Metadata systems capture and communicate information about transactions and the context in which they occur within an electronic record system. . . . Description, on the other hand, captures and communicates knowledge about the broad administrative and do

Metadata systems capture and communicate information about transactions and the context in which they occur within an electronic record system. . . . Description, on the other hand, captures and communicates knowledge about the broad administrative and documentary contexts of records creation within an organization as a whole as one moves further away from the original circumstances of creation. Its purpose is to preserve, perpetuate, and authenticate meaning over time so that it is available and comprehensible to all users – present and potential.