Description Field

Field name: Your choice (default = "Description")

DC Element: Description

An account of the content of the resource. This could be an abstract, a table of contents, notes about the resource, or information about the physical description or condition of the resource. This field is meant to be a place to put any kind of free text describing the resource. Any kind of additional information that doesn't seem to fit into the other DC elements would be a candidate for "Description."

You can have more than one field mapped to DC Description. For instance, you might want to break down information about paintings into fields called "Measurements," "Label," "Inscription," "Captions," and "Notes." Sometimes there is additional information about a resource that is too detailed for DC Subject. For instance, an image of a plant could have the "Subject" = "Lodgepole pine", and then have DC Description fields for more detailed information about that plant: "Climate indicator," "Wetland status," "Successional status," "Typical habitat," and "Plant family."

Examples of field names:

  • Description
  • Notes
  • Physical description
  • Measurements
  • Typical habitat

Examples of data:

  • Caption information from Murray Morgan, One Man's Gold Rush, p. 60, notes.
  • 142 x 98 cm.
  • The article addresses the uniqueness of stucco works by Thai artisans, including the preparation of plaster which is composed of lime, sand, fiber and sugarcane. Stucco is usually used for internal decorations in Buddhist temples. Artists from Petchaburi province are famous for this craftmanship.
  • Subalpine (One of 6 category names set up for field "Climate indicator")

Recommended format:

  • Free text for general notes
  • Consistent format or terms for more specialized fields like "Measurements" or "Wetland status." Use a consistent form for terms (same term, same form).

Recommended controlled vocabulary:

  • None for free text notes
  • You may want to make your own standard list for more specialized fields.