The Dublin Core is a set of fifteen descriptive semantic elements used to supplement methods for searching and indexing metadata found on the web. These fifteen semantic definitions create a single description record for data, and so assist web-based index engines to search websites with far greater precision. The CHM has adopted the Dublin Core to describe information available on the Convention web site and on the Biosafety Clearing-House.

Similar to a catalogue describing the subject of a monograph collection in a library, the Dublin Core describes generally the contents found on a web page and not each individual content element. Currently, the Clearing-House Mechanism restricts use of the Dublin Core to web pages only. The use of Common Formats will offer the Clearing-House Mechanism the ability to create descriptors for contents found on each web page. Metadata will be created from controlled vocabularies or established thesauri such as the CBD Contolled Vocabulary, ENVOC or AGROVOC see (see Module 5).

The Dublin Core Metadata Element Set Consists Of:

Title
A title is the name given to the resource. The Convention on Biological Diversity web site, for example, is the title of the home page of the Convention's web site.

Creator
The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity will be cited as the creator of pages pertaining to the Convention web site and the Biosafety Clearing-House.

Subject
These are terms preferably chosen from a controlled vocabulary to describe the contents of the web page.

Description
Normally, Description refers to an abstract or a free text description of the web page.

Publisher
The publisher is the organization or person making the resource available.

Contributor
A contributor can be a person, organization or entity making significant contributions.

Date
A date is normally associated with the creation of the resource. Sometimes it can also refer to the availability of the resource.

Type
This element refers to the nature of the resource.

Format
The Format describes the physical characteristics of the resource.

Identifier
The identifier refers to any formal identification system, similar to the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) or other similar identifiers.

Source
This element is used when the contents of the web page are derived from another

Language
Here, language refers to the language of the contents of the web page.

Relation
This identifier is useful when the contents of the web page have a relation to another resource or web page.

Coverage
Coverage refers to characteristics such as location or geographic coordinates, date range or administrative jurisdiction, etc.

Rights
Rights normally refers to intellectual property rights and copyright.

More information on the Dublin Core can be found on the Dublin Core web site: http://dublincore.org