Background and Objectives: Metadata represents the culmination of an information and knowledge organization process, aiming to describe and structure content objects. The expansion of metadata standards (Schema) originates from specific information environment requirements while supporting distinct functions. The resulting diversity and multiplicity of metadata standards stem from this origin. In today's information landscape, cultural institutions seek to disseminate information resources derived from their distinct repositories, where content objects are referenced. The organization of these content objects must align with the local and technical characteristics inherent to the cultural centers' existing context. Despite this, many centers and institutions either utilize a particular metadata standard disregarding these features or operate without any metadata standard altogether. Consequently, most database fields and elements often fail to align with the institution's context. This organizational structure ultimately falls short in transforming information into usable knowledge for researchers. To address this issue, the development of a metadata application profile aims to rectify these shortcomings and is seen as a solution for enhancing metadata systems. Essentially, the functional profile facilitates the extraction of necessary and contextually fitting elements from diverse metadata standards, tailoring metadata elements to suit the unique characteristics of a cultural institution. It aims to deliver metadata elements akin to a birth certificate. Given that the Malek Institute houses library content objects, it becomes imperative to create a functional profile specifically for this institution. Consequently, the current research endeavors to design a metadata application profile for the description and organization of library content objects housed within the Malek National Museum and Library Institute.
Methodology: The current research is categorized as applied research owing to its goal-oriented pursuit of solutions to practical issues arising from real-world needs. It specifically addresses the absence of a metadata application profile required to describe content objects housed within the Malek Digital Library and Museum. This research is qualitatively classified due to its focus on qualitative aspects rather than quantitative measurements. The analysis of the collected data adopts a system analysis approach aligned with the research topic. Data collection employed qualitative research tools such as semi-structured interviews and close observation. The research population comprises two distinct segments. The first segment encompasses all content objects housed in the library at the Malek Institute, focusing on their native appearance and semantic characteristics. The second segment comprises employees from the library's cataloging department, selected using the snowball sampling method, a cost-effective approach aimed at saving research time and resources. In pursuit of designing a Metadata Application Profile (MAP) through a systematic methodology, various checklists associated with metadata standards were utilized. These standards include the Dublin Core Metadata Schema, Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS), Metadata Encoding and Transmission (METS), and MarcXML. The library objects under examination in this study encompass a range of materials, including Persian and Arabic printed books, lithographic books, French and English printed books, and Persian publications.
Findings: The study's findings reveal that the functional profile developed comprises a total of 44 elements, categorized into 12 primary elements, 28 secondary elements, and four refined elements. Notably, the MODS contributes the most to the application profile, featuring 24 elements. The Dublin Core Metadata Standards and METS contribute 18 and 2 elements, respectively, to the metadata application profile of the library content objects housed within the Malek National Museum and Library Institute. The elements encompassed within this profile encompass various facets, including title information, such as title, translated title, uniform title, alternate title, subtitle, and non sort. Additionally, elements related to creator information, such as creator, creator role, and affiliation, are included. Other significant elements involve description, subject, Dewey Decimal classification system (DDC) number, Library of Congress classification system (LCC) number, origin information, publisher, frequency, publication date, creation date, valid date, place, type, identifier, International Standard Book Number (ISBN), International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), local number, language, accrual method, notes (comprising language note, physical description note, marks note, scripts note), record information (record creation date, record change date), agent name role, agent name role (Controller), part, extent, start, end, and contributor.
Discussion: The Malek National Museum and Library Institute, utilizing functional profile IDs comprising name, label, defined by, property institution definition, description, type, refinements, refined by, coding scheme, requirement, data type, event, equivalent to, can effectively manage its metadata. Implementing the suggestions from this research facilitates the efficient organization of the library's content objects. Similarly, other libraries with similar features can adopt these profile IDs to develop their metadata application profiles, enhancing the management of their content objects in line with established practices.