Metadata
Metadata
A format for storing metadata is an essential part of the construction of repositories. An individual metadata format was defined for the needs of the National Repository of Grey Literature (NRGL). The NRGL metadata format was designed especially for processing records on grey digital documents.
The basic requirements for the NRGL format are the maximum simplicity and compatibility with the Dublin Core standard. The draft of the NRGL format was therefore designed in order to comply with these two requirements.
Of the known formats specialized in grey literature, EVSKP-MS was the primary model format. It was designed for the Czech university environment and it stems from the Dublin Core standard. It was created particularly for ETDs, which are just one type of grey literature. For this reason it was necessary to extend this format to include further specific elements in order to describe other types of grey literature in good quality. For the specific elements describing grey literature, ASEP and RIV were taken as bases. The NRGL metadata format uses elements of Dublin Core, Dublin Core Terms, EVSKP-MS, ETD-MS and some individual elements.
The first draft of an individual NRGL metadata format version 0.1 was defined in 2008 and in 2009 it was tested on own data in the NTK and at the University of Economics in Prague. Furthermore, an expert examination of this version was carried out. The results of testing and expertise were included into the beta version of 0.2 of the NRGL metadata format. In 2010 the metadata format was optimized using practical experience with the introduction of metadata and full texts into the repository, with harvesting of metadata and files with full texts from partner organizations and with requirements on compliance with the OpeGrey system. In this way, the verified version 1.0 of the NRGL metadata format originated, may be found in the attached document.
The implementation of the NRGL metadata format into the selected sofware solution, namely into the CDS Invenio system, which uses MARC-21 native format, was accompanied by the creation of a conversion table.
Other conversion tables are created according to the actual needs in connection with harvesting data into the NRGL digital repository. Thus, in 2010, other conversion tables originated between NRGL and EVSKP-MS formats and between NRGL and ASEP formats, used by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. If supplied data are in other formats, conversion tables for these formats are to be created as well. Organizations without their own database are supposed to accept the NRGL metadata format. This presumption has thus far been fulfilled as judged according to the dealings with new partner organizations.
