MODS 3.3:
MODS (Metadata Object Description Schema -
http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/) is an XML based metadata schema
based on MARC terminology. It is a very rich metadata scheme and is suitable for
use as the scheme in the descriptive metadata in the METS standard. MODS uses
language based tags and is OAI harvestable.
MODS elements:
The top level elements in MODS are as follows: (from: http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/mods-outline.html - each element below links directly to the information page about that element on the MODS website)
MODS and Essential Version Metadata:
MODS deals very well with the five pieces of essential versioning information identified by VIF.
-
Defined Dates:
MODS defines an extensive list of dates, so all dates stored in MODS can easily be identified:
-
Identifiers:
A variety of identifiers can be stored and described by MODS:
http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-0-outline.html#identifier
An example of how this might be used:
http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/modsejournal.html
- Version Numbering:
<detail> can be used for storing version numbers:
http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-userguide-elements.html#related_detail
- Version Labels or Taxonomies:
<originInfo> could be used to store a version label with qualifying information:
http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-userguide-elements.html#origininfo
- Text Description:
Descriptions can be stored in the <description> field:
http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-userguide-elements.html#description
Additional Fields:
The <relatedItem> field in MODS can be used to associate items with each other. Here is an example of relating conference paper with a journal article: http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods97129132.html.
For full details on how to use <relatedItem> see here: http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-userguide-elements.html#relateditem