Canadian Metadata Forum Library and Archives of Canada The Library and Archives of Canada will host a two-day Canadian Metadata Forum, to be held on Friday, September 19 and Saturday, September 20, 2003 at 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa. The purpose of the Forum is to bring together participants from Canadian metadata communities, both government and non-government, such as libraries, archives, museums, industry, educational institutions and academia. Our goal is to cover a wide spectrum of metadata applications such as the use of geospatial and statistical metadata, metadata for multimedia objects, accessibility issues related to metadata, etc. to: � discover commonalities in approaches to improve information discovery using metadata; � develop a common perspective on Canadian metadata requirements and uses; � explore opportunities for leadership and coordination of metadata initiatives, and explore potential Canadian leadership roles in this field; � facilitate cross-fertilization and awareness of common issues among the different metadata communities in Canada; and � share information and build links between the various practitioner communities. Metadata is an important tool in addressing the problem of resource discovery on the Web because it provides a standard way of describing resources. The convergence of resource description standards and development of enabling infrastructure promise to improve the discovery and management of information for Canadians. Presentations are planned on all aspects of metadata including: � descriptions of standards developing in different communities for different applications; � discussions of challenges of interoperability between different types of resources; and � examples of practical implementations leveraging the power of metadata for Web resource exposure, discovery and management. We look forward to a successful Forum. For further information, please consult the Forum's Web site, www.nlc-bnc.ca/metaforum/ or contact Cindy Hick at (613) 726-7111 or by e-mail at <mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask] Roch Carrier Ian Wilson National Librarian National Archivist