What's metadata got to do with it?

If you’ve found yourself lying awake nights recently because the thought of metadata makes you feel confused and inadequate, the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) have just come to your rescue with a 20 page (PDF) guide to Understanding Metadata. The initial pages describe what metadata is and what is does, and provide a not too technical introduction. There's is also a brief overview of various metadata schemas, such as IEEE LOM and Dublin Core.