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Source: Cabinet Office

Press Release

16 May 2003

OFFICE OF THE E-ENVOY PUBLISHES LATEST E-GMS

The second version of the e-Government Metadata Standard (e-GMS) was published today by the Office of the e-Envoy. This updated standard supports the policy on metadata outlined in the e-Government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF).

The e-GMS provides a superset of the elements, refinements and encoding schemes for public sector organisations creating metadata for information systems or designing search engines. This latest version has been developed to better meet records management needs and reflect changes to related international standards. Compliance with the e-GMS is mandatory, to ensure consistency of metadata across the public sector.

Enhancements include new refinements to the Rights and Disposal elements. These were added in consultation with the National Archives, formerly Public Records Office, and will help in the management of information resources, providing a more accurate description of the rights people have to see information. There are also additional refinements, taken from the new ISO 15836 in the Dublin Core, to help describe journal articles and audiences.

Anwar Choudhury, Director of Markets Technology & Innovation at the OeE, said:

"Developing the e-GMS to make it more fully meet the requirements of the public sector supports the commitment to drive up the use of key services. It will better meet the information retrieval and management needs of the consumers and of government, enabling e-government services to be designed around the needs of citizens."

NOTES TO EDITORS

The e-GMS is available on www.GovTalk.gov.uk

The first e-GMS was published in April 2002

The e-GMS forms part of the e-Government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF), which is the cornerstone of the UK e-government strategy. The e-GIF can be found at http://www.govtalk.gov.uk/schemasstandards/egif.asp

The e-GMS is based on the international Dublin Core standard (ISO 15836) for metadata.

The e-GMS is the result of national and international consultation and reflects best practice and advice from experts in both the public and private sectors working in this field.

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