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Good metadata is the foundation of a useful archive. A record that is vague, incomplete, or inconsistently filled in becomes invisible to anyone searching for it — and invisible to future generations who depend on the archive. The guidelines on this page help you write DMS records that are specific, consistent, and discoverable.

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General principles

Be specific and descriptive. Avoid generic entries. Metadata exists to help people find and understand heritage items.
AvoidPrefer
PhotoMarket Day at Dzaleka, May 2024
A storyJourney to Dzaleka: A Story of Hope
DocumentCommunity School Registration Records, 2018
Some musicTraditional Songs of the Great Lakes Region
Write for discovery. Think about how someone searching the archive would describe this item. Include the terms they would use in the title, description, and subject tags — not just the terms that are obvious to you. Be consistent. Apply the same conventions across all records in a collection: the same tag vocabulary, the same location names, the same date formats. Inconsistency breaks search and browsing.

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Writing titles

A title is the first thing anyone sees. Make it count.
  • Keep titles concise but informative — under 100 characters is ideal
  • Include the subject and context when possible
  • Add a date or location to distinguish similar items
  • Use the item’s original title if one exists
When two items have the same subject, the date or location is what makes them distinct. “Market Day at Dzaleka, May 2024” is unambiguous; “Market Day” is not.

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Before and after

Journey to Dzaleka: A Story of Hope
Market Day at Dzaleka, May 2024
Community School Registration Records, 2018
Traditional Songs of the Great Lakes Region
Titles like Photo 001 or Untitled are permanently opaque — they carry no information that helps anyone find the record, and they cannot be improved without going back to the original contributor.

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Writing descriptions

The description field is the most important field for discoverability and context. A good description tells the story behind the item. Answer these five questions in 2–5 sentences:

What

What kind of item is this? What does it depict, record, or contain?

Who

Who is involved — as narrator, subject, creator, or community?

When

When did the event occur, or when was the item created?

Where

Where did it take place? Be as specific as possible within the camp.

Why

Why does this item matter? What themes or significance does it carry?

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Example description

This description from examples/story.json demonstrates all five questions: 
An oral history account of a Congolese family's journey from Bukavu to
Dzaleka Refugee Camp in 2015. The narrator describes the challenges of
displacement, the experience of crossing borders, and the sense of community
found upon arrival at Dzaleka. This story captures themes of resilience,
loss, and rebuilding life in a new place.
  • What: oral history account
  • Who: a Congolese family, the narrator
  • When: 2015
  • Where: Bukavu to Dzaleka Refugee Camp
  • Why: themes of resilience, loss, and rebuilding
Write the description so that someone unfamiliar with Dzaleka can understand the significance of the item. Include relevant historical or cultural context.

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Choosing subject tags

Subject tags are keywords that power search and browsing. They are stored in the subject array as lowercase strings.

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Rules

  • Use 3–10 tags per record
  • Include both broad terms (oral history) and specific terms (Congo)
  • Add cultural terms where appropriate (Great Lakes region)
  • Use lowercase for all tags
  • Include the people, places, and themes central to the item

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Suggested tag categories

CategoryExamples
Item typeoral history, photograph, field recording, transcription
Themedisplacement, resilience, education, community, arrival
Culture / originCongo, Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia, Great Lakes region
Locationmarket, school, community center, Section A
Peoplewomen, youth, elders, children
Time2024, early settlement era, 2015 displacement

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Example from source

The story.json example uses seven well-chosen tags that span three categories: 
"subject": [
  "oral history",
  "displacement",
  "Congo",
  "journey",
  "resilience",
  "community",
  "arrival"
]
oral history is the item type. Congo is the cultural origin. displacement, journey, resilience, community, and arrival are themes — all specific, all meaningful.

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Location data

The location object anchors an item in physical space. Consistent location names are essential for browsing by area.

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Accepted camp area names

Always use the canonical names below for the area field. Do not invent abbreviations or alternative spellings.
area valueDescription
Section AResidential zone A
Section BResidential zone B
Section CResidential zone C
Market AreaThe main trading and market area
Community CenterThe central community gathering space
Main GroundThe main open ground
School AreaThe primary and secondary school area
Health CenterThe camp health facility area

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Coordinates

Dzaleka Refugee Camp approximate coordinates:
Value
Latitude-13.7833
Longitude33.9833
When you know the precise location of the item within the camp, provide specific coordinates. When you do not, use the camp-level coordinates above and rely on the area field for specificity.

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Example location object

"location": {
  "name": "Dzaleka Refugee Camp",
  "area": "Community Center",
  "latitude": -13.7833,
  "longitude": 33.9833
}
Never leave area as a free-form note like "near the market" or "block 3". Use only the canonical names above so that records can be grouped and filtered reliably.

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Quality checklist

Before submitting a record, verify every item below. You can also run dms validate your-record.json to check schema compliance.
  • Title is specific and descriptive — no generic labels like “Photo” or “Untitled”
  • type is correctly chosen from the allowed values
  • Description answers What, Who, When, Where, and Why (2+ sentences)
  • language code is correct (e.g., en, sw, fr, rw)
  • Creator(s) are listed with accurate roles
  • At least 3 subject tags are included, all lowercase
  • location.name is set; location.area uses a canonical camp area name
  • rights.license and rights.access_level are set appropriately
  • Consent has been obtained from all people featured in the record
  • Record passes schema validation: dms validate your-record.json