Digital Showcase Policies: Metadata

A basic descriptive metadata record is required for all content contributed to Digital Showcase. Required elements are:

• Title
• Creator(s)
• Creator(s) academic status (undergraduate student, graduate student, faculty, adjunct faculty, staff)
• Date (Publication or Creation)
• Rights

Additional recommended elements are

• Description
• Subject Headings (see below)

All metadata elements are coded by the system using the Dublin Core metadata elements (elements with an asterisk are automatically assigned by the system, but may be used for additional custom metadata fields):

    dc:title

    dc:creator

    dc:description

    dc:date

    dc:type*

    dc:format*

    dc:identifier*

    dc:source*

    dc:publisher*

    dc:subject

Although the basic elements of title, creator, date, and rights are required, custom field display labels may be created for each collection within Digital Showcase. There is no limit on the number of custom metadata fields (beyond the required elements) that may be created for individual collections.

It is recommended that for text-based content, files be submitted to Digital Showcase in the PDF/A format. Other recommend formats include: .pdf, .doc/.docx, .html, and .xml. For multimedia-based content, the recommended file formats for submissions are: .gif, .jpeg, .tiff., .aiff, .wav, .mp3, .avi, .mpeg, and .mp4.

While there are no guarantees as to the persistent integrity of digital file formats, the Knight-Capron Library will make reasonable efforts to maintain the integrity of .doc/.docx, .pdf, .html, and .xml files. Content submitted to Digital Showcase in formats other than those listed will be considered for preservation efforts on a case-by-case basis, as resources allow.

Knight-Capron Library

• Every ten (10) years, the support for/utility of the file formats list above will be assessed by the Knight-Capron Library. As necessary (and as possible), content in formats for which viewers/readers are becoming rare in common use will be migrated to new formats with broader support. (New formats that are experimental or lack an established user community will not be used without careful evaluation).
• Outside of the ten-year file format review cycle, individual files/content may be migrated if it is determined that the original files have become corrupted or unstable.

Berkeley Electronic Press

• The Digital Commons system preserves all objects uploaded to the repository in their original format. This provides the ability to build in capabilities for either emulation (provision of a virtual environment that can display a digital object in its native format), or migration.
• Beyond this, Berkeley Electronic Press (bepress) is committed to making PDFs web accessible on a permanent basis. If Adobe changes Acrobat to such an extent that older PDFs are no longer readable, bepress will migrate these objects to ensure they remain readable.

The default controlled vocabulary for subject headings used in Digital Showcase is the Discipline taxonomy provided by the Digital Commons system. It is recommended that a minimum of (1) discipline term be assigned for each item contributed to Digital Showcase.

In addition to the Discipline taxonomy, custom fields may be created for individual series if another controlled vocabulary is required (e.g. Library of Congress Subject Headings, Medical Subject Headings, etc.). 

Only one accepted name format will be used for each individual listed in the ‘Creator’ metadata field of an item record in Digital Showcase. The same name must be used for all item records in which that individual is listed as a ‘Creator’.

For Lynchburg College-affiliated individuals, the accepted name will be that used in conjunction with the individual’s Lynchburg College network account, unless a variant name is requested in writing by the individual in question. Variant names may be shown in a separate field (e.g. ‘Comments’).

All individuals submitting work to Digital Showcase are encouraged, though not required, to include an institutional affiliation along with their preferred name.

For Lynchburg College faculty, staff, and students, the institutional affiliation must be ‘Lynchburg College’. Departmental affiliations, if desired, must be reflected in a separate field (e.g. ‘Comments’).

For content that was created by faculty or staff before their employment at Lynchburg College, pre-Lynchburg institutional affiliations will not be recorded as part of the individual’s name/affiliation metadata (it may be reflected in a separate field).

A recommended citation for each item in Digital Showcase is generated by Digital Commons. This recommended citation may be revised within an individual content collection to adhere to a specific citation style (e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).

The same citation style must be used across an individual content collection. This style is set by the Scholarly Communications & Digital Services Librarian only for the front page of the works in the collection to provide a consistent presentation. It is generated by the Digital Commons Software from the metadata for each work.

On a quarterly basis, the Knight-Capron Library will receive a delivery of all Digital Showcase metadata and associated files via FTP or SFTP from bepress. The previous two (2) quarterly deliveries will be stored securely on a rolling basis on a local or virtual server, as well as on a hard drive, by the Knight-Capron Library.

If the Knight-Capron Library ceases its Digital Commons license, bepress will provide a final content delivery upon license expiration to allow migration to a new repository platform.

If the Knight-Capron Library ceases to support Digital Showcase (as distinct from migrating Digital Showcase to a new platform), all content will be transferred to the Lynchburg College Archives and to individual units/offices/schools/departments who request copies of content they (or their faculty/students/staff) have provided.