Dublin Core Schema Properties

The Dublin Core properties are fundamental to document metadata and:

  • Provide essential document identification
  • Support resource discovery
  • Enable interoperability between systems
  • Facilitate content management
  • Support archiving and preservation
  • Enable effective document cataloging

The Dublin Core schema is widely adopted because it provides a simple yet effective way to describe digital resources across different domains and applications.

Core Elements

dc:title

  • The primary name of the resource
  • Can include multiple language variants
  • Example:
    • Primary: "Environmental Impact Report 2024"
    • Alternative: {"en-US": "Environmental Impact Report", "fr-FR": "Rapport d'Impact Environnemental"}

dc:creator

  • Primary creator(s) of the resource
  • Can be personal names or organization names
  • Ordered list of creators if multiple
  • Example: ["Dr. Jane Smith", "Environmental Research Institute"]

dc:subject

  • Topics of the resource content
  • Keywords, key phrases, or classification codes
  • Often stored as an array
  • Example: ["climate change", "environmental science", "sustainability"]

dc:description

  • Account of the resource content
  • Can include abstract, table of contents, or reference
  • Supports multiple languages
  • Example: "A comprehensive analysis of climate change impacts in urban areas during 2020-2024"

dc:publisher

  • Entity responsible for making the resource available
  • Usually an organization name
  • Example: "Nature Publishing Group"

dc:contributor

  • Entities who contributed to the resource
  • Secondary authors, editors, illustrators
  • Example: ["Technical Editor", "Research Assistant", "Graphics Designer"]

dc:date

  • Point or period of time associated with the resource
  • Uses ISO 8601 format
  • Can include multiple date types
  • Example: "2024-03-20T10:30:00Z"

dc:type

  • Nature or genre of the resource
  • Often from controlled vocabulary
  • Example: "Research Paper", "Technical Report", "Dataset"

dc:format

  • File format, physical medium, or dimensions
  • Usually includes MIME type
  • Example: "application/pdf", "image/jpeg"

dc:identifier

  • Unambiguous reference to the resource
  • Could be DOI, ISBN, URL
  • Example: "DOI:10.1000/xyz123", "ISBN:978-3-16-148410-0"

dc:source

  • Related resource from which described resource is derived
  • Reference to original work
  • Example: "Original Research Data Set #RS789"

dc:language

  • Language(s) of the resource
  • Uses standard language codes
  • Can be multiple values
  • Example: ["en-US", "fr-FR"]

dc:relation

  • Related resource reference
  • Can include multiple relationship types
  • Example: "References Study XYZ-2023"

dc:coverage

  • Spatial or temporal topic of the resource
  • Geographic locations or time periods
  • Examples:
    • Spatial: "North America; Europe"
    • Temporal: "2020-2024"
    • Geographic: "51.5074° N, 0.1278° W"

dc:rights

  • Rights information about resource
  • Copyright and usage rights
  • Example: "© 2024 Organization Name. All rights reserved."

Additional Properties

dc:alternative

  • Alternative title
  • Different forms of the title
  • Example: {"short": "Env Report 2024", "acronym": "EIR 2024"}

dc:tableOfContents

  • List of subunits of the resource
  • Often structured content listing
  • Example: "1. Introduction\n2. Methodology\n3. Results"

dc:abstract

  • Summary of the resource
  • Detailed content description
  • Example: "This report examines the environmental impacts..."

dc:created

  • Creation date of the resource
  • ISO 8601 format
  • Example: "2024-01-15T08:00:00Z"

dc:valid

  • Date range of validity
  • Often used for time-sensitive documents
  • Example: "2024-03-20/2025-03-19"

dc:available

  • Date resource became/becomes available
  • ISO 8601 format
  • Example: "2024-04-01T00:00:00Z"

dc:issued

  • Date of formal issuance
  • ISO 8601 format
  • Example: "2024-03-25T12:00:00Z"