Thesaurus (CST).
A thesaurus is a specific type of controlled vocabulary arranged in a known order (not necessarily
alphabetical) in which equivalence (USE; USE FOR), homographic (variant spellings), hierarchical
(Broader Term; Narrower Term) and associative (Related Term) relationships among terms are clearly
displayed and identified by standardized relationship indicators. A thesaurus normally conforms to
international standards.
Note that dictionaries, which list one or more meanings for a given term, and unstructured, alphabetized
word lists such as glossaries, are NOT controlled vocabularies. They do not control synonyms.
Typically, a controlled vocabulary is designed to be used in a specific context. Prefatory material or other
instructions for use should be carefully considered before a given vocabulary is adopted. For example,
terminology from the Library of Congress Subject Headings, a standardized vocabulary used in library
catalogues, is intended to be applied with sub-divisions of various kinds (form, geographic, etc.). Thesauri
may have various forms of term arrangement and display and may be pre-coordinated (entries include
base terms as well as modifiers and sub-divisions) or post-coordinated (terms are not linked together
semantically; one or more individual terms is used by indexers to build an overall description of the
subject).
For more information on using a controlled vocabulary, consult your departmental library or the FAQ
section of "Implementing a Controlled Vocabulary" at the National Library of Canada Web site
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/8/4/r4-294-e.html.
4.3.2 Sources of Controlled Terminology for <dc.subject>
The authorized controlled vocabulary for federal government departments and agencies is the
Government of Canada Core Subject Thesaurus (CST) at http://thesaurus.gc.ca. Other authorized
vocabularies may be used, provided that a separate subject element is created for each vocabulary set
employed.
The CST does not include specialized terminology used in specific and limited disciplines. It may be
necessary to select additional terms from one or more specialized controlled vocabularies that are
registered with the National Library of Canada. Vocabularies registered with the Dublin Core Metadata
Initiative (http://dublincore.org) may also be used provided that equivalent terms in both official languages
are available (see Section 4.3.4).
If your department or agency uses one or more authorized vocabularies other than the CST, it is highly
recommended that one or more CST terms be selected as content for a separate <dc.subject> tag.
Doing so allows for the consistent application of subject terms that apply to multiple federal organizations.
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
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Detailed guidance on the use of the CST is available at http://thesaurus.gc.ca. For generic information on
the selection of subject terms, see Guidelines for Indexes and Related Information Retrieval Devices by
James D. Anderson (http://www.niso.org/standards/resources/tr02.pdf).
For more information on thesauri, consult the Thesauri and Controlled Vocabularies pages on the
National Library Web site at http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/8/4/r4-280-e.html), or contact the Metadata
Coordinator, National Library of Canada, at: [email protected].
4.3.3 If the Core Subject Thesaurus is not deemed suitable
1. Every effort should be made to use at least one term from the CST to describe Government of
Canada Web resources.
2.
If the CST generally answers you vocabulary needs, but you have identified a set of terms which are
not in the tool, contact the Thesaurus Manager at http://dsppsd.communication.gc.ca/Thesaurus/thesaurus_contact_e.html to discuss how your terminology
needs can be met.
3. If the CST, because of its general nature, is judged as not suitable, consult the List of Canadian
Government Maintained Controlled Vocabularies on the National Library of Canada Web site to see
what other vocabularies are registered for use in the gc.ca domain. The list, available at
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/8/4/r4-281-e.html, includes information about the vocabulary label names for
use in the coding of <dc.subject> scheme component, with links to the online version of the
vocabularies.
If you use terminology from a controlled vocabulary other than the CST, you MUST use the scheme
label for that vocabulary in the <dc.subject> meta element.
4. If none of the vocabularies registered in the Government of Canada domain suits your terminology
needs, consult the forthcoming list of controlled vocabularies registered by the Dublin Core at
http://dublincore.org/.
Please note, however, that only vocabularies in this registry with equivalent terms in both official
languages will be acceptable for use. "Equivalent terms" is used instead of "translations" as there are
instances when the term for a concept in one language does not have an exact match in the other
(see Section 4.3.4).
5. If none of these vocabularies meets your needs, an in-house solution may be the best option.
Alternatives:
•
•
•
•
Build your own bilingual thesaurus. This will require help from an expert as a thesaurus is
highly structured and built according to established criteria and standards with relationships
among terms clearly displayed and identified by standardized relationship indicators.
Develop a customized controlled vocabulary for your subject domain. A controlled vocabulary
is less rigorous than a thesaurus. HOWEVER, synonyms MUST be controlled (i.e. nonpreferred terms point to the preferred terms), the most basic form of terminology control.
Vocabularies developed in-house for use in <dc.subject> must be registered with the National
Library.
The terms in such locally controlled vocabularies can be mapped to more general terms in
the CST so that both specific terminology and more general CST terminology are part of the
metadata. For example, the in-house vocabulary term "aquacultural biotechnology" could be
mapped to "Biotechnology", found in the CST. The metadata would contain two dc.subject
elements, one for the broad CST term, one for the specific local vocabulary term.
For advice on building or registering a vocabulary, consult the Metadata Co-ordinator at the
National Library (819 994-6889; [email protected]).
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
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4.3.4 Language Equivalents
When choosing subject terms for a resource available in both official languages, assign English terms to
the English version, and French to the French version.
For each term in one official language there must be an equivalent term (or terms) in the other. This is
straightforward when selecting terms from vocabulary lists with English and French equivalents, but is
more challenging when selecting from one list in one official language, and from a different list for the
other. Until formal guidance is available, contact the Treasury Board Secretariat Information Management
Division at [email protected] for advice.
4.3.5 When Using Multiple Vocabularies
If more than one authorized vocabulary is used, a separate subject metatag is required for each
vocabulary. Each subject metatag must include the scheme label assigned to the vocabulary. The labels
are part of the vocabulary descriptions in the registry of controlled vocabularies at the NLC Web site
(http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/8/4/r4-281-e.html).
See the Developers section for an example.
4.4
Title
Encourage authors to assign information-rich titles to aid in the resource discovery process.
Develop a process to ensure that no two pages have identical titles.
4.5
Geographic Coverage
4.5.1 Why use coverage
Spatial information contained in the coverage element can be used to perform powerful searches that
allow a user to search on a specific location, exclude certain areas, sort by nearest location, and perform
many other operations. Coverage can be used to describe the geographic aspects of a resource not
normally included under <dc.subject> or <dc.description>.
Coverage should be implemented when the content of the resource is applicable to a place, as in the
following examples:
•
•
•
Employment opportunities for a certain region (information that is organized by area)
Environmental impact assessment for a watershed (information about an area)
Sites of historical significance (location information).
4.5.2 Values for coverage
Coverage should be populated using a controlled vocabulary, authority file or other registered scheme.
The most appropriate choice of vocabulary depends on the resource being documented. More than one
vocabulary may be used to describe a single resource.
GeoNames – The Canadian Geographic Names Database (CGNDB)
Canadian place names.
17
is the preferred vocabulary for
Controlled vocabularies or authority files authorized for use with <dc.coverage.spatial> are registered with
18
the National Library of Canada (NLC) . Departments are encouraged to register other standardized
vocabularies that meet their particular requirements with the NLC. Vocabularies are registered under a
unique scheme name that must be stated in every instance of <dc.coverage.spatial>.
17
18
-See http://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/index_e.php
See http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/8/4/r4-281-e.html.
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
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Place names should be used in preference, or in addition to, geographic coordinates. Place names
convey more meaning to a person. Named geographies from known, controlled sources can be translated
to geographic coordinates via web services, such as the CGDI Gazetteer Service (http://cgdidev.geoconnections.org/prototypes/cgdigaz/).
Complete place names should be used in preference to abbreviations or symbols to improve
comprehension for the reader.
The language equivalency rule (see 4.3.4) applies for place names as well.
4.6
Description
Develop description-writing guidance for your local context, based on the Guidelines for Writing
Descriptions for Government of Canada Web Sites (http://www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/im-gi/references/metadescrip/meta-descrip00_e.asp).
4.7
Type
Organizations may request the inclusion of new resource types by contacting the Information
Management Division of the Treasury Board Secretariat at [email protected].
An organization may develop a local scheme (or schemes) to achieve a more precise description of
resource types for local indexing and retrieval needs. However, any such schemes must be registered
with the National Library. Contact the TBS Information Management Division for assistance in developing
local schemes.
4.8
References
The following is a selection of resources and style guides on writing for the Web to improve readability
and search engine results:
Guidelines for Abstracts. NISO: Bethesda, MD; 1997.
http://www.niso.org/standards/resources/Z39-14.pdf
Kilian, Crawford. Writing for the Web. Self Counsel Press, 2000.
Nielson, Jakob. Be Succinct! (Writing for the Web).
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9703b.html
Nielson, Jakob. Microcontent: How to Write Headlines, Page Titles and Subject Lines.
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980906.html
Nielson, Jakob. Writing for the Web. (Resource Page)
http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting
Writing Meta Tags for Higher Search Engine Placement and Good Descriptions.
http://www.iprimus.ca/~iwb/search_engine/killer.html
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
2nd edition
Chapter 5
Updates To This Guide
The Metadata Implementation Guide will be updated with new information as often as needed.
Chapter 6
Staying On Top Of Government Of Canada Metadata Policies And
Developments
19
Visit the Information Management Resource Centre (IMRC) , a single-window source to information on
government metadata development, and follow the link to the metadata page.
The Treasury Board is developing a Government of Canada "application profile" to describe required and
optional metatags in greater depth than is provided in the Developers Guide. The profile should be
consulted when further guidance is necessary. The profile will be made available on the metadata page at
the IMRC site.
Chapter 7
For More Information
Metadata managers are invited to pose questions to their organization's representative on the GOL
Metadata Working Group (http://publiservice.cio-dpi.gc.ca/mwg-gtm/index_e.asp).
If the organization does not have a representative on the Working Group, the Information Management
Division, Treasury Board Secretariat should be contacted for advice on securing appropriate
representation ([email protected]). The Council of Federal Libraries may also be able to provide
assistance (http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/6/37/index-e.html).
Appendix A
Options For Linking Metadata To Web Pages
When the content of all five required Dublin Core metadata elements has been determined and approved,
it is added to the source code of the Web page it describes. An example of the source code appears in
Appendix B. The required elements have been highlighted in bold face.
This source code may reside on the server, filed permanently alongside the HTML code for the Web page
content, or it may reside in a separate file that is called into service only when the Web page is displayed
or when a search tool initiates a search. These two approaches to metadata incorporation are called
static and dynamic, respectively.
The static method involves coding the metadata directly into the Web page. There are several ways to do
this. The range of options includes:
19
•
Typing the metadata directly into the source of the Web page using a simple plain-text editor such
as Notepad.
•
Typing the metadata into a template and then using the cut-and-paste functions to transfer the
metadata into the source code of the appropriate Web page.
•
Inputting the metadata into a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor such as Front
Page or Dreamweaver. Consult your department's Information Technology section for options.
See http://www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/im-gi
Government of Canada Metadata Implementation Guide for Web Resources
2nd edition
If you choose to store the metadata separately from the HTML content source code of the Web page and
append it dynamically when the page is displayed, you will need to maintain a database or other external
file system for this purpose. For further guidance, consult your IT department.
Appendix B
Sample CLF Metadata Source Code
The Developers' section provides instructions on how to create and enter the required information (i.e.,
what appears between the quotes after [content =]).
Here's how the required metadata elements would appear in the source code for an English sub-site of
Health Canada:
<link rel="schema.dc" href="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
<meta name="dc.title" content="Conferences - eHealth Resource
Centre">
<meta name="dc.creator" content="Government of Canada, Health
Canada, Office of Health and the Information Highway (OHIH)">
<meta name="dc.language" scheme="ISO639-2" content="eng">
<meta name="dc.date.created" content="2000-00-00">
<meta name="dc.date.modified" content="2003-03-17">
<meta name="dc.subject" scheme="gcicth" content="Health care;
Information and communications technologies; Telehealth; Health
informatics; Databases">
<meta name="dc.subject" scheme="gccore" content="Conferences;
Health care; Databases; Meetings">
<meta name="description" content="List of and links to various
conferences, tradeshows, and workshops related to information and
communications technologies in health">
<meta name="keywords" content="conferences, health care,
healthcare, information and communications technologies,
information and communications technology, ICT, ICTs, telehealth,
health informatics, databases, meetings, e-health, ehealth">
<title>Conferences - eHealth Resource Centre</title>
Note that <dc.title> and the HTML <title> are identical.