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Islandora utilizes Fedora’s ability to represent Descriptive metadata in XML format via one or more Datastreams in an object. Fedora is written in such a way that any object may have multiple metadata Datastreams, which can store Metadata following any schema, such as MODS, Dublin Core, or QDC.
Metadata is added to When an object is created in Islandora via an ingest form presented to users adding objects to the repositor, this ingest form produces an XML metadata datastream when the object is ingested. Each metadata stream will have a default DSID. Users fill out a form with fields corresponding to the metadata desired, and the relevant Datastream is created when the object in Fedora is created. The Datastreams that Islandora creates are defined in the Content Model Object that is affiliated with the Collection into which an item is being ingested. The Content Model prescribes, among other things, the DSID of a datastream containing metadata that can be viewed and edited via Islandora. Islandora’s Solution Packs come with a Content Model which is ingested into your repository when the Solution Pack is installed, and which prescribes the type of metadata that will be collected on ingest, and in what Datastream that metadata will be stored. Users enter metadata via a Form that is defined in a Content Model. Solution Packs come with a set of forms pre-installed. These forms are based on our understanding of best practices, and represent a starting point for those new to the process of creating XML forms., a datastream containing Dublin Core XML metadata is automatically produced and is given "DC" as its DSID, but you will most likely want a separate datastream containing metadata from a richer metadata schema.
To accommodate the richer metadata, each Islandora Solution Pack comes with a pre-installed metadata form that can be used as a starting point in building your own rich metadata form. So, a user ingesting a new object is presented with the metadata form appropriate for that collection. The Content Model for the collection specifies the DSID of that metadata datastream in order to maintain consistency across all objects associated with that Content Model.
The form that come pre-installed with a Solution Pack represent just a starting point to help you create an XML form appropriate for your data. You can leave the form as is or modify it to meet the needs of your repository.
XML Metadata The system is designed to simplify the process of creating metadata for an object. One Islandora content model may have a number of forms to suit the needs of different collections. Forms can be edited, created, copied, and affiliated with Content Model objects using the Islandora Form Builder (XML Forms Modules). When you use the Form Builder, an .xsd in the Form Builder Modules can read in an externally or internally stored schema (another .xsd document), and allow for a form to be created and validated based on that external schema. Users can then associate the newly created or edited form with other content models in the repository via the User Interface (providing that they associate the form with a content model that prescribes that scheme, and permits an XML datastream corresponding to it). Likewise, one Islandora content model may be associated with a number of forms to suit the needs of different collections.In order to fully utilize the Forms Builder, users will have to have an understanding of XML, Schema documents, and Xpath XPath (the language used to navigate XML documents).
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