Metadata is data about data and refers to the descriptive elements that define and describe an asset. It is the spirit of an intellectual or creative asset . . . it’s everything you have. Metadata may be broken down into three main categories:

 

    1. Descriptive metadata describes a resource for purposes such as discovery and identification (i.e., information you would use in a search). It can include elements such as title, subject, creator, date, location, and keywords. 

    2. Structural (technical) metadata indicates how compound objects are put together (for example, file format, file dimension, file length, size, dimensions, etc.). 

    3. Administrative metadata provides information that helps manage an asset. Two common subsets are rights management metadata (which deals with intellectual property rights) and preservation metadata (which contains information needed to 

archive and preserve an asset).