Expanding our perspective: Building a sustainable metadata culture

Abstract

The Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation (ISRDI) at the University of Minnesota submitted an application for approval to the Core Trust Seal (CTS) in June 2022.  In the course of the protracted process to prepare ISRDI materials for the application, we learned five lessons that expanded our perspective on the role of the archive within our organization and committed our institute to building a sustainable metadata culture. By taking the time to review the specialized nature of ISRDI as it developed over time, clarify and document the processes that developed as the intitute matured and expanded, and applying the standards and guidelines supported by the CTS, ISDRI is now in a position to more easily identify areas of future process development and address outstanding needs in terms of our documentation and preservation of our work. These lessons are applicable to research organizations that include the responsibility to preserve a record of their work in the mid- and long-term.