Metadata is "data that provides information about other data". In short, it's data about data.

Here are some examples of some types of metadata on some standard types of data you may have to work with:

A digital image may include metadata that describes how large the picture is, the color depth, the image resolution, when the image was created, the shutter speed, and other data. A text document's metadata may contain information about how long the document is, who the author is, when the document was written, and a short summary of the document. Metadata within web pages can also contain descriptions of page content, as well as key words linked to the content.

SEE Box: Admin Guide to Metadata for details and examples.

You've been hired as the new community liaison for North Brickton. They've aquired a library of digital photographs over the years, and are working to get a handle on what they have.

Your intern is very smart and started a CSV (comma-seperated value) file containing info about these photos, and now you're looking at ways to use that information.