oSIST-TS ISO/TS 23081-2:2010

TECHNICAL ISO/TS
SPECIFICATION 23081-2
First edition
2007-08-01
Information and documentation —
Records management processes —
Metadata for records —
Part 2:
Conceptual and implementation issues
Information et documentation — Processus de gestion des
enregistrements — Métadonnées pour les enregistrements —
Partie 2: Sujets conceptuels et de mise en œuvre

Reference number
©
ISO 2007
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ii © ISO 2007 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword. iv
Introduction . v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions. 2
4 Purpose and benefits of metadata . 3
5 Policy and responsibilities . 5
6 Metadata conceptual model. 7
7 Concepts relating to metadata implementation . 9
8 Metadata model for managing records.16
9 Generic metadata elements . 18
10 Developing a metadata schema for managing records. 24
11 Implementing metadata for managing records . 28
Bibliography . 34

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies
(ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO
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In other circumstances, particularly when there is an urgent market requirement for such documents, a
technical committee may decide to publish other types of normative document:
⎯ an ISO Publicly Available Specification (ISO/PAS) represents an agreement between technical experts in
an ISO working group and is accepted for publication if it is approved by more than 50 % of the members
of the parent committee casting a vote;
⎯ an ISO Technical Specification (ISO/TS) represents an agreement between the members of a technical
committee and is accepted for publication if it is approved by 2/3 of the members of the committee casting
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rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO/TS 23081-2 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 46, Information and documentation,
Subcommittee SC 11, Archives/records management.
ISO/TS 23081 consists of the following parts, under the general title Information and documentation —
Records management processes — Metadata for records:
⎯ Part 1: Principles
⎯ Part 2: Conceptual and implementation issues [Technical Specification]
iv © ISO 2007 – All rights reserved

Introduction
This Technical Specification is part of the ISO 23081 series on metadata for records. It focuses on the
framework for defining metadata elements for managing records and provides a generic statement of
metadata elements, whether these are physical, analogue or digital, consistent with the principles of
ISO 23081-1:2006.
It provides an extended rationale for metadata for managing records in organizations, conceptual models for
metadata and a high level element set of generic metadata types suitable for any records environment. It
defines the generic metadata types both for records entities, as well as other entities that need to be managed
in order to document and understand the context of records. This Technical Specification also identifies, for
key entities, a minimum number of fixed aggregation layers that are required for interoperability purposes. The
models and generic metadata types outlined in the Technical Specification are primarily focused on the
“records” entity. However, they are also relevant to the other entities.
This Technical Specification does not prescribe a specific set of metadata elements. Rather, it identifies
generic types of metadata that are required to fulfil the requirements for managing records. This approach
provides organizations with the flexibility to select specific metadata to meet their business requirements for
managing their records for as long as they are required. It provides diagrams for determining the metadata
elements that might be defined in a particular implementation and the metadata that could apply to each
aggregation of the entities defined. It acknowledges that these entities can exist at different layers of
aggregation. It defines generic metadata types that are expected to apply at all layers of aggregation, while
alerting implementers to specific metadata elements that may only apply at particular layers of aggregation.
Implementing metadata for managing records in organizational and system settings involves a number of
choices, which are determined by the circumstances of the organization, systems in place and the
requirements for managing records.
Building upon the principles of ISO 23081-1:2006, this Technical Specification provides a further explanation
on the underlying concepts of metadata schemas for managing records, offers practical guidance for
developing and constructing those schemas from an organizational point of view and finally goes into issues
relating to the implementation and management of metadata over time.
This Technical Specification is intended for:
⎯ records professionals (or persons assigned within an organization for managing records in any
environment) responsible for defining metadata for managing records at any layer of aggregation in either
a business system or dedicated records application software,
⎯ system/business analysts responsible for identifying metadata to manage records in business systems,
⎯ records professionals or system analysts addressing system interoperability requirements involving
records, and
⎯ vendors, as suppliers of software applications that should support and enable the creation, capture and
management of metadata over time.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION ISO/TS 23081-2:2007(E)

Information and documentation — Records management
processes — Metadata for records —
Part 2:
Conceptual and implementation issues
1 Scope
This Technical Specification establishes a framework for defining metadata elements consistent with the
principles and implementation considerations outlined in ISO 23081-1:2006. The purpose of this framework is
to:
⎯ enable standardized description of records and critical contextual entities for records,
⎯ provide common understanding of fixed points of aggregation to enable interoperability of records, and
information relevant to records, between organizational systems,
⎯ enable re-use and standardization of metadata for managing records over time, space and across
applications.
It further identifies some of the critical decision points that need to be addressed and documented to enable
implementation of metadata for managing records. It aims to:
⎯ identify the issues that need to be addressed in implementing metadata for managing records,
⎯ identify and explain the various options for addressing the issues, and
⎯ identify various paths for making decisions and choosing options in implementing metadata for managing
records.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO/IEC 11179 (all parts), Information technology — Metadata registries (MDR)
ISO 15489-1:2001, Information and documentation — Records management — Part 1: General
ISO 23081-1:2006, Information and documentation — Records management processes — Metadata for
records — Part 1: Principles
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 15489-1:2001, ISO 23081-1:2006,
ISO/IEC 11179 (all parts) and the following apply.
3.1
archival system
organized collection of hardware, software, policies, procedures and people, which maintains, stores,
manages and makes available records over time
3.2
attribute
characteristic of an object or entity
[ISO 11179-1:2004, definition 3.1.1]
3.3
business system
organized collection of hardware, software, supplies, policies, procedures and people, which stores,
processes and provides access to an organization’s business information
[National Archives of Australia Glossary]
3.4
class
description of a set of objects that share the same attributes, operations, methods, relationships, and
semantics
[ISO/IEC 19501-1:2001, definition 2.5.2.9]
3.5
conceptual data model
conceptual model
data model that represents an abstract view of the real world
NOTE A conceptual model represents the human understanding of a system.
[ISO 11179-1:2004, definition 3.2.5]
3.6
entity
any concrete or abstract thing that exists, did exist, or might exist, including associations among these things
EXAMPLE A person, object, event, idea or process.
NOTE An entity exists whether data about it are available or not.
[ISO 11179-1:2004, definition 3.2.10; ISO/IEC 2382-17:1999, definition 17.02.05].
3.7
metadata for managing records
structured or semi-structured information, which enables the creation, management, and use of records
through time and within and across domains
NOTE See ISO 23081-1:2006, Clause 4.
3.8
records application software
specific application used to maintain, manage and provide access to an organization’s record resources
2 © ISO 2007 – All rights reserved

4 Purpose and benefits of metadata
4.1 Purposes of metadata for managing records
4.1.1 General
Organizations need information systems that capture and manage appropriate contextual information to aid
the use, understanding, management of and access to records over time. This information is critical for
asserting authenticity, reliability, integrity, usability and evidential qualities of records. Collectively, this
information is known as metadata for managing records.
Metadata for managing records can be used for a variety of purposes within an organization to support,
identify, authenticate, describe, locate and manage their resources in a systematic and consistent way to meet
business, accountability and societal requirements of
...