One of the key elements of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) emphasis on electronic records management is the collection and transmittal of appropriate metadata.
Metadata refers to information about the information stored within the record. As NARA itself says, “Simply put, metadata are elements of information that answer the questions ‘who, what, where, when, and why’ regarding electronic records. Metadata elements provide administrative, descriptive, and technical information that describe the structure and content of electronic records.”
Such metadata can include information like the transfer request number, record identifier, title, description, creator, creation date, rights, coverage, and any other metadata the agency collects or creates. But what makes metadata so important, and how exactly does it help NARA and other organizations?
It helps users to find the exact record(s) they need, fast.
A core element of NARA’s 2022-2026 strategic plan is improved responsiveness to records requests. Specifically, they want to be able to answer customer requests within the promised timeframe 95% of the time by fiscal year 2026. Manually searching through records, even electronic records, presents a major obstacle to that goal; the more time workers must spend combing through records, the slower they will be in answering the request. Even if the electronic records solution can find records of a certain type or from a certain date, workers may still have to manually go through that subset to find just the one(s) that have been requested.
Metadata can offer detailed search parameters that make it much easier to narrow down the search and find exactly the desired record or collection of records almost immediately. For example, users can use metadata to search by subject or keywords, creator(s), collection(s), source, and other unique identifiers.
It helps to make record(s) more usable.
Metadata can also offer contextual information to better understand and make use of the content of the record. For example, metadata can help answer questions like “why did we even keep this record?” or “how do we expect to use this information in the future?”
Some metadata, like subject or keywords, can also help users to link semantically related records that might not have any other relationship. If a user pulls a record for some work project, this kind of metadata can serve as a pointer to help the user find related records they might not otherwise know exist. Similarly, metadata can also capture usage rights and restrictions related to copyright, trademark, or classification rules. This information can ensure records only get used by the appropriate personnel in approved ways.
How do you capture metadata?
The technology used to create and manage the electronic records is pivotal to making maximum use of metadata. The Electronic Records Management (ERM) system should not only offer metadata collection as an option, but it should also be able to (1) automatically generate certain types of metadata itself (like creation or modification date) to facilitate the user’s workflow and (2) allow organizations to create custom metadata as needed.
For more information about NARA’s specific requirements, read our article “Spotlight: NARA metadata requirements for electronic records.”
About PSL
PSL is a global outsource provider whose mission is to provide solutions that facilitate the movement of business-critical information between and among government agencies, business enterprises, and their partners. For more information, please visit or email info@penielsolutions.com.