Metadata Methodology

I used the following standards to build and populate my metadata:

Structure Standard:
- VRA Core, with slight adaptations for my specific objects, chosen because the objects I wanted to catalog are visual culture.
- Dublin Core, which I used to build one field, Rights, because I wanted to populate each object with a rights statement pulled from a URI.
Content Standard:
- Cataloging Cultural Objects (CCO), chosen because they are cultural objects.
Value Standards:
- Getty Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT), because while not necessarily created as art by the Maya, the words used to describe these objects and the making of them can be found in the art-world.
- LC: Subject Headings, chosen to supplement words for art-making provided by AAT with words for describing culturally important aspects of these objects.
- Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN), chosen because I needed to be specific about the location these objects are from
- Geonames, chosen because it provided a specific location, Isla Jaina, that TGN did not.
- Rights Statement, chosen to standardize and make available copyright information.

The resource template used to build the objects’ metadata, and the scope and purpose of each field, is as follows. Note, while I used CCO throughout the resource template, I highlight a few places below where I found it especially helpful.

Label	Value Standard(s)	Purpose	Required?	Note
Ref ID		Unique identifier	Y	These identifiers are specific to this website. This is an adaption of the VRA Core Work element id attribute.
Title		The title or identifying phrase given to a work or an image.	Y	Because the titles/names given to these objects by their creators are unknown, and because each institution I used resources from has a different method of naming these resources, I standardized and created new titles. Formatted using CCO.
Work Type	AAT	This element identifies the kind of work or works being described.	Y
Name		Individual name of creator.	Y	While the names of the creators of the works are unknown, they did exist, and I wanted to be sure my metadata acknowledged that. Instead of blank fields, these fields read “Unknown” if the name of the creator is unknown. Formatted using CCO.
Role	AAT	Role of creator	No
Culture	AAT	Culture of creator.	No
Date		Date or Date Range.	Yes	Formatted using CCO.
Style Period	AAT	A defined style, historical period, group, school, dynasty, movement, etc. whose characteristics are represented in the Work or Image.	No
Location	Geonames, TGN	The geographic location and/or name of the repository, building, site, or other entity whose boundaries include the Work or Image.	No
Technique	AAT	The production or manufacturing processes, techniques, and methods incorporated in the fabrication or alteration of the work or image.	No
Material	AAT	The substance of which a work or an image is composed.	No	When browsing objects, users can choose to see all objects with the same value.
Measurements		The physical size, shape, scale, dimensions, or format of the Work or Image.	No	Formatted using CCO.
Description		A free-text note about the Work, Collection, or Image, including comments, description, or interpretation, that gives additional information not recorded in other categories.	No
Subject	AAT, LC Subjects	Terms or phrases that describe, identify, or interpret the Work or Image and what it depicts. or expresses.	No	When browsing objects, users can choose to see all objects with the same value.
Rights	Rights statement	Information about the copyright status and the rights holder for a work, collection, or image.	Yes	This is the only Dublin Core element in the resource template. When browsing objects, users can choose to see all objects with the same value.
Credit Line		Contains a statement of the credits for persons or organizations that related to the work being described.	Yes	This is an adaptation of the VRA Core Rights element.
Source		A reference to the source of the information recorded about the work or the image.	Yes	Our version of Omeka S does not have a way to populate a field with a URL, so I populated source URLs here by marking them as URIs. If I had access to my own Omeka S database, I would add the plugin that allows me to populate with URLs to prevent any confusion with accessing my data.