Metadata

Information organisation, Hider (2012, p. 11) notes goes beyond the physical arrangement of resources, to also include the metadata which facilitates information resource retrieval through indexes, such as the school library catalogue.  Defined simply as “data about data” (Rowley & Hartley, 2008, p. 42), metadata can be more accurately defined in terms of its function, that is, structured data that describes the content of information resources in order to support identification, description, selection, retrieval and management. Metadata facilitates information retrieval through providing intellectual access, by assisting users to identify appropriate information resources, as well as assisting physical access, by indicating the location of such resources (Hider & Harvey, 2008, p. 5). 

References:

Hider, P. (2012). Information resource description: creating and managing metadata. London: Facet Publishing.

Hider, P., & Harvey, R. (2008). Organising knowledge in a global society: principles and practice in libraries and information centres (Rev. ed.). Wagga Wagga, N.S.W.: Charles Sturt University.

Rowley, J. E., & Hartley, R. J. (2008). Organizing knowledge: an introduction to managing access to information (4th ed.). Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.