This is a study based on the discussion of current electronic recordkeeping Metadata Standards. These standards form the basis for International Standards. By analyzing these International Standards, as well as the Metadata Standards used in Australia, England, and in the public records of Korea, the following were observed.
In researching this thesis, first the elements and the related documents of International Recordkeeping Metadata Standards, ISO15489 and ISO23081 were analyzed. Second, examples of electronic records' Metadata elements found in Korea, Australia and the United Kingdom were closely studied. Third, these elements were analyzed and compared with those of International Standards. Fourth, current electronic Metadata standards' elements were then proposed after having analyzed the work above. The standard elements suggested herein were reflected by the features of current electronic records, and are regarded ideal for formulating future Recordkeeping Metadata Standards.
The six layer structure of Metadata and functional requirements for evidence in recordkeeping, as laid out by The Pittsburgh Project are: Registration, Terms & Conditions, Structure, Context, Content and History of Use. These formed the criteria and foundation of the aforementioned findings. The results of these findings brought to attention certain problems that should be addressed and solved as follows.
Firstly, future electronic records management difficulties could be foreseen as there is no clear indicator for managing the elements of electronic records Metadata. Therefore, more specific indicators and standard guidelines are necessary for managing and producing current electronic records. Secondly, there's a dire need for a thesaurus on the subject. Such a book is needed for the control of current electronic records' titles, retrieval keywords, abbreviations, and so on. Thirdly, detailed regulations need to be precisely spelled out at the time of records' conception. This creates a consistency in public and private records' access conditions.
The Metadata Standard elements were suggested after recognizing those issues that need addressing. The suggested Metadata Elements consist of both mandatory and optional parts. They help create and manage the elements of electronic records. Among the suggested elements, the mandatory ones are consisted of 7 basic elements. The optional elements are composed of 10 basic elements. The 7 basic mandatory elements are: Identifier, Date, Access Rights, Aggregation, Agent, Title, and Management History. The 10 basic optional elements are: Location, Type, Format, Relation, Function, Mandate, Subject, Description, Language, and Use History.
These suggested elements were applied to the current electronic records that are created and used in Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ministry of Information and Communication and Ministry of National Defense. And limitations were found. First, some of the suggested elements are not created in our electronic document system. Second, despite of the fact that the suggested elements can improve the management function of current electronic management records, they have never been used effectively, since there was no indicator or system that proves and supports this fact. And third, the electronic document system requires some modifications in order to use the suggested Metadata Standard elements to the current electronic document system as they are.
This study puts forward the Metadata Standard elements that apply to current electronic records and recognize their relevance and importance. Those elements can be used as the basis for establishing a future Korean Electronic Records Metadata Standard.