Embedding metadata in METS

A metadata wrapper element <mdWrap> provides a wrapper around metadata embedded within a METS document. The element is repeatable. Such metadata can be in one of two forms:

1. XML-encoded metadata, with the XML-encoding identifying itself as belonging to a namespace other than the METS document namespace.

2. Any arbitrary binary or textual form, PROVIDED that the metadata is Base64 encoded and wrapped in a <binData> element within the internal metadata element.

The <mdWrap> element has two elements:

1. <binData> - a wrapper element to contain Base64 encoded metadata.

2. <xmlData> - a wrapper element to contain XML encoded metadata.

The content of an <xmlData> element can be in any namespace or in no namespace. As permitted by the XML Schema Standard, the processContents attribute value for the metadata in an <xmlData> is set to “lax”. Therefore, if the source schema and its location are identified by means of an XML schemaLocation attribute, then an XML processor will validate the elements for which it can find declarations. If a source schema is not identified, or cannot be found at the specified schemaLocation, then an XML validator will check for well-formedness, but otherwise skip over the elements appearing in the <xmlData> element.

See also:

• Embedding XML content in METS
• Embedding binary data in METS

And examples:

• Descriptive metadata - embedding binary MARC records
• Digital provenance metadata – PREMIS
• Intellectual property rights metadata
• Describing characteristics of the source material
• Technical metadata for images