What is metadata? Simply put, metadata is data about data. It is an organizational tool for all the relevant information necessary for assisting a user in finding digitized items during a search, by using key identifiers. It is comparable to the information found in a library when using a card catalog, where one can find books according to subject and type of information found in the book. Other helpful information include titles, dates published, location, rights statements and brief, physical descriptions of the items. Even items as simple as those found in home kitchens can be digitized, stored and catalogued for future uses. Creating metadata information for search purposes is particularly important for Digital Humanities because of how crucial the data is for conducting research, teaching others, assisting with analysis, but also storage of digitized items for preservation and future use.

Two platforms that facilitate record keeping and digital organizing by using standard procedures are Tropy and Omeka. Tropy can be a useful tool for organizing photographs and documents through cataloging all the relevant information necessary for bibliographical documentation. This includes titles, creator of the specific item, date created and where it can be found. Tropy does not store the specific digital item, but rather links the information to where it can be found. This is particularly helpful for researchers who might spend several years conducting research before going back to use of the organized items. With Omeka, those working in the field of digital humanities have the ability to create digitized exhibits that utilize text, images and videos, plus all the necessary bibliographic information. For photographs from our kitchen, Tropy provided a means to organize the pictures and their relevant data, while Omeka provided a platform for arranging the photographs to build an exhibit with corresponding text.

Inputting the metadata of an item is similar to how libraries utilize card catalogs in order to make searching for a particular book easier. This information includes titles and names, author or creator, date created and its location, and any physical descriptions. How items are described will impact how they are found through search engines, which is why words used are so important. Like card catalogs, metadata searches have been made easier through the development of standards.