Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard

"The METS schema is a standard for encoding descriptive, administrative, and structural metadata regarding objects within a digital library, expressed using the XML schema language of the World Wide Web Consortium. The standard is maintained in the Network Development and MARC Standards Office of the Library of Congress, and is being developed as an initiative of the Digital Library Federation."^[1]

METS is considered as container format to import, store and exchange digital objects within the ViRR:_Virtueller_Raum_Reichsrecht.

The METS structure[edit]

An example METS xml is available from the Fedora homepage^[2] and a METS structure diagram is provided as well^[3]

Header (metsHdr)[edit]

Information about the METS document, e.g. various time stamps and the institutions and/or individuals (METS:agent) involved in creating the package:

<METS:metsHdr ID="BOOK1" CREATEDATE="2007-05-20T06:32:00" LASTMODDATE="2007-05-22T06:32:00" RECORDSTATUS="A">
  <METS:agent>ROLE="CREATOR" TYPE="ORGANIZATION">
    <METS:name>Max Planck Institute for History of European Law</METS:name>
  </METS:agent> 
</METS:metsHdr>

Structural Map (structMap)[edit]

A representation of the complete object modeled as tree structure. Every node in the tree can be assigned with descriptive as well as administrative metadata

<METS:structMap ID="S1" TYPE="fedora:dsBindingMap">
  <METS:div TYPE="demo:9" LABEL="DS Binding Map for MrSID Image mechanism">
    <METS:div TYPE="MRSID" LABEL="Binding to MrSID file from which different image resolutions will be derived" ORDER="0">
      <METS:fptr FILEID="DS1"/>
    </METS:div>
  </METS:div>
</METS:structMap>

Structural Link (structLink)[edit]

Within a METS document multiple links between the parts are allowed

File List (fileSec)[edit]

The file list is the inventory of all files the object consists of. The list arrange all files into groups, which can be arranged hierarchically. The actual content may be referenced (xlink:href) or contained within the METS document

<METS:fileSec>
  <METS:fileGrp ID="DATASTREAMS">
    <METS:fileGrp ID="DS1" STATUS="A">
      <METS:file ID="DS1.0" CREATED="2002-05-20T06:32:00" MIMETYPE="image/x-mrsid-image" 
      ADMID="TECH1 DIGIPROV1 SOURCE1 RIGHTS1" OWNERID="E" STATUS="A">
        <METS:FLocat LOCTYPE="URL" xlink:href="http://iris.lib.virginia.edu/mrsid/mrsid_images/iva/archerd01.sid" 
        xlink:title="Exhibit Intro: Architectural Drawings, Pavilion III, University of Virginia"/>
      </METS:file>
    </METS:fileGrp>
  </METS:fileGrp>
</METS:fileSec>

Behaviors[edit]

Administrative Metadata[edit]

Descriptive Metadata[edit]

Tools for METS generation[edit]

An overview of METS tools is available on the METS homepage

7Train - "an XSLT 2.0 tool for generating METS files from XML input. It builds the basic METS structure so that the user can worry about what is specific to the user's project. Includes examples for generating METS from OAI and CONTENTdm records."

Miscellaneous[edit]

The METS header includes some meta-information about the digital object, this may be...
METS agent container specifies role as well as type ("individual", "organization", "other")

References[edit]

↑ http://www.loc.gov/standards/mets - the official METS homepage
↑ http://www.fedora.info/documents/obj-image-userinput-archdraw.xml - METS example
↑ http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/mets/diagram/ - METS structure diagram

[mets_standard-1] ttp://www.loc.gov/standards/mets - the official METS homepage

[mets_example-2] ttp://www.fedora.info/documents/obj-image-userinput-archdraw.xml - METS example

[3] ttp://sunsite.berkeley.edu/mets/diagram/ - METS structure diagram

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