An Emergent Theory of Digital Library Metadata

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Existing standards-based metadata approaches and principles

Contemporary library metadata standards are defined by authoritative, expert-led, pre-defined structures where librarians create metadata content from a prescribed list of controlled (pre-set) vocabularies and users passively access information objects. These standards are underpinned by metadata principles including the principle of sufficiency and necessity, user convenience, representation and standardisation. However, these principles focus on metadata simplicity and fail to adequately represent the diversity of views and perspectives that exist in library users. This suggests a need for alternative metadata approaches that reflect changing users’ needs and emerging technological ...