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[[File:Fichasbiblioteca.JPG|thumb|A card catalog tells about the books in a library]]

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'''Metadata''' (also ''Meta data'') is [[Information|data]] about data, that is [[information]] about other information. This is often useful. [[Library|Libraries]] usually group books by subject and keep a catalog of the books. In that context the metadata in the catalog include various pieces of information including the [[author]] and the subject it is classified under. The [[index]] and [[table of contents]] of a book also present metadata.

[[Digital camera]]s allow people to take [[picture]]s. Here the data is the picture taken, and the metadata is information about the picture taken, like when (the [[date]] and [[time]]), [[Exposure (photography)|photographic exposure]], [[focal length]] and other technical details about how the camera made the picture. Some cameras, especially [[smartphone]]s, have [[GPS]] and can include the location in metadata.

== Metadata Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:Schlagwortkatalog.jpg|In the 21st century, metadata typically refers to digital forms, but traditional card catalogs contain metadata, with cards holding [[information]] about books in a library (author, title, subject, etc.).

File:Cenchrus ciliaris L. 438045083.jpg|Metadata can come in different layers: This physical [[herbarium]] record of ''[[Cenchrus ciliaris]]'' consists of the specimens as well as metadata about them, while the barcode points to a digital record with metadata about the physical record.

File:Sphagnum papillosum at Sphagnum cultivation at Universität Greifswald 2023-06-11 01.jpg|Metadata for a ''[[Sphagnum papillosum]]'' pot that is part of a [[common garden experiment]] at [[Universität Greifswald]]

File:FREYA-The-power-of-PIDs-V05-1.webm|An introduction to [[FAIR data]] and [[persistent identifier]]s
</gallery>
== References ==
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[[Category:Computer science]]
[[Category:Data science]]
[[Category:Photography]]
[[Category:Data]]