The paratextual elements are here assimilated with metadata. For some years, in major computer systems, metadata and its interconnections have ultimately become more important than the data itself. Our world is currently modeled on our metadata and it is this information that computers are capable of exploiting in order to apprehend the relationships between humans or with other machines. The collection and exploitation of metadata are, as a result, crucial matters for any organization that deals with archives.
Sandra Chamaret & Loïc Horellou, Data Transmission