The e-Government Metadata Standard, e-GMS, is the UK e-Government
Metadata Standard. It defines how UK public sector bodies should label content such as web pages and documents to make such information more easily managed, found and shared.
The
metadata standard
A metadata standard is a requirement which is intended to establish a common understanding of the meaning or semantics of the data, to ensure correct and proper use and interpretation of the data by its owners and users. To achieve this common unde ...
is an
application profile of the
Dublin Core Metadata Element Set and consists of mandatory, recommended and optional metadata elements such as title, date created and description.
The e-GMS formed part of the ''e-Government Metadata Framework'' (e-GMF) and
eGovernment Interoperability Framework (e-GIF). The standard helps provide a basis for the adoption of
XML
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing arbitrary data. It defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable ...
schemas for data exchange.
Metadata elements
The current standard defines twenty-five elements. Each has a formal description (taken from Dublin Core where possible) and an obligation rating of "mandatory", "mandatory if applicable", "recommended" or "optional":
# Accessibility ''(mandatory if applicable)''
# Addressee ''(optional)''
# Aggregation ''(optional)''
# Audience ''(optional)''
# Contributor ''(optional)''
# Coverage ''(recommended)''
# Creator ''(mandatory)''
# Date ''(mandatory)''
# Description ''(optional)''
# Digital signature ''(optional)''
# Disposal ''(optional)''
# Format ''(optional)''
# Identifier ''(mandatory if applicable)''
# Language ''(recommended)''
# Location ''(optional)''
# Mandate ''(optional)''
# Preservation ''(optional)''
# Publisher ''(mandatory if applicable)''
# Relation ''(optional)''
# Rights ''(optional)''
# Source ''(optional)''
# Status ''(optional)''
# Subject ''(mandatory)''
# Title ''(mandatory)''
# Type ''(optional)''
Each element also has a statement of purpose, notes, clarification, refinements (such as sub-elements), examples of use,
HTML
The HyperText Markup Language or HTML is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It can be assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and scripting languages such as JavaSc ...
syntax, encoding schemes and mappings to other metadata standards where applicable.
Development
The first version of the standard comprising simple Dublin Core elements was first published with the e-GMF. e-GMS was first published as a separate document by the
Office of the e-Envoy
The Office of the e-Envoy was set up by the British government of Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1999 and was replaced by the E-Government Unit in September 2004.
The first e-Envoy was Alex Allan. He was succeeded by Andrew Pinder in October 20 ...
in April 2002 and contained twenty-one elements.
[ ] Version 2 was released in December 2003 and added separate elements for Addressee, Aggregation, Digital Signature and Mandate.
[ (Also available a]
.doc
an
.rtf
. Version 2 also added further refinements and introduced the e-GMS Audience Encoding Scheme (e-GMSAES) and e-GMS Type Encoding Scheme (e-GMSTES). Version 3 was released in April 2004 and incorporated
PRONOM
PRONOM (Public Record Office and Chữ Nôm, Nôm 喃) is a World Wide Web, web-based technical registry to support digital preservation services, developed by The National Archives (UK), The National Archives of the United Kingdom. PRONOM was th ...
within the format and preservation elements.
The most recent version, 3.1, was published in August 2006 by the
Cabinet Office e-Government Unit
The e-Government Unit (eGU) was a unit of the Cabinet Office of the government of the United Kingdom responsible for helping various government departments use information technology to increase efficiency and improve electronic access to governm ...
following the closure of the Office of the e-Envoy.
It now forms part of the UK Government's ''Information Principles'', supporting the principle that "Information is standardised and linkable". Responsibility for maintenance and development of the standard has since moved from central to local government.
Subject metadata and the Integrated Public Sector Vocabulary (IPSV)
The Integrated Public Sector Vocabulary is a
controlled vocabulary
Control may refer to:
Basic meanings Economics and business
* Control (management), an element of management
* Control, an element of management accounting
* Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization
* Controllin ...
for describing subjects and was first released in April 2005, building on developments of the subject element introduced with version 3.0 of e-GMS. It merged three earlier lists: the GCL (
Government Category List
The United Kingdom Government Category List (GCL) was a type of controlled vocabulary called a taxonomy
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.
A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of class ...
), LGCL (
Local Government Category List
The Local Government Category List (LGCL), is a metadata standard controlled vocabulary of subject metadata terms related to local government, published in the UK. It has been superseded by the Integrated Public Sector Vocabulary (IPSV) but rema ...
) and the seamlessUK taxonomy. It had 2732 preferred terms and 4230 non-preferred.
The current version, version 2, was released in April 2006. It is much bigger, with 3080 preferred terms and 4843 non-preferred terms and covers internal-facing as well as public-oriented topics. The Internal Vocabulary was released as a separate subset containing 756 preferred terms and 1333 non-preferred terms. An abridged version of the IPSV was also released containing 549 preferred terms and 1472 non-preferred terms and remains compliant with the e-GMS.
The Public Sector Information Domain – Metadata Standards Working Group subsequently agreed to recommend this change to eGMS on the use of subject metadata from October 2012:
The standard has been discontinued in January 2019. The
Local Government Association esd-toolkit has since continued hosting IPSV and current
URIs will remain valid.
Mapping
E-GMS has been mapped to the
IEEE
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operat ...
/
LOM.
IPSV has been mapped to the Local Government Classification Scheme.
See also
Examples of UK government sponsored
GovTalk GovTalk was a UK government initiative sponsored by the Cabinet Office, designed to encourage efficient government through the use of the internet and other modern electronic technologies. It included guidelines and advice on best practices for the ...
XML standards that use e-GMS include
*
NaPTAN
The National Public Transport Access Node (NaPTAN) database is a UK nationwide system for uniquely identifying all the points of access to public transport in the UK. The dataset is closely associated with the National Public Transport Gazettee ...
*
TransXChange
TransXChange is a UK national XML based data standard for the interchange of bus route and timetable information between bus operators, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, local authorities and passenger transport executives, and others in ...
References
{{reflist, 2
Communications in the United Kingdom
E-government in the United Kingdom
Metadata standards