Metadata requirements

Main Page > System Requirements > Metadata requirements

Metadata requirements identify the entities the system must track and the kinds of information about them it must capture in order to do the things specified by the functional requirements.

Metadata requirements are organized hierarchically, breaking down core requirements into sub- and sub-sub-requirements. Three core requirements have been identified:

1. Record information about archival materials
2. Record information about creators of archival materials
3. Record information about repositories that hold archival materials

Each metadata requirement includes the following information:

Requirement number	MR-x.x.x (unique tracking number assigned to requirement)
Requirement name	Descriptive name assigned to requirement.
Requirement specification	Brief description of requirement: what data must the system be able to capture?
Sub-requirements	If the requirement is broken down into sub-requirements, provides links to these.
Requirement quotation	Links to standards or other documents: why must the system capture this data?
Associated functional requirements	Links to functional requirements: what functionality must the system have that requires this data?
Associated quality requirements	Links to quality requirements: what design and interface features must the system have to capture this data well?
Associated technical requirements	Links to technical requirements: what system architecture, hardware / software configurations, and programming rules must the system implement to capture this data?
ICA-AtoM fields	List of the underlying ICA-AtoM database fields that capture the data.
ICA-AtoM implementation	Brief description of how ICA-AtoM implements this metadata requirement.
Known issues	Brief indication of known problems or limitations in the current version of ICA-AtoM that should be addressed in future releases.
User Manual sections	Links to the User manual sections that provide step-by-step instructions for recording the data in ICA-AtoM.

Record information about archival materials

Requirement number	MR-1
Requirement name	Record information about archival materials
Requirement specification	The system must: Include an entity representing an archival description.
Sub-requirements	1.1 Identify units / objects of description 1.2 Record information about the context of archival materials 1.3 Record information about the content and structure of archival materials 1.4 Record information about conditions of access and use of archival materials 1.5 Record information about related archvial materials 1.6 Assign access points to descriptions of archival materials 1.7 Control descriptions of archival materials

---

Identify units / objects of description

Requirement number	MR-1.1
Requirement name	Identify units / objects of description
Requirement specification	The system must be able to: Uniquely identify each description and its object.
Sub-requirements	1.1.1 Assign uniquers identifiers to descriptions 1.1.2 Assign titles to descriptions 1.1.3 Indicate the level of description 1.1.4 Indicate the dates of the material described 1.1.5 Indicate the extent of the material described

---

Assign unique identifiers to descriptions

Requirement number	MR-1.1.1
Requirement name	Assign unique identifiers to descriptions.
Requirement specification	The system must be able to: Assign one or more unique identifiers (codes) to each description such that the description can be linked to the object of description.
Requirement quotation	ISAD(G) 3.1.1
Associated functional requirements	FR-1.3.2, Assign unique identifiers to descriptions.
Associated quality requirements	Auto-enter values.
Associated technical requirements
ICA-AtoM fields	information_object::id information_object:identifier
ICA-AtoM implementation	ICA-AtoM automatically assigns each record a unqiue database ID (id); this value is invisible to users. Users enter their own Reference code (identifier). ICA-AtoM allows any type of value in this field (numbers, text, alpha-numeric code) to accommodate any institutional system for assigning identifiers.
Known issues	Cannot currently auto-generate next sequential reference code / number.
User Manual sections	Add / edit content > Add / edit archival descriptions > Identity area

---

Assign titles to descriptions

Requirement number	MR-1.1.2
Requirement name	Assign titles to descriptions
Requirement specification	The system must be able to: Assign one authorized title to archival descriptions based on the name of the object of description. Register multiple titles (variants, title changes). Support explanatory notes on titles.
Requirement quotation	ISAD(G) 3.1.2
Associated functional requirements	FR-1.3.2, Assign unique identifiers to descriptions. FR-1.4.1, Describe the intellectual and physical characteristics of archival materials.
Associated quality requirements
Associated technical requirements
ICA-AtoM fields	information_object::title information_object::alternate_title note::note_content note::note_type
ICA-AtoM implementation	ICA-AtoM includes fields for Title (title) and Alternate title (alternate_title). ICA-AtoM does not impose any rules on formatting titles. Users can add as many Title notes as required (stored in a separate *note database table).
Known issues	Need to allow multiple alternate titles (currently only allows 1 alternate). Need to allow assignment of date ranges to titles for previous names of descriptive unit.
User Manual sections	Add / edit content > Add / edit archival descriptions > Identity area

---

Indicate the level of description

Requirement number	MR-1.1.3
Requirement name	Indicate the level of description.
Requirement specification	The system must be able to: Indicate the level in the hierarchy of arrangement and description to which to the current description belongs. Link the current description to related descriptions within the same hierarchy.
Requirement quotation	ISAD(G) 3.1.4
Associated functional requirements	FR-1.1.1, Support multi-level description. FR-1.4.4, Ensure that infromation at higher and lower levels of description is consistent.
Associated quality requirements	Provide drop-down value list menus. Provide context-specific pick lists.
Associated technical requirements
ICA-AtoM fields
ICA-AtoM implementation	ICA-AtoM includes the Level of description field with a drop-down list for selecting values. Value list can be customized by the system administrator to include only levels employed by the institution. The value themselves reside in a separate database table (term). ICA-AtoM links the current description with others in the hierarchy of arrangement through the Next upper level of description field in which the user selects the "parent" description; leave field blank if the description represents the highest level.
Known issues	Need to be able to filter drop-down list in Next upper level of description so that it is more manageable.
User Manual sections	Add / edit content > Add / edit archival descriptions > Identity area

---

Indicate the dates of the material described

Requirement number	1.1.4
Requirement name	Indicate the dates of the material described.
Requirement specification	The system must be able to: Indicate the earliest and latest dates of the material described. Register multiple dates (e.g. date of creation vs date of accumulation).
Requirement quotation	ISAD(G) 3.1.3
Associated functional requirements	FR-4.1, Support the description of the intellectual and physical characteristics of archival material. FR-4.4, Ensure that information at the higher and lower levels are consistent.
Associated quality requirements	Support multiple date formats. Calculate values at higher levels from data entered at lower levels.
Associated technical requirements
ICA-AtoM fields
ICA-AtoM implementation	ICA-AtoM handles mutliple dates through the event table, linking a description to a creator over a specifc date range. Users register dates through the Creation context fields in the ContextArea and can enter as many dates as required. Users enter separate data for Creation year and End year; these are number fields used behind the scenes for searching and sorting. Users also enter the date range as a single text string in the Date display field; here they can records dates in any format and apply any terms or typographic conventions to the qualify the dates (e.g. "March 1975"; "ca 1967-1968"; "[ 198?]"; "predominant dates: 1980-1995").
Known issues	Date display should automatically default to the the Creation year and the End year so that the user need only modify this field if either of these dates requires qualification. ICA-AtoM does not enable higher levels to "calculate up" date ranges from lower levels (e.g. set dates at fonds level from related lower-level descriptions); nor does it enforce consistency between levels.
User Manual sections	Add / edit content > Add / edit archival descriptions > Context area

---

Indicate the extent of the material described

Requirement number	MR-1.1.5
Requirement name	Indicate the extent of the material described.
Requirement specification	The system mus be able to: Indicate the logical or physical extent of the object. Indicate the medium of the object. Register multiple extents (for different media types).
Requirement quotation	ISAD(G) 3.1.5
Associated functional requirements	FR-4.1 Support the description of the intellectual and physical characteristics of archival material. FR-4.4, Ensure that information at the higher and lower levels are consistent.
Associated quality requirements	Provide controlled vocabulary for media terms.
Associated technical requirements
ICA-AtoM fields	information_object::extent_and_medium
ICA-AtoM implementation	ICA-AtoM provides a text field for Extent and medium.
Known issues	No support for drop-down lists for media types. ICA-AtoM does not enable higher levels to "calculate up" extents from lower levels (e.g. set dates at fonds level from related lower-level descriptions); nor does it enforce consistency between levels.
User Manual sections	Add / edit content > Add / edit archival descriptions > Identity area

---

Describe context of archival materials

Requirement number	MR-1.2
Requirement name	Describe context of archival materials.
Requirement specification	The system must: Indicate the origins and custody of the archival materials being described.
Sub-requirements	1.2.1 Identify creator(s) of archival materials 1.2.2 Describe creator(s) of archival materials 1.2.3 Describe history of custody of archival materials

---

Identify creator(s) of archival materials

Requirement number	MR-1.2.1
Requirement name	Identify creator(s) of archival materials.
Requirement specification	The system must: Record the name of the the entity or entities responsible for the creation, accumulation, and maintenance of the material being described. Accommodate multiple creators (e.g. in a series system approach linking a single series to different agencies at different times).
Requirement quotation	ISAD(G) 3.2.1
Associated functional requirements	FR-4.2, Support the description of the context of archival materials.
Associated quality requirements	Provide controlled vocabulary drop-down lists (names).
Associated technical requirements
ICA-AtoM fields	event::actor_id.
ICA-AtoM implementation	ICA-AtoM links creators to archival materials via the event table which registers the creation of archival material as "event" that occurs over a certain date range. Users select / enter a name in the Creator field. Users enter the outside years in the Creation year and End year fields; these are number field used behind the scenes for sorting and searching. Users also enter the date range as a single text string in the Date display field; here they can apply any terms or typographic conventions to the qualify the dates (e.g. "ca 1967-1968", "[ 198?]", "predominant dates: 1980-1995"). Users can registers as many creator events as required. ICA-AtoM provides a drop-down list in the Creator field, showing names generated from the actor authority file. If the required name does not appear in the list, users can directly enter the name and ICA-AtoM registers it in the actor authority file.
Known issues	The drop-down list of names shows only the authorized headings and does not include variants (e.g. shows "Dr. Koenraad Kuiper" but not "Kuiper, Koenraad").
User Manual sections	Add / edit content > Add / edit archival descriptions > Context area: steps 1-7.

---

Describe creator(s) of archival materials.

Requirement number	MR-1.2.2
Requirement name	Describe creator(s) of archival materials.
Requirement specification	The system must: Provide an administrative history of, or biographical details on, the creator (or creators).
Requirement quotation	ISAD(G) 3.2.2
Associated functional requirements	FR-2.5, Separate descriptions of archival materials from descriptions of creators and repositories. FR-4.2, Support the description of the context of archival materials.
Associated quality requirements	Display information stored in a related record.
Associated technical requirements
ICA-AtoM fields	actor::history.
ICA-AtoM implementation	ICA-AtoM stores the Administrative / biographical history (history) field in the creator authority file (actor), but displays it in the related archival description (information_object) record. The archival description shows as many Administrative / biographical histories as required. The Administrative / biographical history (history) field cannot be directly edited in the archival description record; the user must click an EditInfoIcon and is routed to the related authority record.
Known issues
User Manual sections	Add / edit content > Add / edit archival descriptions > Context area: step 8. Add / edit content > Add / edit authority records > Description area: step 3.

---

Describe custody of archival materials

Requirement number	MR-1.2.3
Requirement name	Describe custody of archival materials
Requirement specification	The system must: Record the successive transfers of ownership, responsibility and/or custody of archival materials. Identify the immediate source of transfer or acquisition. Identify the repository or repositories that hold the materials described.
Requirement quotation	ISAD(G) 3.2.3 ISAD(G) 3.2.4 ISIAH 1.7
Associated functional requirements	FR-4.2, Support the description of the context of archival materials. FR-4-5, Identify the location of archival materials.
Associated quality requirements	Provide controlled-vocabulary drop-down lists.
Associated technical requirements
ICA-AtoM fields	information_object::archival_history information_object::acquisition information_object::repository_id
ICA-AtoM implementation	ICA-AtoM includes text fields for Archival history (archival_history) and Immediate source of acquisition (acquisition). Users identify the location of the material by selecting an archival institution from the drop-down list in the Repository field; this list draws values from all existing archival (repository) institution records.
Known issues	It is not possible to identify more than one repository as the location of the materials described. This would be a problem where custody of a single fonds was distributed over multiple archival institutions.
User Manual sections	Add / edit content > Add / edit archival descriptions > Context area: steps 9-11.

---

Record information about the content and structure of archival materials

Requirement number	MR-1.3
Requirement name	Record information about the content and structure of archival materials
Requirement specification	The system must: Capture information about the subject matter and structure of archival materials and the activities that have affected these.
Sub-requirements	1.3.1 Describe the scope and content of archival materials 1.3.2 Describe the appraisal, destruction and scheduling of archival materials 1.3.3 Describe the system of arrangement of archival materials 1.3.4 Indicate future accruals to archival materials

---

== Describe the scope and content of archival materials

Requirement number	MR-1.3.1
Requirement name	Describe the scope and content of archival materials.
Requirement specification	The system must: Requirement.
Requirement quotation
Associated functional requirements
Associated quality requirements
Associated technical requirements
ICA-AtoM fields
ICA-AtoM implementation
Known issues
User Manual sections

---

Record information about conditions of access and use of archival materials

Requirement number	MR-1.4
Requirement name	Record information about abouts conditions of access and use of archival materials.
Requirement specification	The system must: Capture information about the availability for consultation and use of archival materials.
Sub-requirements	1.4.1 Indicate the conditions governing access to archival materials 1.4.2 Indicate the conditions governing reproduction of archival materials 1.4.3 Indicate the languages and scripts employed in archival materials 1.4.4 Indicate physical characteristics and technical requirement affecting the availability of archival materials 1.4.5 Indicate the existence of other finding aids to archival materials

---

Record information about materials related to the unit of description

Requirement number	MR-1.5
Requirement name	Record information about materials related to the unit of description.
Requirement specification	The system must: Indicate other materials that have an important relationship to the archival materials described.
Sub-requirements	1.5.1 Indicate the location of the origins of the archival materials described 1.5.2 Indicate the location of copies of the archival materials described 1.5.3 Indicate related archival material in units of description 1.5.4 Indicate publications related to the archival materials described

---

Assign access points to descriptions of archival materials

Requirement number	MR-1.6
Requirement name	Assign access points to descriptions of archival materials.
Requirement specification	The system must: Assign terms from controlled vocabularies to descriptions as a means of faciliate search and retrieval.
Sub-requirements	1.6.1 Assign name access points 1.6.2 Assign place access points 1.6.3 Assign subject access points

---

Record information about descriptions of archival materials

Requirement number	MR-1.6
Requirement name	Record information about descriptions of archival materials.
Requirement specification	The system must: Capture information about how, when and by whom archival descriptions were prepared.
Sub-requirements	1.7.1 Indicate the current status of descriptions 1.7.2 Indicate the dates of descriptions 1.7.3 Indicate the sources consulted for descriptions 1.7.4 Indicate the rules or conventions followed by descriptions

---

Template

Requirement number	Number
Requirement name
Requirement specification	The system must: Requirement.
Requirement quotation
Associated functional requirements
Associated quality requirements
Associated technical requirements
ICA-AtoM fields
ICA-AtoM implementation
Known issues
User Manual sections

---