Metadata and semantics research

Purpose – The purpose of this Guest Editorial is to introduce the papers in this special issue.Design/methodology/approach – A brief summary of the main contributions of the papers included in this issue is provided.Findings – The idea of this special issue was an outcome of the organization of activities of the First Online Conference on Metadata and Semantics Research (MTSR'05).Originality/value – The emphasis on “semantics” addresses the importance of the languages in which metadata records are created, their adequacy for the functions to be enabled and their modular design to adapt to present and future requirements.