RSLP Collection Description

RSLP Collection Description Concertation Day

School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)

University of London
Wednesday, 22 September 1999

The RSLP Collection Description project

The description of collections will become increasingly important in the context of network library services and an important underpinning for developing a collective resource. The creation of collection descriptions allows the owners or curators of collections to disclose information about their existence and availability to interested parties.

The RSLP Collection Description project will work together with other RSLP projects to enable them to describe their collections in a consistent and machine readable way. Based on a thorough modelling of collections and their catalogues, the project will develop a collection description metadata schema and associated syntax using the Resource Description Framework (RDF). It will develop a simple Web-based tool in order that projects can describe their collections and it will prototype a search service based on a database of such descriptions.

For a more detailed introduction, see the project Web-site at:

http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/rslp/

In collaboration with Michael Heaney (Associate Director, Oxford University Library Services Directorate), we are in the process of developing 'An Analytical Model of Collections and their Catalogues'. This work will form the basis of the RSLP collection description schema and the tools that are developed as part of the project. The model will build on existing work including the Dublin Core, ISAD(G), the IFLA Functional Requirements of Bibliographic Records and the work of the eLib Collection Description Working Group. We would like to validate our approach through a concertation day with as many other RSLP projects as possible.

A draft version of the model will be made available in advance, via the project Web-site, for people attending the concertation day.

Outline of the Day

A detailed programme for the day will be made available as soon as possible. The morning session will consist of presentations of the 'model', the associated schema and an introduction to the kinds of tools and prototype services we expect to see being developed based on RSLP collection descriptions. The afternoon session will consist of smaller discussion groups looking at aspects of the model and schema in more detail.

The day will be held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London on 22 September 1999. Registration and coffee will be at 10.30am for an 11.00am start. We expect the day to end at around 4.30pm. Lunch will be provided.

Participants

All RSLP projects are invited to send one participant to the concertation day. Attendance will be free, though projects are expected to fund their own travel arrangements. The day is not expected to be technical in nature. Some knowledge of collections and their management, cataloguing and/or archival description would be very beneficial.

Registration

Please respond to this message (to rslp-registration@ukoln.ac.uk) if you would like to attend the concertation day, supplying the following details: 
Name                 :
Email address        :
Postal address       :
Project              :
Organisation         :
Special requirements :
(e.g. vegetarian)
For more information about the day contact:

Andy Powell, UKOLN
01225 323933
a.powell@ukoln.ac.uk
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/rslp/concertation/

Maintained by: Andy Powell
Last updated: 16-September-1999

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