Metadata: Embed or Reference?

The value of an embedded or referenced (which could also be synchronized) approach depends on what the asset is being used for and where it is used.

To embed or reference metadata, that is the question – raised by the Visual Resources Association Embedded Metadata Subcommittee [via]. The VRA deals with cultural works, how to archive, best practives, etc. within educational, cultural heritage, and commercial environments. They have begun to look at the advantages and disadvantages of embedding metadata in digital files.

Embedded metadata, in my experience, is critical to carry essential information and provide a reference to related information.  The essential information depends on what is expected to happen to the asset.  If the asset is expected to pass through heterogeneous legacy systems that are not network aware, embedded metadata is the descriptive data of last resort.  This is case we have today with digital photos being distributed and consumed by a variety of systems.  Hence the importance of including your contact info and descriptive data.

If however, the asset is flowing through systems that are savvy enough to make connections to servers and resolve URLs, embedded data becomes less important since the systems themselves are smart enough to communicate to each other through the asset.  Embedded metadata in the asset acts as a integration layer between these systems.  This asset based approach become a powerful foundation for building automated processes. Likely we will see this build out internally within a corporation and then expand across the industry.

Archivists will have additional challenges as more and more metadata is being gathered externally.  I call this the Katamari Damashi effect. The challenge will be to decide what information to embed (forever) or reference (temporarily).

In general, systems are moving towards being more connected, albeit slowly – heck, IIM is still around after almost 10 years of XMP.  Yes there are still issues with metadata being stripped by legacy or ignorant programs. Perhaps fingerprinting or image recognition can provide more robustness – or businesses can pressure vendors to stop making them lose time and money and fix or replace their code.  Perhaps a ‘naughty list‘ for such software is in order.Technorati Tags: metadata, xmp, asset management

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