METS: Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard.
METS is intended to provide a standardized XML format for transmission of complex digital library
objects between systems. As such, it can be seen as filling a role similar to that defined for the
Submission Information Package (SIP), Archival Information Package (AIP) and Dissemination Information
Package (DIP) in the Reference Model for an Open Archival Information System. The root element <mets>
establishes the container for the information being stored and/or transmitted by the standard.
metsType: Complex Type for METS Sections
A METS document consists of seven possible subsidiary sections: metsHdr (METS document header), dmdSec
(descriptive metadata section), amdSec (administrative metadata section), fileGrp (file inventory
group), structLink (structural map linking), structMap (structural map) and behaviorSec (behaviors
section).
The mets header element <metsHdr> captures metadata about the METS document itself, not
the digital object the METS document encodes. Although it records a more limited set of
metadata, it is very similar in function and purpose to the headers employed in other schema
such as the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) or in the Encoded Archival Description (EAD).
agent:
The agent element <agent> provides for various parties and their roles with
respect to the METS record to be documented.
The element <name> can be used to record the full name of the
document agent.
The <note> element can be used to record any additional
information regarding the agent's activities with respect to the METS
document.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies
the element within the METS document, and would allow the element to be
referenced unambiguously from another element or document via an IDREF or an
XPTR. For more information on using ID attributes for internal and external
linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
ROLE (string/R): Specifies the function of the
agent with respect to the METS record. The allowed values are:
CREATOR: The person(s) or institution(s) responsible for the METS document.
EDITOR: The person(s) or institution(s) that prepares the metadata for
encoding.
ARCHIVIST: The person(s) or institution(s) responsible for the
document/collection.
PRESERVATION: The person(s) or institution(s) responsible for preservation
functions.
DISSEMINATOR: The person(s) or institution(s) responsible for dissemination
functions.
CUSTODIAN: The person(s) or institution(s) charged with the oversight of a
document/collection.
IPOWNER: Intellectual Property Owner: The person(s) or institution holding
copyright, trade or service marks or other intellectual property rights for
the object.
OTHER: Use OTHER if none of the preceding values pertains and clarify the
type and location specifier being used in the OTHERROLE attribute (see
below).
OTHERROLE (string/O): Denotes a role not
contained in the allowed values set if OTHER is indicated in the ROLE
attribute.
TYPE (string/O): is used to specify the type of
AGENT. It must be one of the following values:
INDIVIDUAL: Use if an individual has served as the agent.
ORGANIZATION: Use if an institution, corporate body, association, non-profit
enterprise, government, religious body, etc. has served as the agent.
OTHER: Use OTHER if none of the preceding values pertain and clarify the
type of agent specifier being used in the OTHERTYPE attribute
OTHERTYPE (string/O): Specifies the type of
agent when the value OTHER is indicated in the TYPE attribute.
The alternative record identifier element <altRecordID> allows one to use
alternative record identifier values for the digital object represented by the METS
document; the primary record identifier is stored in the OBJID attribute in the root
<mets> element.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely
identifies the element within the METS document, and would allow the
element to be referenced unambiguously from another element or
document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using ID
attributes for internal and external linking see Chapter 4 of the
METS Primer.
TYPE (string/O): A description of the
identifier type (e.g., OCLC record number, LCCN, etc.).
The metsDocument identifier element <metsDocumentID> allows a unique
identifier to be assigned to the METS document itself. This may be different from
the OBJID attribute value in the root <mets> element, which uniquely
identifies the entire digital object represented by the METS document.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely
identifies the element within the METS document, and would allow the
element to be referenced unambiguously from another element or
document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using ID
attributes for internal and external linking see Chapter 4 of the
METS Primer.
TYPE (string/O): A description of the
identifier type.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element
within the METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously
from another element or document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using
ID attributes for internal and external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
ADMID (IDREFS/O): Contains the ID attribute values of the
<techMD>, <sourceMD>, <rightsMD> and/or <digiprovMD> elements
within the <amdSec> of the METS document that contain administrative metadata
pertaining to the METS document itself. For more information on using METS IDREFS and
IDREF type attributes for internal linking, see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
CREATEDATE (dateTime/O): Records the date/time the METS
document was created.
LASTMODDATE (dateTime/O): Is used to indicate the date/time
the METS document was last modified.
RECORDSTATUS (string/O): Specifies the status of the METS
document. It is used for internal processing purposes.
A descriptive metadata section <dmdSec> records descriptive metadata pertaining to the
METS object as a whole or one of its components. The <dmdSec> element conforms to same
generic datatype as the <techMD>, <rightsMD>, <sourceMD> and <digiprovMD>
elements, and supports the same sub-elements and attributes. A descriptive metadata element can
either wrap the metadata (mdWrap) or reference it in an external location (mdRef) or both. METS
allows multiple <dmdSec> elements; and descriptive metadata can be associated with any
METS element that supports a DMDID attribute. Descriptive metadata can be expressed according to
many current description standards (i.e., MARC, MODS, Dublin Core, TEI Header, EAD, VRA, FGDC,
DDI) or a locally produced XML schema.
The administrative metadata section <amdSec> contains the administrative metadata
pertaining to the digital object, its components and any original source material from which the
digital object is derived. The <amdSec> is separated into four sub-sections that
accommodate technical metadata (techMD), intellectual property rights (rightsMD), analog/digital
source metadata (sourceMD), and digital provenance metadata (digiprovMD). Each of these
subsections can either wrap the metadata (mdWrap) or reference it in an external location
(mdRef) or both. Multiple instances of the <amdSec> element can occur within a METS
document and multiple instances of its subsections can occur in one <amdSec> element. This
allows considerable flexibility in the structuring of the administrative metadata. METS does not
define a vocabulary or syntax for encoding administrative metadata. Administrative metadata can
be expressed within the amdSec sub-elements according to many current community defined
standards, or locally produced XML schemas.
The overall purpose of the content file section element <fileSec> is to provide an
inventory of and the location for the content files that comprise the digital object being
described in the METS document.
A sequence of file group elements <fileGrp> can be used group the digital
files comprising the content of a METS object either into a flat arrangement or,
because each file group element can itself contain one or more file group elements,
into a nested (hierarchical) arrangement. In the case where the content files are
images of different formats and resolutions, for example, one could group the image
content files by format and create a separate <fileGrp> for each image
format/resolution such as:
-- one <fileGrp> for the thumbnails of the images
-- one <fileGrp> for the higher resolution JPEGs of the image
-- one <fileGrp> for the master archival TIFFs of the images
For a text resource with a variety of content file types one might group the content
files at the highest level by type, and then use the <fileGrp> element’s
nesting capabilities to subdivide a <fileGrp> by format within the type, such
as:
-- one <fileGrp> for all of the page images with nested <fileGrp>
elements for each image format/resolution (tiff, jpeg, gif)
-- one <fileGrp> for a PDF version of all the pages of the document
-- one <fileGrp> for a TEI encoded XML version of the entire document or each
of its pages.
A <fileGrp> may contain zero or more <fileGrp> elements and or <file>
elements.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element
within the METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously
from another element or document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using
ID attributes for internal and external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
The structural map section <structMap> is the heart of a METS document. It provides a
means for organizing the digital content represented by the <file> elements in the <fileSec>
of the METS document into a coherent hierarchical structure. Such a hierarchical structure can
be presented to users to facilitate their comprehension and navigation of the digital content.
It can further be applied to any purpose requiring an understanding of the structural
relationship of the content files or parts of the content files. The organization may be
specified to any level of granularity (intellectual and or physical) that is desired. Since the
<structMap> element is repeatable, more than one organization can be applied to the
digital content represented by the METS document. The hierarchical structure specified by a <structMap>
is encoded as a tree of nested <div> elements. A <div> element may directly point to
content via child file pointer <fptr> elements (if the content is represented in the <fileSec<)
or child METS pointer <mptr> elements (if the content is represented by an external METS
document). The <fptr> element may point to a single whole <file> element that
manifests its parent <div<, or to part of a <file> that manifests its <div<.
It can also point to multiple files or parts of files that must be played/displayed either in
sequence or in parallel to reveal its structural division. In addition to providing a means for
organizing content, the <structMap> provides a mechanism for linking content at any
hierarchical level with relevant descriptive and administrative metadata.
The structural link section element <structLink> allows for the specification of
hyperlinks between the different components of a METS structure that are delineated in a
structural map. This element is a container for a single, repeatable element, <smLink>
which indicates a hyperlink between two nodes in the structural map. The <structLink>
section in the METS document is identified using its XML ID attributes.
A behavior section element <behaviorSec> associates executable behaviors with content in
the METS document by means of a repeatable behavior <behavior> element. This element has
an interface definition <interfaceDef> element that represents an abstract definition of
the set of behaviors represented by a particular behavior section. A <behavior> element
also has a <mechanism> element which is used to point to a module of executable code that
implements and runs the behavior defined by the interface definition. The <behaviorSec>
element, which is repeatable as well as nestable, can be used to group individual behaviors
within the structure of the METS document. Such grouping can be useful for organizing families
of behaviors together or to indicate other relationships between particular behaviors.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element within the
METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously from another element or
document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using ID attributes for internal and
external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
OBJID (string/O): Is the primary identifier assigned to the METS object
as a whole. Although this attribute is not required, it is strongly recommended. This identifier is
used to tag the entire METS object to external systems, in contrast with the ID identifier.
LABEL (string/O): Is a simple title string used to identify the
object/entity being described in the METS document for the user.
TYPE (string/O): Specifies the class or type of the object, e.g.: book,
journal, stereograph, dataset, video, etc.
PROFILE (string/O): Indicates to which of the registered profile(s) the
METS document conforms. For additional information about PROFILES see Chapter 5 of the METS Primer.
amdSecType: Complex Type for Administrative Metadata Sections
The administrative metadata section consists of four possible subsidiary sections: techMD (technical
metadata for text/image/audio/video files), rightsMD (intellectual property rights metadata), sourceMD
(analog/digital source metadata), and digiprovMD (digital provenance metadata, that is, the history of
migrations/translations performed on a digital library object from it's original digital
capture/encoding).
A technical metadata element <techMD> records technical metadata about a component of the
METS object, such as a digital content file. The <techMD> element conforms to same generic
datatype as the <dmdSec>, <rightsMD>, <sourceMD> and <digiprovMD>
elements, and supports the same sub-elements and attributes. A technical metadata element can
either wrap the metadata (mdWrap) or reference it in an external location (mdRef) or both. METS
allows multiple <techMD> elements; and technical metadata can be associated with any METS
element that supports an ADMID attribute. Technical metadata can be expressed according to many
current technical description standards (such as MIX and textMD) or a locally produced XML
schema.
An intellectual property rights metadata element <rightsMD> records information about
copyright and licensing pertaining to a component of the METS object. The <rightsMD>
element conforms to same generic datatype as the <dmdSec>, <techMD>, <sourceMD>
and <digiprovMD> elements, and supports the same sub-elements and attributes. A rights
metadata element can either wrap the metadata (mdWrap) or reference it in an external location
(mdRef) or both. METS allows multiple <rightsMD> elements; and rights metadata can be
associated with any METS element that supports an ADMID attribute. Rights metadata can be
expressed according current rights description standards (such as CopyrightMD and
rightsDeclarationMD) or a locally produced XML schema.
A source metadata element <sourceMD> records descriptive and administrative metadata about
the source format or media of a component of the METS object such as a digital content file. It
is often used for discovery, data administration or preservation of the digital object. The <sourceMD>
element conforms to same generic datatype as the <dmdSec>, <techMD>, <rightsMD>,
and <digiprovMD> elements, and supports the same sub-elements and attributes. A source
metadata element can either wrap the metadata (mdWrap) or reference it in an external location
(mdRef) or both. METS allows multiple <sourceMD> elements; and source metadata can be
associated with any METS element that supports an ADMID attribute. Source metadata can be
expressed according to current source description standards (such as PREMIS) or a locally
produced XML schema.
A digital provenance metadata element <digiprovMD> can be used to record any
preservation-related actions taken on the various files which comprise a digital object (e.g.,
those subsequent to the initial digitization of the files such as transformation or migrations)
or, in the case of born digital materials, the files’ creation. In short, digital provenance
should be used to record information that allows both archival/library staff and scholars to
understand what modifications have been made to a digital object and/or its constituent parts
during its life cycle. This information can then be used to judge how those processes might have
altered or corrupted the object’s ability to accurately represent the original item. One might,
for example, record master derivative relationships and the process by which those derivations
have been created. Or the <digiprovMD> element could contain information regarding the
migration/transformation of a file from its original digitization (e.g., OCR, TEI, etc.,)to its
current incarnation as a digital object (e.g., JPEG2000). The <digiprovMD> element
conforms to same generic datatype as the <dmdSec>, <techMD>, <rightsMD>, and
<sourceMD> elements, and supports the same sub-elements and attributes. A digital
provenance metadata element can either wrap the metadata (mdWrap) or reference it in an external
location (mdRef) or both. METS allows multiple <digiprovMD> elements; and digital provenance
metadata can be associated with any METS element that supports an ADMID attribute. Digital
provenance metadata can be expressed according to current digital provenance description
standards (such as PREMIS) or a locally produced XML schema.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element within the
METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously from another element or
document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using ID attributes for internal and
external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
fileGrpType: Complex Type for File Groups
The file group is used to cluster all of the digital files composing a digital library object in a
hierarchical arrangement (fileGrp is recursively defined to enable the creation of the hierarchy). Any
file group may contain zero or more file elements. File elements in turn can contain one or more FLocat
elements (a pointer to a file containing content for this object) and/or a FContent element (the
contents of the file, in either XML or Base64 encoding).
The file element <file> provides access to the content files for the digital object being
described by the METS document. A <file> element may contain one or more <FLocat>
elements which provide pointers to a content file and/or a <FContent> element which wraps
an encoded version of the file. Embedding files using <FContent> can be a valuable feature
for exchanging digital objects between repositories or for archiving versions of digital objects
for off-site storage. All <FLocat> and <FContent> elements should identify and/or
contain identical copies of a single file. The <file> element is recursive, thus allowing
sub-files or component files of a larger file to be listed in the inventory. Alternatively, by
using the <stream> element, a smaller component of a file or of a related file can be
placed within a <file> element. Finally, by using the <transformFile> element, it is
possible to include within a <file> element a different version of a file that has
undergone a transformation for some reason, such as format migration.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element within the
METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously from another element or
document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using ID attributes for internal and
external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
VERSDATE (dateTime/O): An optional dateTime attribute specifying the
date this version/fileGrp of the digital object was created.
ADMID (IDREF/O): Contains the ID attribute values of the <techMD>,
<sourceMD>, <rightsMD> and/or <digiprovMD> elements within the <amdSec> of
the METS document applicable to all of the files in a particular file group. For more information on
using METS IDREFS and IDREF type attributes for internal linking, see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
USE (string/O): A tagging attribute to indicate the intended use of
files within this file group (e.g., master, reference, thumbnails for image files). A USE attribute
can be expressed at the<fileGrp> level, the <file> level, the <FLocat> level
and/or the <FContent> level. A USE attribute value at the <fileGrp> level should pertain
to all of the files in the <fileGrp>. A USE attribute at the <file> level should pertain
to all copies of the file as represented by subsidiary <FLocat> and/or <FContent>
elements. A USE attribute at the <FLocat> or <FContent> level pertains to the particular
copy of the file that is either referenced (<FLocat>) or wrapped (<FContent>).
structMapType: Complex Type for Structural Maps
The structural map (structMap) outlines a hierarchical structure for the original object being encoded,
using a series of nested div elements.
The structural divisions of the hierarchical organization provided by a <structMap> are
represented by division <div> elements, which can be nested to any depth. Each <div>
element can represent either an intellectual (logical) division or a physical division. Every
<div> node in the structural map hierarchy may be connected (via subsidiary <mptr>
or <fptr> elements) to content files which represent that div's portion of the whole
document.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element within the
METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously from another element or
document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using ID attributes for internal and
external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
TYPE (string/O): Identifies the type of structure represented by the
<structMap>. For example, a <structMap> that represented a purely logical or
intellectual structure could be assigned a TYPE value of “logical” whereas a <structMap> that
represented a purely physical structure could be assigned a TYPE value of “physical”. However, the
METS schema neither defines nor requires a common vocabulary for this attribute. A METS profile,
however, may well constrain the values for the <structMap> TYPE.
LABEL (string/O): Describes the <structMap> to viewers of the
METS document. This would be useful primarily where more than one <structMap> is provided for
a single object. A descriptive LABEL value, in that case, could clarify to users the purpose of each
of the available structMaps.
divType: Complex Type for Divisions
The METS standard represents a document structurally as a series of nested div elements, that is, as a
hierarchy (e.g., a book, which is composed of chapters, which are composed of subchapters, which are
composed of text). Every div node in the structural map hierarchy may be connected (via subsidiary mptr
or fptr elements) to content files which represent that div's portion of the whole document.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING DIV ATTRIBUTE VALUES:
to clarify the differences between the ORDER, ORDERLABEL, and LABEL attributes for the <div>
element, imagine a text with 10 roman numbered pages followed by 10 arabic numbered pages. Page iii
would have an ORDER of "3", an ORDERLABEL of "iii" and a LABEL of "Page iii",
while page 3 would have an ORDER of "13", an ORDERLABEL of "3" and a LABEL of "Page
3".
Like the <fptr> element, the METS pointer element <mptr> represents digital content
that manifests its parent <div> element. Unlike the <fptr>, which either directly or
indirectly points to content represented in the <fileSec> of the parent METS document, the
<mptr> element points to content represented by an external METS document. Thus, this
element allows multiple discrete and separate METS documents to be organized at a higher level
by a separate METS document. For example, METS documents representing the individual issues in
the series of a journal could be grouped together and organized by a higher level METS document
that represents the entire journal series. Each of the <div> elements in the <structMap>
of the METS document representing the journal series would point to a METS document representing
an issue. It would do so via a child <mptr> element. Thus the <mptr> element gives
METS users considerable flexibility in managing the depth of the <structMap> hierarchy of
individual METS documents. The <mptr> element points to an external METS document by means
of an xlink:href attribute and associated XLink attributes.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element
within the METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously
from another element or document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using
ID attributes for internal and external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
CONTENTIDS (URI/O): Content IDs for the content represented
by the <mptr> (equivalent to DIDL DII or Digital Item Identifier, a unique
external ID).
The <fptr> or file pointer element represents digital content that manifests its parent
<div> element. The content represented by an <fptr> element must consist of integral
files or parts of files that are represented by <file> elements in the <fileSec>.
Via its FILEID attribute, an <fptr> may point directly to a single integral <file>
element that manifests a structural division. However, an <fptr> element may also govern
an <area> element, a <par>, or a <seq> which in turn would point to the
relevant file or files. A child <area> element can point to part of a <file> that
manifests a division, while the <par> and <seq> elements can point to multiple files
or parts of files that together manifest a division. More than one <fptr> element can be
associated with a <div> element. Typically sibling <fptr> elements represent
alternative versions, or manifestations, of the same content
The <par> or parallel files element aggregates pointers to files, parts of
files, and/or sequences of files or parts of files that must be played or displayed
simultaneously to manifest a block of digital content represented by an <fptr>
element. This might be the case, for example, with multi-media content, where a
still image might have an accompanying audio track that comments on the still image.
In this case, a <par> element would aggregate two <area> elements, one
of which pointed to the image file and one of which pointed to the audio file that
must be played in conjunction with the image. The <area> element associated
with the image could be further qualified with SHAPE and COORDS attributes if only a
portion of the image file was pertinent and the <area> element associated with
the audio file could be further qualified with BETYPE, BEGIN, EXTTYPE, and EXTENT
attributes if only a portion of the associated audio file should be played in
conjunction with the image.
The sequence of files element <seq> aggregates pointers to files, parts of
files and/or parallel sets of files or parts of files that must be played or
displayed sequentially to manifest a block of digital content. This might be the
case, for example, if the parent <div> element represented a logical division,
such as a diary entry, that spanned multiple pages of a diary and, hence, multiple
page image files. In this case, a <seq> element would aggregate multiple,
sequentially arranged <area> elements, each of which pointed to one of the
image files that must be presented sequentially to manifest the entire diary entry.
If the diary entry started in the middle of a page, then the first <area>
element (representing the page on which the diary entry starts) might be further
qualified, via its SHAPE and COORDS attributes, to specify the specific, pertinent
area of the associated image file.
The area element <area> typically points to content consisting of just a
portion or area of a file represented by a <file> element in the <fileSec>.
In some contexts, however, the <area> element can also point to content
represented by an integral file. A single <area> element would appear as the
direct child of a <fptr> element when only a portion of a <file>, rather
than an integral <file>, manifested the digital content represented by the
<fptr>. Multiple <area> elements would appear as the direct children of
a <par> element or a <seq> element when multiple files or parts of files
manifested the digital content represented by an <fptr> element. When used in
the context of a <par> or <seq> element an <area> element can
point either to an integral file or to a segment of a file as necessary.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element
within the METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously
from another element or document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using
ID attributes for internal and external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
FILEID (IDREF/O): An optional attribute that provides the
XML ID identifying the <file> element that links to and/or contains the digital
content represented by the <fptr>. A <fptr> element should only have a
FILEID attribute value if it does not have a child <area>, <par> or <seq>
element. If it has a child element, then the responsibility for pointing to the relevant
content falls to this child element or its descendants.
CONTENTIDS (URI/O): Content IDs for the content represented
by the <fptr> (equivalent to DIDL DII or Digital Item Identifier, a unique
external ID).
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element within the
METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously from another element or
document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using ID attributes for internal and
external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
DMDID (IDREFS/O): Contains the ID attribute values identifying the <dmdSec>,
elements in the METS document that contain or link to descriptive metadata pertaining to the
structural division represented by the current <div> element. For more information on using
METS IDREFS and IDREF type attributes for internal linking, see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
ADMID (IDREFS/O): Contains the ID attribute values identifying the <rightsMD>,
<sourceMD>, <techMD> and/or <digiprovMD> elements within the <amdSec> of the
METS document that contain or link to administrative metadata pertaining to the structural division
represented by the <div> element. Typically the <div> ADMID attribute would be used to
identify the <rightsMD> element or elements that pertain to the <div>, but it could be
used anytime there was a need to link a <div> with pertinent administrative metadata. For more
information on using METS IDREFS and IDREF type attributes for internal linking, see Chapter 4 of
the METS Primer.
TYPE (string/O): An attribute that specifies the type of structural
division that the <div> element represents. Possible <div> TYPE attribute values
include: chapter, article, page, track, segment, section etc. METS places no constraints on the
possible TYPE values. Suggestions for controlled vocabularies for TYPE may be found on the METS
website.
CONTENTIDS (URI/O): Content IDs for the content represented by the <div>
(equivalent to DIDL DII or Digital Item Identifier, a unique external ID).
xlink:label - an xlink label to be referred to by an smLink element
parType: Complex Type for Parallel Files
The <par> or parallel files element aggregates pointers to files, parts of files, and/or sequences
of files or parts of files that must be played or displayed simultaneously to manifest a block of
digital content represented by an <fptr> element.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element within the
METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously from another element or
document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using ID attributes for internal and
external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
seqType: Complex Type for Sequences of Files
The seq element should be used to link a div to a set of content files when those files should be
played/displayed sequentially to deliver content to a user. Individual <area> subelements within
the seq element provide the links to the files or portions thereof.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element within the
METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously from another element or
document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using ID attributes for internal and
external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
areaType: Complex Type for Area Linking
The area element provides for more sophisticated linking between a div element and content files
representing that div, be they text, image, audio, or video files. An area element can link a div to a
point within a file, to a one-dimension segment of a file (e.g., text segment, image line, audio/video
clip), or a two-dimensional section of a file (e.g, subsection of an image, or a subsection of the video
display of a video file. The area element has no content; all information is recorded within its various
attributes.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element within the
METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously from another element or
document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using ID attributes for internal and
external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
FILEID (IDREF/R): An attribute which provides the XML ID value that
identifies the <file> element in the <fileSec> that then points to and/or contains the
digital content represented by the <area> element. It must contain an ID value represented in
an ID attribute associated with a <file> element in the <fileSec> element in the same
METS document.
SHAPE (string/O): An attribute that can be used as in HTML to define
the shape of the relevant area within the content file pointed to by the <area> element.
Typically this would be used with image content (still image or video frame) when only a portion of
an integal image map pertains. If SHAPE is specified then COORDS must also be present. SHAPE should
be used in conjunction with COORDS in the manner defined for the shape and coords attributes on an
HTML4 <area> element. SHAPE must contain one of the following values:
RECT
CIRCLE
POLY
COORDS (string/O): Specifies the coordinates in an image map for the
shape of the pertinent area as specified in the SHAPE attribute. While technically optional, SHAPE
and COORDS must both appear together to define the relevant area of image content. COORDS should be
used in conjunction with SHAPE in the manner defined for the COORDs and SHAPE attributes on an HTML4
<area> element. COORDS must be a comma delimited string of integer value pairs representing
coordinates (plus radius in the case of CIRCLE) within an image map. Number of coordinates pairs
depends on shape: RECT: x1, y1, x2, y2; CIRC: x1, y1; POLY: x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3 . . .
BEGIN (string/O): An attribute that specifies the point in the content
file where the relevant section of content begins. It can be used in conjunction with either the END
attribute or the EXTENT attribute as a means of defining the relevant portion of the referenced file
precisely. It can only be interpreted meaningfully in conjunction with the BETYPE or EXTTYPE, which
specify the kind of beginning/ending point values or beginning/extent values that are being used.
The BEGIN attribute can be used with or without a companion END or EXTENT element. In this case, the
end of the content file is assumed to be the end point.
END (string/O): An attribute that specifies the point in the content
file where the relevant section of content ends. It can only be interpreted meaningfully in
conjunction with the BETYPE, which specifies the kind of ending point values being used. Typically
the END attribute would only appear in conjunction with a BEGIN element.
BETYPE: Begin/End Type.
BETYPE (string/O): An attribute that specifies the kind of BEGIN and/or END values that are being
used. For example, if BYTE is specified, then the BEGIN and END point values represent the byte
offsets into a file. If IDREF is specified, then the BEGIN element specifies the ID value that
identifies the element in a structured text file where the relevant section of the file begins; and
the END value (if present) would specify the ID value that identifies the element with which the
relevant section of the file ends. Must be one of the following values:
BYTE
IDREF
SMIL
MIDI
SMPTE-25
SMPTE-24
SMPTE-DF30
SMPTE-NDF30
SMPTE-DF29.97
SMPTE-NDF29.97
TIME
TCF
XPTR
EXTENT (string/O): An attribute that specifies the extent of the
relevant section of the content file. Can only be interpreted meaningfully in conjunction with the
EXTTYPE which specifies the kind of value that is being used. Typically the EXTENT attribute would
only appear in conjunction with a BEGIN element and would not be used if the BEGIN point represents
an IDREF.
EXTTYPE (string/O): An attribute that specifies the kind of EXTENT
values that are being used. For example if BYTE is specified then EXTENT would represent a byte
count. If TIME is specified the EXTENT would represent a duration of time. EXTTYPE must be one of
the following values:
BYTE
SMIL
MIDI
SMPTE-25
SMPTE-24
SMPTE-DF30
SMPTE-NDF30
SMPTE-DF29.97
SMPTE-NDF29.97
TIME
TCF.
ADMID (IDREFS/O): Contains the ID attribute values identifying the <rightsMD>,
<sourceMD>, <techMD> and/or <digiprovMD> elements within the <amdSec> of the
METS document that contain or link to administrative metadata pertaining to the content represented
by the <area> element. Typically the <area> ADMID attribute would be used to identify
the <rightsMD> element or elements that pertain to the <area>, but it could be used
anytime there was a need to link an <area> with pertinent administrative metadata. For more
information on using METS IDREFS and IDREF type attributes for internal linking, see Chapter 4 of
the METS Primer
CONTENTIDS (URI/O): Content IDs for the content represented by the <area>
(equivalent to DIDL DII or Digital Item Identifier, a unique external ID).
structLinkType: Complex Type for Structural Map Linking
The Structural Map Linking section allows for the specification of hyperlinks between different
components of a METS structure delineated in a structural map. structLink contains a single, repeatable
element, smLink. Each smLink element indicates a hyperlink between two nodes in the structMap. The
structMap nodes recorded in smLink are identified using their XML ID attribute values.
The Structural Map Link element <smLink> identifies a hyperlink between two nodes in the
structural map. You would use <smLink>, for instance, to note the existence of hypertext
links between web pages, if you wished to record those links within METS. NOTE: <smLink>
is an empty element. The location of the <smLink> element to which the <smLink>
element is pointing MUST be stored in the xlink:href attribute.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element
within the METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously
from another element or document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using
ID attributes for internal and external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
xlink:arcrole - the role of the link, as per the xlink specification. See
http://www.w3.org/TR/xlink/
xlink:title - a title for the link (if needed), as per the xlink specification. See
http://www.w3.org/TR/xlink/
xlink:show - see the xlink specification at http://www.w3.org/TR/xlink/
xlink:actuate - see the xlink specification at http://www.w3.org/TR/xlink/
xlink:to - the value of the label for the element in the structMap you are linking to.
xlink:from - the value of the label for the element in the structMap you are linking
from.
The structMap link group element <smLinkGrp> provides an implementation of
xlink:extendLink, and provides xlink compliant mechanisms for establishing xlink:arcLink type
links between 2 or more <div> elements in <structMap> element(s) occurring within
the same METS document or different METS documents. The smLinkGrp could be used as an
alternative to the <smLink> element to establish a one-to-one link between <div>
elements in the same METS document in a fully xlink compliant manner. However, it can also be
used to establish one-to-many or many-to-many links between <div> elements. For example,
if a METS document contains two <structMap> elements, one of which represents a purely
logical structure and one of which represents a purely physical structure, the <smLinkGrp>
element would provide a means of mapping a <div> representing a logical entity (for
example, a newspaper article) with multiple <div> elements in the physical <structMap>
representing the physical areas that together comprise the logical entity (for example, the <div>
elements representing the page areas that together comprise the newspaper article).
The structMap locator link element <smLocatorLink> is of xlink:type "locator".
It provides a means of identifying a <div> element that will participate in
one or more of the links specified by means of <smArcLink> elements within the
same <smLinkGrp>. The participating <div> element that is represented by
the <smLocatorLink> is identified by means of a URI in the associate
xlink:href attribute. The lowest level of this xlink:href URI value should be a
fragment identifier that references the ID value that identifies the relevant <div>
element. For example, "xlink:href='#div20'" where "div20"
is the ID value that identifies the pertinent <div> in the current METS
document. Although not required by the xlink specification, an <smLocatorLink>
element will typically include an xlink:label attribute in this context, as the <smArcLink>
elements will reference these labels to establish the from and to sides of each arc
link.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies
the element within the METS document, and would allow the element to be
referenced unambiguously from another element or document via an IDREF or an
XPTR. For more information on using ID attributes for internal and external
linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
The structMap arc link element <smArcLink> is of xlink:type "arc"
It can be used to establish a traversal link between two <div> elements as
identified by <smLocatorLink> elements within the same smLinkGrp element.
The associated xlink:from and xlink:to attributes identify the from and to sides
of the arc link by referencing the xlink:label attribute values on the
participating smLocatorLink elements.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies
the element within the METS document, and would allow the element to be
referenced unambiguously from another element or document via an IDREF or an
XPTR. For more information on using ID attributes for internal and external
linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
ARCTYPE (string/O):The ARCTYPE attribute
provides a means of specifying the relationship between the <div>
elements participating in the arc link, and hence the purpose or role of the
link. While it can be considered analogous to the xlink:arcrole attribute,
its type is a simple string, rather than anyURI. ARCTYPE has no xlink
specified meaning, and the xlink:arcrole attribute should be used instead of
or in addition to the ARCTYPE attribute when full xlink compliance is
desired with respect to specifying the role or purpose of the arc link.
ADMID (IDREFS/O): Contains the ID attribute
values identifying the <sourceMD>, <techMD>, <digiprovMD>
and/or <rightsMD> elements within the <amdSec> of the METS
document that contain or link to administrative metadata pertaining to <smArcLink>.
Typically the <smArcLink> ADMID attribute would be used to identify
one or more <sourceMD> and/or <techMD> elements that refine or
clarify the relationship between the xlink:from and xlink:to sides of the
arc. For more information on using METS IDREFS and IDREF type attributes for
internal linking, see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
ARCLINKORDER (enumerated string/O): ARCLINKORDER is used to
indicate whether the order of the smArcLink elements aggregated by the smLinkGrp element
is significant. If the order is significant, then a value of "ordered" should
be supplied. Value defaults to "unordered" Note that the ARLINKORDER attribute
has no xlink specified meaning.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element within the
METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously from another element or
document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using ID attributes for internal and
external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
behaviorSecType: Complex Type for Behavior Sections
Behaviors are executable code which can be associated with parts of a METS object. The behaviorSec
element is used to group individual behaviors within a hierarchical structure. Such grouping can be
useful to organize families of behaviors together or to indicate other relationships between particular
behaviors.
A behavior element <behavior> can be used to associate executable behaviors with content
in the METS document. This element has an interface definition <interfaceDef> element that
represents an abstract definition of a set of behaviors represented by a particular behavior. A
<behavior> element also has a behavior mechanism <mechanism> element, a module of
executable code that implements and runs the behavior defined abstractly by the interface
definition.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element within the
METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously from another element or
document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using ID attributes for internal and
external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
CREATED (dateTime/O): Specifies the date and time of creation for the
<behaviorSec>
LABEL (string/O): A text description of the behavior section.
behaviorType: Complex Type for Behaviors
A behavior can be used to associate executable behaviors with content in the METS object. A behavior
element has an interface definition element that represents an abstract definition of the set of
behaviors represented by a particular behavior. A behavior element also has an behavior mechanism which
is a module of executable code that implements and runs the behavior defined abstractly by the interface
definition.
The interface definition <interfaceDef> element contains a pointer to an abstract
definition of a single behavior or a set of related behaviors that are associated with the
content of a METS object. The interface definition object to which the <interfaceDef>
element points using xlink:href could be another digital object, or some other entity, such as a
text file which describes the interface or a Web Services Description Language (WSDL) file.
Ideally, an interface definition object contains metadata that describes a set of behaviors or
methods. It may also contain files that describe the intended usage of the behaviors, and
possibly files that represent different expressions of the interface definition.
A mechanism element <mechanism> contains a pointer to an executable code module that
implements a set of behaviors defined by an interface definition. The <mechanism> element
will be a pointer to another object (a mechanism object). A mechanism object could be another
METS object, or some other entity (e.g., a WSDL file). A mechanism object should contain
executable code, pointers to executable code, or specifications for binding to network services
(e.g., web services).
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element within the
METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously from another element or
document via an IDREF or an XPTR. In the case of a <behavior> element that applies to a <transformFile>
element, the ID value must be present and would be referenced from the
transformFile/@TRANSFORMBEHAVIOR attribute. For more information on using ID attributes for internal
and external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
STRUCTID (IDREFS/O): An XML IDREFS attribute used to link a <behavior>
to one or more <div> elements within a <structMap> in the METS document. The content to
which the STRUCTID points is considered input to the executable behavior mechanism defined for the
behavior. If the <behavior> applies to one or more <div> elements, then the STRUCTID
attribute must be present.
BTYPE (string/O): The behavior type provides a means of categorizing
the related behavior.
CREATED (dateTime/O): The dateTime of creation for the behavior.
LABEL (string/O): A text description of the behavior.
GROUPID (string/O): An identifier that establishes a correspondence
between the given behavior and other behaviors, typically used to facilitate versions of behaviors.
ADMID (IDREFS/O): An optional attribute listing the XML ID values of
administrative metadata sections within the METS document pertaining to this behavior.
objectType: complexType for interfaceDef and mechanism elements
The mechanism and behavior elements point to external objects--an interface definition object or an
executable code object respectively--which together constitute a behavior that can be applied to one or
more <div> elements in a <structMap>.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element within the
METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously from another element or
document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using ID attributes for internal and
external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
LABEL (string/O): A text description of the entity represented.
mdSecType: Complex Type for Metadata Sections
A generic framework for pointing to/including metadata within a METS document, a la Warwick Framework.
The metadata reference element <mdRef> element is a generic element used throughout the
METS schema to provide a pointer to metadata which resides outside the METS document. NB: <mdRef>
is an empty element. The location of the metadata must be recorded in the xlink:href attribute,
supplemented by the XPTR attribute as needed.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element
within the METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously
from another element or document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using
ID attributes for internal and external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
LABEL (string/O): Provides a label to display to the viewer
of the METS document that identifies the associated metadata.
XPTR (string/O): Locates the point within a file to which
the <mdRef> element refers, if applicable.
A metadata wrapper element <mdWrap> provides a wrapper around metadata embedded within a
METS document. The element is repeatable. Such metadata can be in one of two forms: 1)
XML-encoded metadata, with the XML-encoding identifying itself as belonging to a namespace other
than the METS document namespace. 2) Any arbitrary binary or textual form, PROVIDED that the
metadata is Base64 encoded and wrapped in a <binData> element within the internal
descriptive metadata element.
The binary data wrapper element <binData> is used to contain Base64 encoded
metadata.
The xml data wrapper element <xmlData> is used to contain XML encoded
metadata. The content of an <xmlData> element can be in any namespace or in no
namespace. As permitted by the XML Schema Standard, the processContents attribute
value for the metadata in an <xmlData> is set to “lax”. Therefore, if the
source schema and its location are identified by means of an XML schemaLocation
attribute, then an XML processor will validate the elements for which it can find
declarations. If a source schema is not identified, or cannot be found at the
specified schemaLocation, then an XML validator will check for well-formedness, but
otherwise skip over the elements appearing in the <xmlData> element.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element
within the METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously
from another element or document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using
ID attributes for internal and external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
LABEL: an optional string attribute providing a label to
display to the viewer of the METS document identifying the metadata.
ID (ID/R): This attribute uniquely identifies the element within the
METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously from another element or
document via an IDREF or an XPTR. The ID attribute on the <dmdSec>, <techMD>, <sourceMD>,
<rightsMD> and <digiprovMD> elements (which are all of mdSecType) is required, and its
value should be referenced from one or more DMDID attributes (when the ID identifies a <dmdSec>
element) or ADMID attributes (when the ID identifies a <techMD>, <sourceMD>, <rightsMD>
or <digiprovMD> element) that are associated with other elements in the METS document. The
following elements support references to a <dmdSec> via a DMDID attribute: <file>, <stream>,
<div>. The following elements support references to <techMD>, <sourceMD>, <rightsMD>
and <digiprovMD> elements via an ADMID attribute: <metsHdr>, <dmdSec>, <techMD>,
<sourceMD>, <rightsMD>, <digiprovMD>, <fileGrp>, <file>, <stream>,
<div>, <area>, <behavior>. For more information on using ID attributes for
internal and external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
GROUPID (string/O): This identifier is used to indicate that different
metadata sections may be considered as part of a group. Two metadata sections with the same GROUPID
value are to be considered part of the same group. For example this facility might be used to group
changed versions of the same metadata if previous versions are maintained in a file for tracking
purposes.
ADMID (IDREFS/O): Contains the ID attribute values of the <digiprovMD>,
<techMD>, <sourceMD> and/or <rightsMD> elements within the <amdSec> of the
METS document that contain administrative metadata pertaining to the current mdSecType element.
Typically used in this context to reference preservation metadata (digiprovMD) which applies to the
current metadata. For more information on using METS IDREFS and IDREF type attributes for internal
linking, see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
CREATED (dateTime/O): Specifies the date and time of creation for the
metadata.
STATUS (string/O): Indicates the status of this metadata (e.g.,
superseded, current, etc.).
fileType: Complex Type for Files
The file element provides access to content files for a METS object. A file element may contain one or
more FLocat elements, which provide pointers to a content file, and/or an FContent element, which wraps
an encoded version of the file. Note that ALL FLocat and FContent elements underneath a single file
element should identify/contain identical copies of a single file.
The file location element <FLocat> provides a pointer to the location of a content file.
It uses the XLink reference syntax to provide linking information indicating the actual location
of the content file, along with other attributes specifying additional linking information.
NOTE: <FLocat> is an empty element. The location of the resource pointed to MUST be stored
in the xlink:href attribute.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element
within the METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously
from another element or document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using
ID attributes for internal and external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
USE (string/O): A tagging attribute to indicate the
intended use of the specific copy of the file represented by the <FLocat> element
(e.g., service master, archive master). A USE attribute can be expressed at the<fileGrp>
level, the <file> level, the <FLocat> level and/or the <FContent>
level. A USE attribute value at the <fileGrp> level should pertain to all of the
files in the <fileGrp>. A USE attribute at the <file> level should pertain
to all copies of the file as represented by subsidiary <FLocat> and/or <FContent>
elements. A USE attribute at the <FLocat> or <FContent> level pertains to
the particular copy of the file that is either referenced (<FLocat>) or wrapped (<FContent>).
The file content element <FContent> is used to identify a content file contained
internally within a METS document. The content file must be either Base64 encoded and contained
within the subsidiary <binData> wrapper element, or consist of XML information and be
contained within the subsidiary <xmlData> wrapper element.
A binary data wrapper element <binData> is used to contain a Base64 encoded
file.
An xml data wrapper element <xmlData> is used to contain an XML encoded file.
The content of an <xmlData> element can be in any namespace or in no
namespace. As permitted by the XML Schema Standard, the processContents attribute
value for the metadata in an <xmlData> element is set to “lax”. Therefore, if
the source schema and its location are identified by means of an xsi:schemaLocation
attribute, then an XML processor will validate the elements for which it can find
declarations. If a source schema is not identified, or cannot be found at the
specified schemaLocation, then an XML validator will check for well-formedness, but
otherwise skip over the elements appearing in the <xmlData> element.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the element
within the METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously
from another element or document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more information on using
ID attributes for internal and external linking see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
USE (string/O): A tagging attribute to indicate the
intended use of the specific copy of the file represented by the <FContent>
element (e.g., service master, archive master). A USE attribute can be expressed at the<fileGrp>
level, the <file> level, the <FLocat> level and/or the <FContent>
level. A USE attribute value at the <fileGrp> level should pertain to all of the
files in the <fileGrp>. A USE attribute at the <file> level should pertain
to all copies of the file as represented by subsidiary <FLocat> and/or <FContent>
elements. A USE attribute at the <FLocat> or <FContent> level pertains to
the particular copy of the file that is either referenced (<FLocat>) or wrapped (<FContent>).
A component byte stream element <stream> may be composed of one or more subsidiary
streams. An MPEG4 file, for example, might contain separate audio and video streams, each of
which is associated with technical metadata. The repeatable <stream> element provides a
mechanism to record the existence of separate data streams within a particular file, and the
opportunity to associate <dmdSec> and <amdSec> with those subsidiary data streams if
desired.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the
element within the METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced
unambiguously from another element or document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more
information on using ID attributes for internal and external linking see Chapter
4 of the METS Primer.
streamType (string/O): The IANA MIME media type for
the bytestream.
OWNERID (string/O): Used to provide a unique
identifier (which could include a URI) assigned to the file. This identifier may
differ from the URI used to retrieve the file.
ADMID (IDREFS/O): Contains the ID attribute values
of the <techMD>, <sourceMD>, <rightsMD> and/or <digiprovMD>
elements within the <amdSec> of the METS document that contain
administrative metadata pertaining to the bytestream. For more information on
using METS IDREFS and IDREF type attributes for internal linking, see Chapter 4
of the METS Primer.
DMDID (IDREFS/O): Contains the ID attribute values
identifying the <dmdSec>, elements in the METS document that contain or
link to descriptive metadata pertaining to the content file stream represented
by the current <stream> element. For more information on using METS IDREFS
and IDREF type attributes for internal linking, see Chapter 4 of the METS
Primer.
BEGIN (string/O): An attribute that specifies the
point in the parent <file> where the current <stream> begins. It can
be used in conjunction with the END attribute as a means of defining the
location of the stream within its parent file. However, the BEGIN attribute can
be used with or without a companion END attribute. When no END attribute is
specified, the end of the parent file is assumed also to be the end point of the
stream. The BEGIN and END attributes can only be interpreted meaningfully in
conjunction with a BETYPE attribute, which specifies the kind of
beginning/ending point values that are being used.
END (string/O): An attribute that specifies the
point in the parent <file> where the <stream> ends. It can only be
interpreted meaningfully in conjunction with the BETYPE, which specifies the
kind of ending point values being used. Typically the END attribute would only
appear in conjunction with a BEGIN attribute.
BETYPE: Begin/End Type.
BETYPE (string/O): An attribute that specifies the kind of BEGIN and/or END
values that are being used. Currently BYTE is the only valid value that can be
used in conjunction with nested <file> or <stream> elements.
The transform file element <transformFile> provides a means to access any subsidiary files
listed below a <file> element by indicating the steps required to "unpack" or transform
the subsidiary files. This element is repeatable and might provide a link to a <behavior>
in the <behaviorSec> that performs the transformation.
ID (ID/O): This attribute uniquely identifies the
element within the METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced
unambiguously from another element or document via an IDREF or an XPTR. For more
information on using ID attributes for internal and external linking see Chapter
4 of the METS Primer.
TRANSFORMTYPE (string/R): Is used to indicate the
type of transformation needed to render content of a file accessible. This may
include unpacking a file into subsidiary files/streams. The controlled value
constraints for this XML string include “decompression” and “decryption”.
Decompression is defined as the action of reversing data compression, i.e., the
process of encoding information using fewer bits than an unencoded
representation would use by means of specific encoding schemas. Decryption is
defined as the process of restoring data that has been obscured to make it
unreadable without special knowledge (encrypted data) to its original form.
TRANSFORM-ALGORITHM (string/R): Specifies the
decompression or decryption routine used to access the contents of the file.
Algorithms for compression can be either loss-less or lossy.
TRANSFORMKEY (string/O): A key to be used with the
transform algorithm for accessing the file’s contents.
TRANSFORMBEHAVIOR (string/O): An IDREF to a
behavior element for this transformation.
TRANSFORMORDER (postive-integer/R): The order in
which the instructions must be followed in order to unpack or transform the
container file.
ID (ID/R): This attribute uniquely identifies the element within the
METS document, and would allow the element to be referenced unambiguously from another element or
document via an IDREF or an XPTR. Typically, the ID attribute value on a <file> element would
be referenced from one or more FILEID attributes (which are of type IDREF) on <fptr>and/or
<area> elements within the <structMap>. Such references establish links between
structural divisions (<div> elements) and the specific content files or parts of content files
that manifest them. For more information on using ID attributes for internal and external linking
see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
SEQ (integer/O): Indicates the sequence of this <file> relative
to the others in its <fileGrp>.
OWNERID (string/O): A unique identifier assigned to the file by its
owner. This may be a URI which differs from the URI used to retrieve the file.
ADMID (IDREFS/O): Contains the ID attribute values of the <techMD>,
<sourceMD>, <rightsMD> and/or <digiprovMD> elements within the <amdSec> of
the METS document that contain administrative metadata pertaining to the file. For more information
on using METS IDREFS and IDREF type attributes for internal linking, see Chapter 4 of the METS
Primer.
DMDID (IDREFS/O): Contains the ID attribute values identifying the <dmdSec>,
elements in the METS document that contain or link to descriptive metadata pertaining to the content
file represented by the current <file> element. For more information on using METS IDREFS and
IDREF type attributes for internal linking, see Chapter 4 of the METS Primer.
GROUPID (string/O): An identifier that establishes a correspondence
between this file and files in other file groups. Typically, this will be used to associate a master
file in one file group with the derivative files made from it in other file groups.
USE (string/O): A tagging attribute to indicate the intended use of all
copies of the file aggregated by the <file> element (e.g., master, reference, thumbnails for
image files). A USE attribute can be expressed at the<fileGrp> level, the <file> level,
the <FLocat> level and/or the <FContent> level. A USE attribute value at the <fileGrp>
level should pertain to all of the files in the <fileGrp>. A USE attribute at the <file>
level should pertain to all copies of the file as represented by subsidiary <FLocat> and/or
<FContent> elements. A USE attribute at the <FLocat> or <FContent> level pertains
to the particular copy of the file that is either referenced (<FLocat>) or wrapped (<FContent>).
BEGIN (string/O): An attribute that specifies the point in the parent
<file> where the current <file> begins. When used in conjunction with a <file>
element, this attribute is only meaningful when this element is nested, and its parent <file>
element represents a container file. It can be used in conjunction with the END attribute as a means
of defining the location of the current file within its parent file. However, the BEGIN attribute
can be used with or without a companion END attribute. When no END attribute is specified, the end
of the parent file is assumed also to be the end point of the current file. The BEGIN and END
attributes can only be interpreted meaningfully in conjunction with a BETYPE attribute, which
specifies the kind of beginning/ending point values that are being used.
END (string/O): An attribute that specifies the point in the parent
<file> where the current, nested <file> ends. It can only be interpreted meaningfully in
conjunction with the BETYPE, which specifies the kind of ending point values being used. Typically
the END attribute would only appear in conjunction with a BEGIN attribute.
BETYPE: Begin/End Type.
BETYPE (string/O): An attribute that specifies the kind of BEGIN and/or END values that are being
used. Currently BYTE is the only valid value that can be used in conjunction with nested <file>
or <stream> elements.
ORDER (integer/O): A representation of the element's order among its
siblings (e.g., its absolute, numeric sequence). For an example, and clarification of the
distinction between ORDER and ORDERLABEL, see the description of the ORDERLABEL attribute.
ORDERLABEL (string/O): A representation of the element's order among
its siblings (e.g., “xii”), or of any non-integer native numbering system. It is presumed that this
value will still be machine actionable (e.g., it would support ‘go to page ___’ function), and it
should not be used as a replacement/substitute for the LABEL attribute. To understand the
differences between ORDER, ORDERLABEL and LABEL, imagine a text with 10 roman numbered pages
followed by 10 arabic numbered pages. Page iii would have an ORDER of “3”, an ORDERLABEL of “iii”
and a LABEL of “Page iii”, while page 3 would have an ORDER of “13”, an ORDERLABEL of “3” and a
LABEL of “Page 3”.
LABEL (string/O): An attribute used, for example, to identify a <div>
to an end user viewing the document. Thus a hierarchical arrangement of the <div> LABEL values
could provide a table of contents to the digital content represented by a METS document and
facilitate the users’ navigation of the digital object. Note that a <div> LABEL should be
specific to its level in the structural map. In the case of a book with chapters, the book <div>
LABEL should have the book title and the chapter <div>; LABELs should have the individual
chapter titles, rather than having the chapter <div> LABELs combine both book title and
chapter title . For further of the distinction between LABEL and ORDERLABEL see the description of
the ORDERLABEL attribute.
MDTYPE (string/R): Is used to indicate the type of the associated
metadata. It must have one of the following values:
MARC: any form of MARC record
MODS: metadata in the Library of Congress MODS format
EAD: Encoded Archival Description finding aid
DC: Dublin Core
NISOIMG: NISO Technical Metadata for Digital Still Images
LC-AV: technical metadata specified in the Library of Congress A/V prototyping project
VRA: Visual Resources Association Core
TEIHDR: Text Encoding Initiative Header
DDI: Data Documentation Initiative
FGDC: Federal Geographic Data Committee metadata
LOM: Learning Object Model
PREMIS: PREservation Metadata: Implementation Strategies
PREMIS:OBJECT: PREMIS Object entiry
PREMIS:AGENT: PREMIS Agent entity
PREMIS:RIGHTS: PREMIS Rights entity
PREMIS:EVENT: PREMIS Event entity
TEXTMD: textMD Technical metadata for text
METSRIGHTS: Rights Declaration Schema
ISO 19115:2003 NAP: North American Profile of ISO 19115:2003 descriptive metadata
EAC-CPF: Encoded Archival Context - Corporate Bodies, Persons, and Families
LIDO: Lightweight Information Describing Objects
OTHER: metadata in a format not specified above
OTHERMDTYPE (string/O): Specifies the form of metadata in use when the
value OTHER is indicated in the MDTYPE attribute.
MDTYPEVERSION(string/O): Provides a means for recording the version of
the type of metadata (as recorded in the MDTYPE or OTHERMDTYPE attribute) that is being used. This
may represent the version of the underlying data dictionary or metadata model rather than a schema
version.
LOCTYPE (string/R): Specifies the locator type used in the xlink:href
attribute. Valid values for LOCTYPE are:
ARK
URN
URL
PURL
HANDLE
DOI
OTHER
OTHERLOCTYPE (string/O): Specifies the locator type when the value
OTHER is used in the LOCTYPE attribute. Although optional, it is strongly recommended when OTHER is
used.
MIMETYPE (string/O): The IANA MIME media type for the associated file
or wrapped content. Some values for this attribute can be found on the IANA website.
SIZE (long/O): Specifies the size in bytes of the associated file or
wrapped content.
CREATED (dateTime/O): Specifies the date and time of creation for the
associated file or wrapped content.
CHECKSUM (string/O): Provides a checksum value for the associated file
or wrapped content.
CHECKSUMTYPE (enumerated string/O): Specifies the checksum algorithm
used to produce the value contained in the CHECKSUM attribute. CHECKSUMTYPE must contain one of the
following values:
Adler-32
CRC32
HAVAL
MD5
MNP
SHA-1
SHA-256
SHA-384
SHA-512
TIGER
WHIRLPOOL