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Keeping it straight: Rights Metadata

One of the benefits of metadata is that it contains information such as IP rights ownership. However, there is not one standard metadata schema. The IP Rights Office has compiled a list of metadata standards and the associated rights expression languages to help libraries understand and implement the appropriate metadata schemas for their collections.

Metadata Standards:

  • Dublin Core: The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative is an open organization engaged in the development of interoperable online metadata standards that support a broad range of purposes and business models. DCMI's activities include work on architecture and modeling, discussions and collaborative work in DCMI Communities and DCMI Task Groups, annual conferences and workshops, standards liaison, and educational efforts to promote widespread acceptance of metadata standards and practices.
  • MARCXML: The Library of Congress' Network Development and MARC Standards Office is developing a framework for working with MARC data in a XML environment. This framework is intended to be flexible and extensible to allow users to work with MARC data in ways specific to their needs. The framework itself includes many components such as schemas, stylesheets, and software tools.
  • METS (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.
  • MODS (Metadata Object Description Schema): Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS) is a schema for a bibliographic element set that may be used for a variety of purposes, and particularly for library applications. The standard is maintained by the Network Development and MARC Standards Office of the Library of Congress with input from users.
  • PREMIS: The PREMIS maintenance activity is responsible for maintaining, supporting, and coordinating future revisions to the PREMIS data dictionary. The Preservation Metadata: Implementation Strategies Working Group, convened by OCLC and RLG, initially developed the PREMIS data dictionary as a specification with the goal of creating an implementable set of "core" preservation metadata elements, with broad applicability within the digital preservation community. Supporting XML schemas allow for implementation of the core metadata element set and are maintained in the Network Development and MARC Standards Office of the Library of Congress.

Rights Expression Languages:

  • Creative Commons: Creative Commons provides free tools that let authors, scientists, artists, and educators easily mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry. You can use CC to change your copyright terms from "All Rights Reserved" to "Some Rights Reserved."
  • METSRights: The METS Editorial Board sees the need for a simple Rights schema that the METS community could use while the more comprehensive Rights Expression Language (REL) schemas such as XrML, ODRL, and others are being developed, and debated. The focus of the simple Rights schema is to simply declare or document some basic facts about the digital collections being created and/or included in institutional digital repositories. To that end, this draft Rights Declaration schema is offered to the METS community for review, comment, and discussion. The schema is attached as well as some sample instance documents designed to illustrate how the schema could be used.
  • MPEG-21/5: Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) a working group of ISO/IEC in charge of the development of standards for coded representation of digital audio and video.
  • ODRL (Open Digital Rights Language): The Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL) Initiative is an international effort aimed at developing and promoting an open standard for rights expressions. ODRL is intended to provide flexible and interoperable mechanisms to support transparent and innovative use of digital content in publishing, distributing and consuming of digital media across all sectors and communities.
  • XACML: XACML stands for eXtensible Access Control Markup Language. It is a declarative access control policy language implemented in XML and a processing model, describing how to interpret the policies. Latest version 2.0 was ratified by OASIS standards organization on 1 February 2005. As of 2007, version 3.0 is in preparation and will add generic attribute categories for the evaluation context and policy delegation profile (administrative policy profile).
  • XrML: XrML - eXtensible rights Markup Language - is the Digital Rights Language of choice. XrML provides a universal method for securely specifying and managing rights and conditions associated with all kinds of resources including digital content as well as services.

Resources & Readings:

Articles:

Books:

  • Agnew, Grace. Digital Rights Management: A Librarian's Guide to Technology and Practice, Chandos Publishing, 2008. (Call no. Z653.7 .A36 2008)

Reports:

 

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