Adding DRS Metadata
- Julie Wetherill
ePADD supports adding collection metadata about an email archive but at this time, only a small subset of this metadata can be mapped directly to DRS metadata. This page describes this subset. Also, ePADD knows nothing about the metadata needed for DRS batch processing, so this page describes how we handle batch metadata for email deposits.
On this page:
Adding DRS batch metadata (drsConfig.txt file)
In the ePADD preservation workflow, you do not interact directly with Batch Builder but you do need to supply DRS batch metadata that Batch Builder will use. You'll do this by adding batch metadata to a plain text file called drsConfig.txt and then importing this as a "sidecar" file into ePADD while you are actively processing an email archive. Follow these instructions to create a drsConfig.txt file.
Note: The metadata values you supply are case- and punctuation-sensitive. Enter them exactly as required or batch deposit to DRS may fail. See DRS configuration for ePADD deposits for definitions and examples of each metadata element in the drsConfig.txt file.
- Download and open this sample drsConfig.txt file which contains all required DRS batch metadata fields.
- Change metadata values as needed to make them appropriate for your email archive.
- Save the drsConfig.txt file to a convenient location on your file system.
See the Quick Start Guide for an ePADD preservation workflow that includes the import of drsConfig.txt.
Adding ePADD-to-DRS mapped metadata
ePADD allows you to manually add a variety of metadata associated with a particular email archive. A subset of this metadata has been mapped to DRS metadata and if supplied in the ePADD preservation package, will be copied into the email archive's DRS metadata. This section describes what metadata fields are mapped to DRS and where to find these fields in ePADD.
While the majority of ePADD metadata fields are not directly mapped to DRS metadata, they are stored in the preservation package that you deposit to the DRS. And much of this metadata is used in the ePADD Discovery and Delivery modules (if you choose to use these).
How to add metadata
The same set of ePADD metadata fields are available in the Appraisal and Processing modules.
- Click on the information button located to the right of the email archive’s title on the ePADD dashboard.
- This will open a dialog box with information about this archive. Scroll to bottom of the box and click on the edit button (next to the heading Metadata):
- A metadata editing page will open. After you enter metadata, don't forget to click Save (top menu or at bottom of metadata page).
ePADD-to-DRS metadata mapping
| ePADD field | Location in preservation package | Location in ePADD client | DRS field | Notes/Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| collectionID | .\data\sessions\collection-metadata.json\collectionID | Edit Metadata > Collection tab | identifier | Collection ID is a required field in ePADD. |
| Title | .\data\sessions\collection-metadata.json\collectionTitle | Edit Metadata > Collection tab | titleInfoTitle | |
| [firstDateTS] [lastDateTS] | .\data\sessions\collection-metadata.json\firstDateTS .\data\sessions\collection-metadata.json\lastDateTS | Edit Metadata > Collection tab | originInfoDateCreated | Timestamps for earliest and latest dates of the email, extracted automatically by ePADD from the content. These are Unix dates timestamps that will be converted to ISO8601 dates in DRS. ePADD: DRS: |
| Scope and Content | .\data\sessions\collection-metadata.json\scopeAndContent | Edit Metadata > Collection tab | abstract | In DRS "abstract" field, will be prefixed by "Scope and content: ". |
[attachment count] | .\data\epaddPremis.xml\significantProperties\significantPropertiesType="overall unique attachment count"\significantPropertiesValue .\data\epaddPremis.xml\significantProperties\significantPropertiesType="overall message_count"\significantPropertiesValue | Edit Metadata > PREMIS tab | abstract | These item counts are extracted automatically by ePADD from the content. |
| Material specific details | .\data\epaddPremis.xml\format\formatDesignation\formatName .\data\epaddPremis.xml\format\formatDesignation\formatVersion | Edit Metadata > PREMIS tab | abstract | In DRS "abstract" field, will be prefixed by "Format name: " and "Format version:". |
| Description (Scope/content) | .\data\sessions\collection-metadata.json\description | Edit Metadata > EAD tab | abstract | In DRS "abstract" field, will be prefixed by "Description: ". |
| Access | .\data\sessions\collection-metadata.json\access | Edit Metadata > EAD tab | accessCondition | |
| Embargo Start Date | .\data\sessions\collection-metadata.json\embargoStartDate | Edit Metadata > EAD tab | embargoGrantStart | Date format: yyyy-mm-dd |
| Embargo Duration | .\data\sessions\collection-metadata.json\embargoDuration | Edit Metadata > EAD tab | embargoDuration | Supply a value in the form integer+space+unit, where unit can be "days", "months", or "years". For example: "50 years". Anything that does not fit the pattern will not be mapped. |
Adding delivery embargo metadata
If you need to indicate a delivery embargo for the entire email archive and want it to be visible in DRS metadata, you can add it in ePADD and it will be mapped to DRS object metadata during the deposit. Or, you can add embargo metadata after deposit via DRS Web Admin.
ePADD supports these collection-level embargo fields: Embargo Start Date and Embargo Duration. You will also need an Embargo Basis field; since this is not supported in ePADD right now, you will provide it as part of DRS batch metadata (in the drsConfig.txt file).
Add Embargo Start Date and Duration in ePADD
- You can add collection metadata from the Appraisal or Processing module.
- In Appraisal, open the Browse page and click the
icon (to the right of collection title). In the window that opens, click the 
icon next to the Metadata label. This opens the Edit Metadata window. - In Processing, go to the Collections page and click the title of the collection you want to open. Then click the icon next to the Summary label. This opens the Edit Metadata window.
- In Appraisal, open the Browse page and click the
- In the Edit Metadata form, click the EAD tab to open that group of fields. Add this metadata:
- Embargo Start Date: Enter date as yyyy-mm-dd
- Embargo Duration: Enter a value in the form integer+space+unit, where unit can be "days", "months", or "years". For example: "50 years".
- Click the Save button to save this change.
Add Embargo Basis in drsConfig.txt
See the Create DRS batch metadata section (above) for instructions on creating a drsConfig.txt file. An Embargo Basis field is included in the drsConfig.txt template and is by default set to embargoBasis=Harvard policy. If this basis