The Motive Internet Glossary

Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI)

Dublin Core is a system for describing/classifying web-based information resources.

This is an extension of the standard metadata protocol: where the content of a webpage is described in terms of a name element (noun) and a content qualifier (adjective), for example:

<meta name="keywords" content="cats, felines, grooming" />

Classification and description core elements

The Dublin Core system comprises of fifteen standard elements. These are commonly grouped as follows;

Content	Intellectual Property	Instantiation
Coverage	Contributor	Date
Description	Creator	Format
Relation	Publisher	Identifier
Source	Rights	Language
Subject
Title
Type

To identify the metadata as relating to the Dublin Core system, the syntax of the metadata tag is altered slightly; by the addition of the ‘DC’ prefix, e.g.:

<meta name="DC.Publisher" content="Motive Press" />

Related terms: metadata, XML

P.S. the ‘Dublin’ in question is Dublin, Ohio, USA

References and further reading

• Dublin Core Elements (Princeton University)
  Description, guidelines and qualifiers for each of the elements.
• Using Dublin Core (DCMDI)
  An overview of the Dublin Core Metadata system.
  • The Core Elements
    More on the 15 elements, including examples.

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