Overview
ISO/TS 17948:2014 - Health informatics - Traditional Chinese medicine literature metadata - defines a core set of metadata and the formal methods for describing Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) literature. The Technical Specification addresses storage, processing, recording, maintenance and exchange of TCM literature, reflecting the special characteristics of ancient and TCM-specific texts (multiple versions, archaic vocabulary, transcription issues). It provides a structured metadata model to improve discoverability, preservation and interoperability of TCM resources.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Core metadata scope: identification, content, distribution, constraint, quality, maintenance and relation sections - each mapped to discrete metadata elements and element refinements.
- Elements dictionary and standard table: detailed element definitions (e.g., Title refinements, Creator, Contributor, Type, Format, Identifier, Subject, Ancient Physicians, TCM School of Thought, Data From, Coverage).
- Element refinements & encoding schemes: support for refinements (e.g., translated title, phonetic guides, edition of ancient books) and encoding schemes (controlled vocabularies, formal notations, parsing rules) to ensure consistent interpretation.
- Practical metadata fields: identifiers (URI, DOI, ISBN), format descriptors (digital file formats - MIME types recommended), physical characteristics (size, capacity, binding), provenance (creator/era/dynasty), and preservation metadata (temperature, humidity, storage carrier).
- Relations and lifecycle: relationship types for lineage and collections (inherits from, translated from, replaces, collection series, fascicle, appendix) and maintenance elements for preservation actions.
- Interoperability guidance: draws on Dublin Core concepts and other metadata sources to align TCM metadata with existing standards while covering TCM-specific needs.
Applications and benefits
- Improved cataloging and discoverability for TCM digital libraries, archives and institutional repositories.
- Standardized metadata model for digitization projects of ancient TCM texts, enabling accurate versioning and provenance tracking.
- Enhanced data exchange between hospitals, research centers, libraries and national TCM collections for clinical research, education and preservation.
- Support for preservation planning (environmental conditions, storage) and rights management for historic materials.
Who should use it
- Health informatics teams and metadata librarians working with TCM collections
- Archivists and conservators involved in digitization and preservation
- Software developers building TCM digital repositories or bibliographic systems
- Researchers and institutions needing interoperable exchange of TCM literature metadata
Related standards
- ISO 15836 (Dublin Core) - general metadata element set referenced for common elements
- ISO 13119 / HICKR - source referenced for some metadata elements
- IANA/Internet media types (MIME) - recommended for digital file format encoding
Keywords: ISO/TS 17948:2014, TCM literature metadata, health informatics, Traditional Chinese Medicine, metadata standard, Dublin Core, digital preservation, metadata elements.