Source metadata schema

Structured front matter for every annotated source

Every file in sources/ except the index is a source record. Front matter is the machine-readable catalogue. Prose below the front matter is the annotation.

This schema is what the issue’s example YAML was aiming at, with two deliberate adjustments:

1. Historical creators are stored in source_authors (and a listing string author) so they are not confused with website maintainers.
2. reference / finding-aid is stored as reference-finding-aid so values stay token-safe. Display language may use the slash form.

Required fields

---
title: "Document title"
date: 1990-01-01
date_display: "c. 1990"
date_precision: approximate
id: src-short-stable-id
record_status: catalogue-record
source_authors:
  - "Name or corporate author"
author: "Listing-friendly creator string"
source_type: primary
availability: known-to-exist-copy-sought
verification_status: bibliographically-confirmed
---

Data table

Field	Type	Required	Notes
title	string	yes	Item title, not a claim
date	ISO date	yes	Used for sorting; may be a midpoint for a range
date_display	string	yes	Human form (c. 1987, November 2008, 1993–95)
date_precision	token	yes	exact | approximate | contested | unknown
id	string	yes	Stable src-... identifier
record_status	token	yes	example-template | catalogue-record | draft | complete
source_authors	list	yes	Historical creators
author	string	recommended	Shown in table listings
source_type	token	yes	See vocabularies
availability	token	yes	See vocabularies
verification_status	token	yes	See evidence statuses

Recommended fields

Data table

Field	Type	Notes
period	token	precursor | creekview | ecpm | design-pilot | province-wide | later-review | unknown
organizations	list	Display names or future org slugs
people	list	Display names or person_id values
topics	list	See topic vocabulary
external_url	URL	Stable public location
archived_url	URL	Internet Archive or equivalent, when one already exists
bibtex_key	string	Key in references.bib
document_path	path	Only if a file is hosted under documents/
rights_note	string	Copyright / permission status
example	boolean	true only on the labelled template

Page body

After the front matter, include:

1. A status callout when the item is a template, wanted source, or otherwise incomplete
2. An identification table (what you know, and from where)
3. An annotation that states what was actually seen
4. Open questions
5. Links to history, people, or timeline records that rely on the item

Example

The labelled demonstration record is sources/example-template-source-record.qmd.