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Guide to Minimum Website Standards - Metadata
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This guidance has been superseded by the Australian Government Web Publishing Guide and should be used for reference purposes only. |
April 2003 edition. Contact details updated July 2004.
Chapter headings:
What is the standard, and which agency issued the standard? - Implementation requirements - Background - Key things you should know - Content of Metadata records - Further Assistance - FAQ
Metadata
What is the standard, and which agency issued the standard?
The Government Online Strategy required agencies to create descriptions of their key information resources and services in the form of web-based Metadata records that comply with the Australian Government Locator Service (AGLS) Metadata standard. The States and Territories have also adopted this standard.
Under Better Services, Better Government: The Federal Government's E-government Strategy, released in November 2002, this requirement continues.
The AGLS metadata standard was issued in December 2002 as an Australian Standard, AS5044: AGLS Metadata Element Set.
While the National Archives of Australia (NAA) is the lead agency for AGLS development and deployment, the initiative is a cooperative venture between the NAA, NOIE and the Online Council Officials. Further information about the standard is available from www.naa.gov.au/recordkeeping/gov_online/agls/summary.html.
Implementation requirements
From 1 June 2000, agencies were required to apply Metadata to relevant new website content, and from 1 December 2000, agencies were required to apply Metadata to relevant existing website content.
Background
Metadata is data that is used to describe resources so that people searching for electronic information can find what they are looking for more efficiently. Metadata helps government search engines to accurately and efficiently identify and retrieve web-based resources in response to search requests. To ensure that Metadata is as useful as possible, it is important that it is applied consistently by agencies across the Commonwealth. The AGLS Metadata standard was developed to promote this consistency. AGLS Metadata, which is usually invisible to the end user, can be stored in HTML 'metatags' or in a Metadata repository or directory that can be interrogated or harvested by external search engines.
The AGLS Metadata standard is set out in the AGLS Metadata Element Set: http://www.naa.gov.au/recordkeeping/gov_online/agls/metadata_element_set.html
Commonwealth agencies seeking practical advice on implementing the AGLS standard are encouraged to read Commonwealth Implementation Manual: AGLS Metadata http://www.naa.gov.au/recordkeeping/gov_online/agls/cim/cim_manual.html
Key things you should know
Resources that should have Metadata records applied to them
The following categories contain a minimum set of resources for which it is essential to create AGLS Metadata:
- Home pages (defined as the major entry point to an organisation, and those distinct business units where there is likely to be a public perception that they stand alone as an organisational entity);
- Topics/services in high demand by the target community the organisation serves (this can be based on usage statistics but may also include topical or publicised resources with anticipated public interest);
- Information required by agency clientele to understand their entitlements to government assistance and the requirements of government that apply to them;
- Pages that provide an actual online service to the public (such as a payment, application forms, etc.);
- Pages required to meet a prescribed community/legal/service obligation by the organisation;
- Entry points to specific online services and indexes (eg. an entry point to a legal database);
- Major formal publications (eg. annual reports, corporate strategic plans, public policy and accountability documents, etc.);
- Media releases;
- Major entry points or indexes and menus to a range of closely related topics, programs or policies;
- Information about agency powers affecting the public, and manuals and other documents used in decision-making affecting the public; and
- Substantial descriptive or marketing information about agencies, their services, activities and collections.
It is important for agencies to ensure that all the categories of resources have Metadata. In addition, agencies should assess other information resources that they deliver to their customers (whether this is the public or other government agencies) with a view to applying Metadata to these resources. As Metadata allows users to search accurately and quickly, any documents that will be of use to clients should be Metadata tagged.
Agencies might also consider Metadata tagging offline resources. The AGLS standard provides the "Availability" element to allow offline resources to be described. A Metadata record can be created for an offline resource that is then available for searching. In this way, all the services and information provided by an agency can be identified and discovered in the online environment.
An analysis of customers' demands and expectations is important in determining the level of detail applied to AGLS Metadata.
A checklist to help agencies implement AGLS metadata is at Attachment A.
Content of Metadata records
AGLS Metadata consists of 19 elements.
Five elements have been determined as mandatory for compliance with the Australian standard, AS5044: AGLS metadata element set:
- Creator
- Title
- Date
- Subject or Function
- Identifier or Availability
A sixth element, Publisher, is required for descriptions of information resources, but not for resources that are transactional services.
Commonwealth agencies must also use Description and Type for all resources.
Three other elements are conditional; that is, they are mandatory under specific conditions:
- Audience (for resources targeted at a specific audience);
- Language (for resources not in English); and
- Coverage (where the spatial coverage of the resource content is not the whole of Australia).
The other AGLS elements are optional but particular elements should be used if they could enhance the discoverability of specified resources.
Tools available to assist in the creation of Metadata records
There is a range of Metadata tools available by which to create and manage Metadata and these are listed on the National Archives website at: http://www.naa.gov.au/recordkeeping/gov_online/agls/tools.html.
Organisations wishing to implement such tools should firstly determine the method and business process they will adopt for the ongoing support, management and maintenance of their Metadata as this will determine to a great extent the tool that suits their requirements.
Training in the use of AGLS Metadata
Contact the National Archives of Australia for details of relevant training courses in your area.
An example of an AGLS Metadata record
Further Assistance
Websites - www.naa.gov.au/recordkeeping/gov_online/agls/summary.html
Contact: Agency Service Centre, National Archives of Australia
Telephone - (02) 6212 3610
Fax - (02) 6212 3989
E-mail - recordkeeping@naa.gov.au
Address - National Archives of Australia, PO Box 7425, CANBERRA BUSINESS CENTRE ACT 2610; Queen Victoria Terrace, PARKES ACT 2600
FAQ
Q. We have hundreds of pages on our website, and provide access to hundreds of documents. Applying Metadata to all of these will mean that we will have to create several hundred Metadata records. How can we afford to do this?
A. To achieve AGLS compliance it is not necessary to create Metadata for every single page on a Website. It is quite appropriate to create 'higher level' Metadata records that describe a collection of resources. Most government agencies would not be expected to have to create more than 50 Metadata records to adequately describe their resources.
Answers to more "Frequently Asked Questions" are available at: www.naa.gov.au/recordkeeping/gov_online/agls/faq.html