This set of official definitions of the Dublin Core metadata element set is based on: http://purl.oclc.org/metadata/dublin_core_elements
Element Descriptions
1. Title
Label: TITLE
The name given to the resource by the CREATOR or PUBLISHER. Where possible standard authority files should be consulted when entering the content of this element. For example the Library of Congress or British Library title lists can be used, but always remember to indicate the source using the 'scheme' qualifier. If authorities are to be used, these would need to be indicated as a value qualifier
2. Author or Creator
Label: CREATOR
The person or organisation primarily responsible for creating the intellectual content of the resource. For example, authors in the case of written documents, artists, photographers, or illustrators in the case of visual resources. Note that this element does not refer to the person who is responsible for digitizing a work; this belongs in the CONTRIBUTOR element. So in the case of a machine-readable version of King Lear held by the OTA, the CREATOR remains William Shakespeare, and not the person who transcribed it into digital form. Again, standard authority files should be consulted for the content of this element.
3. Subject and Keywords
Label: SUBJECT
The topic of the resource. Typically, subject will be expressed as keywords or phrases that describe the subject or content of the resource. The use of controlled vocabularies and formal classification schemas is encouraged.
4. Description
Label: DESCRIPTION. A textual description of the content of the resource, including abstracts in the case of document-like objects or content descriptions in the case of visual resources.
5. Publisher
Label: PUBLISHER
The entity responsible for making the resource available in its present form, such as a publishing house, a university department, or a corporate entity.
6. Other Contributor
Label: CONTRIBUTOR
A person or organisation not specified in a CREATOR element who has made significant intellectual contributions to the resource but whose contribution is secondary to any person or organisation specified in a CREATOR element (for example, editor, transcriber, and illustrator).
7. Date
Label: DATE
The date the resource was made available in its present form. Recommended best practice is an 8 digit number in the form YYYY-MM-DD as defined in http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-datetime, a profile of ISO 8601. In this scheme, the date element 1994-11-05 corresponds to November 5, 1994. Many other schema are possible but, if used, they should be identified in an unambiguous manner.
8. Resource Type
Label: TYPE
The category of the resource, such as home page, novel, poem, working paper, technical report, essay, dictionary. For the sake of interoperability, TYPE should be selected from an enumerated list that is under development in the workshop series at the time of publication of this document. See http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Metadata/types.html for current thinking on the application of this element
9. Format
Label: FORMAT
The data format of the resource, used to identify the software and possibly hardware that might be needed to display or operate the resource. For the sake of interoperability, FORMAT should be selected from an enumerated list that is under development in the workshop series at the time of publication of this document.
10. Resource Identifier
Label: IDENTIFIER
Unique string or number used to identify the resource. Examples for networked resources include URLs and URNs (when implemented). Other globally-unique identifiers, such as International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN) or other formal names would also be candidates for this element in the case of off-line resources.
11. Source
Label: SOURCE
Unique string or number used to identify the work from which this resource was derived, if applicable. For example, a PDF version of a novel might have a SOURCE element containing an ISBN number for the physical book from which the PDF version was derived.
12. Language
Label: LANGUAGE
Language(s) of the intellectual content of the resource. Where practical, the content of this field should coincide with RFC 1766. See: http://info.internet.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc/files/rfc1766.txt
13. Relation
Label: RELATION
The relationship of this resource to other resources. The intent of this element is to provide a means to express relationships among resources that have formal relationships to others, but exist as discrete resources themselves. For example, images in a document, chapters in a book, or items in a collection. Formal specification of RELATION is currently under development. Users and developers should understand that use of this element is currently considered to be experimental.
14. Coverage
Label: COVERAGE
The spatial and/or temporal characteristics of the resource. Formal specification of COVERAGE is currently under development. Users and developers should understand that use of this element is currently considered to be experimental.
15. Rights Management
Label: RIGHTS
A link to a copyright notice, to a rights-management statement, or to a service that would provide information about terms of access to the resource. Formal specification of RIGHTS is currently under development. Users and developers should understand that use of this element is currently considered to be experimental.