Dublin Core Elements

 Title | Creator | Date | Subject | Publisher
Type | Description | Contributor | Format | Source
Rights | Identifier | Language | Relation | Coverage

4.9. Format

Label: Format
Element Description: The data format of the resource, used to identify the software and possibly hardware that might be needed to display or operate the resource. For the sake of interoperability, Format should be selected from an enumerated list that is currently under development in the workshop series.
Guidelines for creation of content:
Electronic formats, such as text/html, ASCII, Postscript file, executable application, or JPEG image may be included in this area. In these cases, assign a Format from Internet Media Types (MIME types). In principle, formats can include physical media such as books, serials, or other non-electronic media.

Information concerning the size of a resource may be included in the content of the Format element. In resource discovery this might be used as a criterion to select resources of interest, since a user may need to evaluate whether they can make use of the resource within the infrastructure available to them. Examples
<META NAME="DC.Format" CONTENT="image/gif">
Title="Dublin Core icon"
Identifier="http://purl.org/metadata/dublin_core/images/dc2.gif"
Type="image"
Format="image/gif 4kB"

<META NAME="DC.Subject" CONTENT="Saturn">
<META NAME="DC.Type" CONTENT="image">
<META NAME="DC.Format" CONTENT="image/gif 640 x 512 pixels">
<META NAME="DC.Identifier" CONTENT="http://www.not.iac.es/newwww/photos/images/satnot.gif">
Title="The Bronco Buster"
Creator="Frederic Remington"
Type="physical object"
Format="bronze 22 in."

Qualifiers for DC.Format

    From LC
      SCHEME:
        IMT (i.e. MIME)
        DCPMT (Dublin Core Physical Medium Type)
          This is a new concept discussed by the Subelement Working Group at DC5. It would be an enumerated list of types of physical media when an IMT is inappropriate (e.g. a nonelectronic resource)
      TYPE: not necessary
    From UK
      Scheme
        IMT
          An Internet Media Type (aka MIME type). This is the default scheme value if the scheme is not explicitly stated.
        MIME
          A synonym for IMT.
        Freetext
          A freetext description of the format of the resource.
      Type: None necessary