Collection Level Description

A review of existing practice

...an eLib supporting study

3. Collection Description

3.8 WHOIS++ / ROADS

WHOIS++ is a simple Internet search and retrieval protocol that allows clients and servers to exchange structured records, based on WHOIS++ templates [WHOISTEMP]. The ROADS software [ROADS] utilises WHOIS++ to provide a suite of tools to help in the cataloguing of Internet resources, using a common resource description format based on IAFA templates [IAFA]. ROADS templates are compatible with WHOIS++ templates.

ROADS templates look very much like the headers on an e-mail message or Usenet News posting, but many of the names are different. Resource descriptions, known as records, may either be created by hand, using a text editor, or entered via a Web form. Once a record is in the database it may again be edited via a Web form, or by hand. A number of default resource description templates are provided with the ROADS software. Each of these is intended for describing a particular type of resource:

DOCUMENT - e.g. a book or technical report
FAQ - a Frequently Asked Questions document
IMAGE - e.g. a GIF or JPEG object
MAILARCHIVE - the location of a mailing list archive
ORGANIZATION - information about an organisation
PROJECT - information about a project
SERVICE - information about an on-line service
SOFTWARE - information about a software package, e.g. ROADS
SOUND - e.g. an AIFF or WAV object
TRAINMAT - information about on-line training materials
USENET - information about a Usenet News conference
USER - information about a person
VIDEO - e.g. an MPEG or QuickTime object

The ROADS software is typically used to build and maintain Internet Subject Gateways - catalogues of Internet resources. The subject gateway maintainer is free to change the templates distributed with the ROADS software, and new templates may be created either for describing new types of resource - or as alternatives to the distributed templates.

3.8.1 Collection Description using ROADS

The default templates provide a framework for describing commonly occurring objects such as documents, images and sounds. In addition, more nebulous things such as network services can be described using the SERVICE template. (See section 4.3 for a more detailed description of the ROADS SERVICE template.) In practice, most subject gateways using the ROADS software also use the SERVICE template to describe collections.

More recently, an experimental ROADS COLLECTION template [ROADSCOLL] has been developed, based on the work of the eLib Collection Description Working Group [ELIBCOLL].

3.8.2 Examples

Here is an example of a completed ROADS SERVICE record:

Template-Type: SERVICE
Handle: SOSIG428
Title: UKBORDERS Information
Copyright-Owner: JISC, ESRC
Keywords: Geography, Digitised Boundary Data (DBD), Census,
 Demography, Population, GIS, Computer Aided Mapping
Description: UKBORDERS provides the digitised boundary data
 associated with the 1991 Census of Population. The boundary
 data allows users to map 1991 Census data systematically at
 any scale from small area to the whole country and can be
 used to design new zones from the small area building blocks
 and to integrate census data fully in geographical
 information systems. Academic staff and students of UK Higher
 Education institutions may access the digitised boundary data
 from the Universities of Edinburgh only after completing the
 required registration process. The data is also available
 through MIDAS at Manchester.
Subject-Descriptor-Scheme-v1: UDC
Subject-Descriptor-v1: 312 91
Admin-Email-v1: ukborders@ed.ac.uk
URI-v1: http://datalib.ed.ac.uk/UKBORDERS/start.html
Record-Last-Modified-Email: ecdh@ssa.bris.ac.uk
Record-Last-Modified-Date: Tue Sep 15 23:00:00 1997

Here is an example of an experimental ROADS COLLECTION record:

Template-Type:  COLLECTION
Handle: 918222860-6059
Title: National Child Development Study
Service-Identifier-v1: http://midas.ac.uk/surveys/ncds/
Description-v1: National Child Development Study, a longitudinal survey
 which follows the lives of a group of people born in Great Britain
 between 3 and 9 March 1958 (about 17,000 individuals). To date, there
 have been five attempts to trace all members of the birth cohort in order
 to monitor their physical, educational and social development. The NCDS
 is used for a wide range of research, including medical/health research.
 The data covers a long time period and includes a wide range of
 questions, plus physical measurements, such as weight and height.
Service-ChargingPolicy-v1: Free subject to site or individual
 registration.  Access requires the user to become a registered user of
 the dataset (http://dawww.essex.ac.uk/ordering_data/) and also to be
 registered with MIDAS (http://midas.ac.uk/regn.html)
Service-Admin-Name-v1: The Data Archive
Service-Admin-Identifier-v1: http://dawww.essex.ac.uk/
Service-Admin-Name-v2: MIDAS
Service-Admin-Identifier-v2: http://midas.ac.uk/
Subject-v1: Health Studies; Medicine and Dentistry; Anatomy and
 Physiology; Pharmacology and Pharmacy; Nursing
Subject-v2: Social Sciences; Economics; Social Policy and
 Administration; Sociology; Social Work; Anthropology; Politics; Law;
 Business and Management Studies; Library and Information Management;
 Communication and Media Studies; Education; Sports-Related Subjects
Destination: 
Comments: Automatically created from JISC Web pages.
Record-Last-Modified-Date: 1999-02-05
Record-Last-Modified-Email: a.powell@ukoln.ac.uk

Andy Powell, UKOLN
Martin Hamilton, Loughborough University