Metadata Sharing. Rights and Obligations

As metadata and data converge, particularly where evolving standards such as DDI4 can simultaneously be the data, the code that generated it and its metadata; it is apposite to revisit questions of intellectual copyright, licencing and sharing in a way that a metadata in the form of catalogue record has hitherto not.

Developing and maintaining such granularity of metadata can be an expensive proposition. There are costs associated with editing and publishing data and metadata.

Whist most institutions have a data policy, very few have a metadata policy and those that do, seem to be aligning on a policy that advocates or requires a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licence. The perceived advantages of having such a policy are that it provides a clear and easy-to-understand guidance for users especially where metadata is shared across borders.

There are obligations which could reasonably be requested of those to whom metadata is shared. If it is being re-shared, is it up-to-date with the original source, has it been altered and is that transparent to a user, have derived products attributed the original source?

This session will seek to identify the main challenges that a step change in the nature of metadata means for providers and recipients of shared metadata and the subsequent technical challenges this may engender.

Introduction to panel with Scott Hofer (University of Victoria), Jeremy Iverson (Colectica), Jon Johnson (CLOSER, IOE (UCL Institute of Education, University College London)), Mari Kleemola (FSD - Finnish Social Science Data Archive), chaired by Knut Wenzig (DIW)