Management of The Organizational Context Metadata:Case Study of The Design and Codification of the Metadata Schema Registry for the Libraries of Shahidbeheshti University of Medical Sciences

The present study aimed to improve the management of the organizational metadata and the design of metadata registry for the library complex of ShahidBeheshti University of Medical Sciences using analytical-asystematic approach. The statistical population of the study included the metadata records from the 23 libraries (central, college, and hospital libraries) affiliated to the ShahidBeheshti University of Medical Sciences. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect the data on the goals and local needs of the above-mentioned libraries to generate metadata records and their management. The questionnaire was completed by the managers of the libraries and librarians in the processing and organization department using the method of observation designed by the researcher on the metadata databases for the studied libraries. Accordingly, the goals, features, and local needs of the current libraries were extracted in the field of the creation and management of metadata, as well as their policies and expectations for the future.The research findings indicate that the coherence and consistency in the creation and management of metadata is not at a desirable level for the description and organization of the content objects, as well as the consistency of metadata in accordance with the goals and local needs of the studied libraries. It seems that this inconsistency is due to some factors including the lack of clarity of all features and local needs of libraries (in general, the organizational context) and the lack of codified policies for the metadata management, as well as the lack of precision in defining their native goals and functions from the perspective of metadata management. In order to optimize the management of metadata, "the metadata registry schema of the libraries of ShahidBeheshti University of Medical Sciences" was designed in accordance with their goals and the identified local needs based on thechecklist designed in accordance with the metadata standards, including the schema objectives (the native context and data entities), formal description components (schema definition and the implementation schema), and the schema components (the metadata schema and metadata application profiles).