Comparative Study of Rubbings Metadata Schemes

Abstract

Rubbings are reproductions on paper from various materials with inscriptions, drawings, and designs. Describing and cataloging rubbings affects the way we use them and in turn, affects resource discovery. This paper compared seven metadata schemes used for describing Chinese rubbings and/or brass rubbings, including the People's Republic of China Cultural Relics Protection Industry Standard: Metadata for rubbings- Cataloguing rules, metadata of the rubbings collection of the Institute of History and Philology of the Academia Sinica, metadata of the rubbings collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, metadata of rubbings collection of the British Museum, metadata of brass rubbings collection of the Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, CDWA, and MODS. The result highlights the different purposes of the schemes and significant differences in the numbers of fields, structures, coverages, and granularities. It also shows the common features of the schemes, especially in resource linking.