SimpleMetsDocument

The simple document is the Saunders METS document (link?) boiled down to simple form : 2 jpgs, simple DM, one piece of image techMD (accurate description?)

The XML for the simple METS document

• http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/xmlrepos/metstest/SimpleMETS.xml

• (local copy)

[SimpleMetsDocument/LocalSimpleMetsXml]

The rendition of the document through the METS viewer: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/xdlib/servlet/archobj?DOCCHOICE=http%3A%2F%2Fsunsite.berkeley.edu%2Fxmlrepos%2Fmetstest%2FSimpleMETS.xml&submit1=Submit+Query

How to learn about METS?

• METS: An Overview & Tutorial

• other articles in this journal

• studying the METS schema

Below are the top level elements that can comprise a METS document.

mets

• metsHdr

• dmdSec

• amdSec

• fileSec

• structMap

• structLink

• behaviorSec

structure and content in METS

Of these top level elements, we'll ignore the metsHdr, behaviorSec and structLink for now. (These have important functions for some applications; but are not germane to our simple example.) Instead, we'll look first at the structMap and fileSec--the structural heart of the METS document.

The structMap is, in fact, the only required element of a METS document. The structMap analyzes the structure of the digital object into a hierarchically arranged sequence of divisions (or div elements). In the case of the simple example above, the structMap simply analyzes the digital object represented--a dictation from the Hubert Howe Bancroft collection--into a sequence of two physical pages. [A div element could in fact represent a logical division (a chapter of a book for example) instead of a physical division, as in our example. Thus, a structMap could represent a logical structure, a physical structure, or some combination of the two. It could for example divide a book into chapters (logical) and a chapter into pages (physical)]

The structMap goes on to link the structural divisions of the digital object--in this case the two individual pages--to the file(s) that manifest the content of these divisions. It does this by means of one or more file pointers (fptr elements), which are subsidiary to the division to which they pertain. Each fptr element points to a file element in the fileSec that represents a resource that manifests the division. In the case of our simple example, only one manifestation of each page is available; so each page division contains a single fptr element that points to the single file that manifests its content. It does so by means of an FILEID attribute that identifies the pertinent file element.

The fileSec, then, mainly provides an inventory of the files that comprise the content of the digital object represented. Each file element in the fileSec can point to the external resource it represents via a URI. The fileSec organizes the file elements into groups governed by fileGrp elements which can be nested. The above example organizes all of the file elements into a single fileGrp because all files share the same format and purpose. They are medium resolution jpegs intended for "reference" use. Thumbnail images (i.e, gifs) and tiff master images, had they also been present, would have appeared in separate fileGrp elements. But in fact METS does not provide firm guidelines on how METS implementors should group files.

administrative and descriptive metadata elements in METS

Quotes from which document?

Two important components of our simple METS object remain to be described: descriptive metadata and administrative metadata.

The optional dmdSec or descriptive metadata section of a METS document records descriptive metadata pertinent to the digital object. METS does not itself define a descriptive metadata element set; and our example records descriptive metadata using elements defined in an external schema called MODS devised and maintained by the Library of Congress. (citations). The root division of the structMap points to this dmdSec via a DMDID attribute. A METS document can contain more than one dmdSec, and divisions of the structMap at any level can reference any pertinent dmdSec elements.

The amdSec or administrative metadata section of a METS document records administrative metadata pertinent to the digital object. METS provides for four distinct types of administrative metadata, but our example demonstrates just one of these: techMD, or technical metadata about the digital content files. As is the case with descriptive metadata, METS does not itself define an administrative metadata element set. Thus our example records the image technical metadata using elements defined in the MIX schema maintained by the Library of Congress. (citations). Each file in the fileSec of our example points to the techMd section that pertains to it via an ADMID attribute. Divisions of the structMap can also point to administrative metadata, such as rights metadata, as appropriate.

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