This bibliometric study explores the evolution of open scholarly metadata research from 1995 to 2024, emphasizing its implications for science and technology libraries. Analyzing publication trends, key contributors, and thematic developments, it reveals metadata’s critical role in managing digital collections, fostering interoperability, and promoting open access. Tools like VOSviewer and Biblioshiny were used to map trends, citation impacts, and keyword co-occurrence, identifying actionable strategies for libraries to adopt emerging standards. Results indicate significant growth in metadata research, with themes like linked data and FAIR principles driving advancements in scholarly communication. The study highlights global collaboration trends, revealing disparities and opportunities for inclusive contributions. Findings provide practical insights for libraries to enhance discoverability, scalability, and user engagement while addressing challenges in metadata governance and quality. Future directions include leveraging artificial intelligence and semantic web technologies to align metadata practices with evolving research needs. By advancing open science principles, metadata research continues to enable seamless data sharing, interdisciplinary collaboration, and equitable access to knowledge. This study provides actionable insights for libraries to adopt metadata frameworks that foster equitable knowledge access, with global collaboration and FAIR-aligned automation emerging as central trends. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.