Metadata

SCHEMAS: Forum for Metadata Schema Implementors

Introduction

The SCHEMAS project is funded as part of the Information Societies Technology (IST) Programme, a theme of the European Union's Fifth Framework Programme managed by the Information Society Directorate-General of the European Commission. Work commenced on the project at the beginning of January 2000 and is scheduled to run until December 2001.

SCHEMAS aims to provide a forum for metadata schema designers involved in projects under the IST Programme and national initiatives in Europe. The main objectives are to provide information for schema implementors about the status and proper use of new and emerging metadata standards, as well as promoting good-practice guidelines for adapting multiple standards or metadata modules for local use in customised schemas.

Other partners in SCHEMAS include:

• PricewaterhouseCoopers Technology Consultants (PwC) - Luxembourg [project co-ordinator]

• Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft(FhG) - Germany

The IST Project Factsheet for the SCHEMAS project is available in the RTD Projects Database of CORDIS at:
<URL:http://www.cordis.lu/ist/projects/99-10010.htm>

More detailed information about SCHEMAS is available from the project's web site:
<URL:http://www.schemas-forum.org/>

Publications and Presentations

Dissemination activites under taken by the project partners and other related publications are maintained on the publications section of the project web site.

Work on SCHEMAS at UKOLN:

UKOLN is contributing to most workpackages in the SCHEMAS project. A brief description of each of these follows, and links to selected public documents and deliverables will be added to this page whenever they become available:

WP2: Metadata Watch

PwC will lead this work package with the aim of finding key programmes and projects with practical implementations of metadata initiatives in order to assess the relevance of these activities and to identify key issues for the programme of Workshops.

WP4: Workshops

UKOLN will be the lead partner for this work package which aims to gather requirements for the use of metadata registries, encourage sharing of information relating to metadata schemas, and promote good practices with a focus on multilingual issues.

WP5: Registry Maintenance

This work package will also be led by UKOLN. The objectives of WP5 include: to encourage deployment of registries, to encourage self-registration of authorities where appropriate and to investigate how implementations and communities might best disclose local metadata usage within the registry framework.

WP6: Multilingual RDF Registry

GMD will take the lead in this work package. WP6 aims to promote the deployment of metadata registries defined with the Resource Description Framework (RDF), promote standards and methods for creating and processing schemas in multiple languages and writing systems, encourage the reuse and adaptation of global metadata elements in local schemas, formuate and disseminate good-practice guidelines and investigate processes for managing the evolution of multilingual registries.

WP7: Training Material

The major aims of this work package are to identify a set of user requirements for creation and management of metadata schemas, to develop a web-based training course and to establish a web-based FAQ for questions relating to the creation and management of metadata schemas. WP7 will be led by PwC.

WP8: Publicity and Dissemination

WP8 will be led by UKOLN who will host the web-site for the project. WP8 will provide focus for sharing information regarding metadata schema, facilitate use of metadata schema by software and human agents, point to "canonical definitions" where they exist, inform information and software development communities of the benefits of metadata registries and promote the development of a managed infrastructure of distributed registries.

UKOLN staff working on the SCHEMAS project:

Manjula Patel

Technical Research and Development
E-mail: m.patel@ukoln.ac.uk

Rachel Heery

Assistant Director (Team Leader, Research & Development)
E-mail: r.m.heery@ukoln.ac.uk

Michael Day

Research Officer
E-mail: m.day@ukoln.ac.uk