The Role of PREMIS Preservation Metadata in Information Management in Virtual Museums

Through application of novel information technologies, virtual museums try to deliver the data to their users in any form and at any time that this requires information and resource management. Therefore, the use of metadata that is in accordance with novel technologies is necessary in main virtual environments. Each of the metadata has distinct responsibilities and can cooperate and have complementary roles along with others and through expressing museum objects characteristic, metadata describes them in a systematic way. The standard PREMIS preservation metadata maintenance schema, which is based on XML, has been developed in order to record metadata related to maintaining information resource in digital packages. In other words, this metadata provides the possibility of self documentation for digital data. This standard schema suggests an aggregate of kernel and application metadata elements. Every digital package should be aware of this aggregate in order to preserve its resources in long-term. Findings indicate that PREMIS preservation metadata has a determining role in optimal information management in virtual museums.