1. Add wikitext parameters

Pass any of the parameters listed in the parameters table below directly to the template. The values appear in the yellow user-contributed box, alongside (or instead of) the DPLA-authored values:

{{DPLA metadata
 |description = An expanded narrative of the scene depicted, with context not present in the source catalog.
 |author      = Smith, John, 1842-1901
 |date        = 1870-04
}}

The yellow box accepts either {{Information}}-style or {{Artwork}}-style parameter names where they differ — see the parameters table for the full set of accepted aliases.

To point at related images or alternate versions of the file (the standard {{Artwork}} / {{Information}} "Other versions" idiom), pass one or more {{Other version}} calls to the other versions parameter:

{{DPLA metadata
 |other versions = {{other version|Alternate scan.jpg}} {{other version|Another crop.jpg}}
}}

Related images can also be added structurally via related image (P6802) (related image) SDC statements — the yellow-box row renders from either source.

2. Add a non-DPLA SDC statement

Any SDC statement on a property the template renders, when not marked as DPLA-authored (i.e. lacking the determination method or standard (P459) determined by GLAM institution and stated at its website (Q61848113) qualifier), is treated as user-contributed and appears in the yellow box.

This is the recommended path for multilingual translations: add a monolingual-text statement on title (P1476) (title) or original catalog description (P10358) (description) in your language without the DPLA determination-method qualifier. The translation will appear in the yellow box alongside the DPLA-authored English value.

Explicit wikitext parameters take precedence over SDC fallbacks when both are present for the same field.

Current state

User:DPLA bot today uploads files with a {{Artwork}}-based wikitext block. The {{DPLA metadata}} template is not yet written at upload time; it is a parallel rendering option that displays the same metadata from the file's structured data (SDC) once the SDC sync phase has populated it. If you see a file using {{Artwork}} rather than this template, that is the normal current state — both renderings co-exist on Commons during the transition described below.

Planned workflow for new uploads

The template is designed to support the following lifecycle, which will become DPLA bot's default once the upload code is migrated:

1. Upload — every file is uploaded with the {{DPLA metadata}} template populated by explicit wikitext parameters (title, description, creator, date, etc.). Wikitext parameters are necessary at this step because MediaWiki's upload API does not allow SDC statements to be attached in the same request, and Commons will not tolerate a file landing with no readable description even briefly.
2. SDC sync — a subsequent edit posts the same metadata as MediaInfo structured data via wbeditentity. At this point the wikitext parameters become redundant — the same values now live in SDC and the Lua module renders them automatically.
3. Cleanup — a one-time follow-up edit removes the redundant wikitext parameters, leaving a bare {{DPLA metadata}} invocation. The template then renders the file's metadata entirely from SDC, so any subsequent edit DPLA makes to the source data flows through to the displayed page without re-editing the wikitext.

Step 3 is what makes the SDC the single source of truth: explicit wikitext parameters override SDC on display (see "Editing DPLA-uploaded files" above), so leaving them in place would mask any future SDC corrections.

Adoption of community-uploaded files

DPLA's pipeline includes duplicate-detection logic that identifies files already on Commons matching a DPLA item (typically uploaded by a Commons editor directly from the partner's catalog or from Flickr). When the pipeline adopts such a file into the DPLA system — renaming it to the canonical ... - DPLA - <id>.<ext> form — the editor-contributed metadata in the existing wikitext is migrated into {{DPLA metadata}}'s parameters, preserving attribution and any details the original uploader recorded. SDC sync then layers the DPLA-authoritative values on top, which appear in the blue box; the migrated editor values continue to appear in the yellow user-contributed box.

This adoption flow is not yet implemented; today's pipeline handles the duplicate detection and SDC sync against the {{Artwork}}-based wikitext format.

Template parameters

Additional information

The template is intended to be used in the following namespaces: the File namespace

The template is intended to be used by the following user groups: no user group specified

Placement:

Relies on:
Module:DPLA (rendering logic), Template:License from structured data (license display), Template:Institution (institution row), Template:Divbox (box framing), Template:NoC-US (RightsStatements.org NoC-US display).

How to add your language

1. Open Module:DPLA/i18n for editing.
2. Copy the existing en = { ... } block.
3. Paste it below the English block and rename the key to your language code (e.g. fr = for French, de = for German, pt-br = for Brazilian Portuguese).
4. Translate each string on the right of the = sign. Keep the keys (left side) unchanged.
5. Save. The new translation is picked up on the next page render — no admin action needed.

Comments at the top of the module page describe each key, what it represents, and any per-key translation notes.

A few translation notes

• creator ≠ "Author". DPLA's source institutions are primarily archives, where the creator (per the Society of American Archivists definition) is the entity responsible for the records' creation or aggregation, not necessarily the author of any single item. For example, a folder of correspondence to the White House from the public has the Office of the President as its creator, even though the President didn't write the letters. Choose the archival-records term in your language rather than the literary-authorship one.

• Banner strings preserve the DPLA interwiki link. banner_dpla and banner_user contain a [[w:Digital Public Library of America|Digital Public Library of America]] link. You can translate the visible label inside the pipe; the link target before the pipe must stay as-is.

• $1 / $2 placeholders in page_n and partnership_text_* are substituted at render time with the page number, institution name, or hub name. Keep them in place; you can reorder them as your language's grammar requires.

• Short labels inside link cells. file_url, iiif_manifest, catalog_record, and circa appear inline next to small icons. Keep them brief.

Labels translated elsewhere

The following labels reuse existing Commons file-information messages, which already carry translations into many languages via translatewiki.net. To improve those translations, register an account at translatewiki.net and translate the messages there; no edit to this template or Module:DPLA/i18n is needed:

• Title — MediaWiki:Wm-license-artwork-title
• Description — MediaWiki:Wm-license-information-description
• Date — MediaWiki:Wm-license-information-date
• Source — MediaWiki:Wm-license-information-source
• Permission — MediaWiki:Wm-license-information-permission

If a viewer's language is missing from one of these messages on Commons, the module falls back to the English string.

Wikidata-backed fallbacks

For six Module:DPLA/i18n keys, the module also consults the matched Wikidata label as an intermediate fallback — between the i18n table and the English baseline. Editors who add their language to Module:DPLA/i18n always win, but if a viewer's language hasn't been added there yet, Wikidata's community-maintained label catches the gap for these concepts:

• creator → creator (Q59275219) (archival creator)
• subject → subject (Q12310021)
• catalog record → catalog record (Q59211006)
• circa → circa (Q5727902)
• IIIF manifest → International Image Interoperability Framework (Q22682088)
• DPLA ID → P760 (Wikidata property — labels follow the same fallback chain as items)

So the priority order, per label, is: reused MediaWiki message (if applicable) → Module:DPLA/i18n[viewer-lang] → Wikidata label of the matched item or property in viewer-lang → English. Adding a translation to Module:DPLA/i18n is still useful for overriding wording (e.g. a more idiomatic local term than the literal Wikidata label) but no longer strictly required for these six keys.

This fallback is deliberately limited to single-noun concepts that match a Wikidata entity precisely. Institution, Partnership, and Page N don't use it because their Wikidata labels drift semantically across languages or carry a placeholder the WD label doesn't accommodate.