A framework for contextual information in digital collections

Purpose This paper sets out to investigate the meaning, role and implications of contextual information associated with digital collections. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on an extensive review and analysis of both the scholarly literature from many disciplines about the concept of context and the professional literature (including standards) related to the description of information artifacts. The paper provides an analysis of context, distinguishing three main ways in which that term has been used within the scholarly literature. It then discusses contextual information within digital collections, and presents a framework for contextual information. It goes on to discuss existing standards and guidance documents for encoding information related to the nine classes of contextual entities, concluding with a discussion of potential implications for descriptive practices through the lifecycle of digital objects. Findings The paper presents a framework for contextual information that is based on nine classes of contextual entities: object, agent, occurrence, purpose, time, place, form of expression, concept/abstraction, and relationship. Research limitations/implications Research and development about and in support of digital collections will benefit from a clear articulation of the types, roles, importance and elements of contextual information. Practical implications Future users of digital objects will probably have numerous tools for discovering preserved digital objects relevant to their interests, but making meaningful use and sense of the digital objects will also require capture, collection and management of contextual information. Originality/value This paper synthesizes and extends a previously diffuse literature, in order to clarify and articulate core concepts in the management of digital collections.