ARCHIVES 2015

This presentation categorizes metadata standards used in scientific data centers, and reports several mechanisms for the aggregate control of scientific data. Based on their targets of description, metadata standards in scientific data repositories can be divided into three categories: metadata standards that describe research subjects, such as specimens and samples, etc.; metadata standards that describe the instruments, platforms and facilities used to generate research data, and metadata standards that describe scientific datasets. Scientific data centers basically utilize similar aggregate control mechanisms as those in traditional archives management, including single-level description, multi-level description, separate and linked metadata records for components in an archival collection, as well as linking between different entities. There are differences in the details of the aggregate control methods between the two communities. However, these minor differences shrink or disappear when digital archiving is considered.

About the Author:

Jinfang Niu is an assistant professor at the School of Information, University of South Florida. She received her Ph.D. from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Prior to that, she worked as a librarian at the Tsinghua University Library for three years. Her current research focuses on information organization, digital curation and archives management.