Schema - RSLP Collection Description - Metadata

RSLP Collection Description

Collection Description Schema

Introduction

This document proposes a collection description schema, a structured set of metadata attributes, for describing collections within the RSLP. It is based on An Analytical Model of Collections and their Catalogues developed previously in the project.

A simplified view of the complete RSLP collection description model is presented in the diagram below:

A Collection is "an aggregation of physical and/or electronic items". A Location is "the physical or online (digital) place where a collection is held".

The schema presented here is intended to facilitate the simple description of Collections, Locations and related people or organisations (hereafter known as Agents), i.e. of the entities and relationships shown inside the red line in the above diagram. This includes:

descriptive attributes about the Collection,
descriptive attributes about the Location (or Locations),
identification and/or description of three related Agents, the Collector and Owner of the Collection and the Administrator of the Location,
external relationships - identification of other collections that are related to the collection being described.

RSLP collection description attributes

The following attributes are used to describe a Collection, its associated Location(s) and any associated Agent(s):

Collection

Attribute RDF property Definition

General attributes

Title dc:title The name of the collection.

Identifier dc:identifier A formal identifier for the collection.

Description dc:description A description of the collection.

Strength cld:strength
(sub-property of dc:description) An indication (free text or formalised) of the strength(s) of the collection.

Physical Characteristics dc:format The physical or digital characteristics of the collection.

Language dc:language The language of the items in the collection.

Type dc:type The type of the collection.

Access Control cld:accessControl
(sub-property of dc:rights) A statement of any access restrictions placed on the collection, including allowed users, charges, etc.

Accrual Status cld:accrualStatus
(sub-property of dc:description) A statement of accrual policy (closed, passive, active, partial/selective), accrual method (purchase, deposit)) and accrual periodicity (closed, irregular, periodic).

Legal Status cld:legalStatus
(sub-property of dc:description) A statement of the legal status of the collection.

Custodial History cld:custodialHistory
(sub-property of dc:description) A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the collection that are significant for its authenticity, integrity and interpretation.

Note cld:note
(sub-property of dc:description) Any general information about the collection.

Location cld:hasLocation
(sub-property of dc:relation) The identifier for the physical or online (digital) location of the collection.

Subject

Concept dc:subject A concept (keyword) of the items in the collection.

Object cld:objectName
(sub-property of dc:subject) An object name associated with the items in the collection.

Name cld:agentName
(sub-property of dc:subject) An personal or corporate name associated with the items in the collection.

Place dcq:spatial
(sub-property of dc:coverage) The spatial coverage of the items in the collection.

Time dcq:temporal
(sub-property of dc:coverage) The temporal coverage of the items in the collection.

Dates

Accumulation Date Range cld:accumulationDateRange
(a sub-property of dc:date) The range of dates over which the collection was accumulated.

Contents Date Range cld:contentsDateRange
(a sub-property of dc:date) The range of dates of the individual items within the collection.

Associated agents

Collector dc:creator The identifier for an agent who gathers (or gathered) the items in a collection together.

Owner cld:owner The identifier for an agent who has legal possession of the collection.

External relationships

Sub-collection dcq:hasPart
(sub-property of dc:relation) The identifier or name of a second collection contained within the current collection.

Super-collection dcq:isPartOf
(sub-property of dc:relation) The identifier or name of a second collection that contains the current collection.

Catalogue or description cld:hasDescription
(sub-property of dc:relation) The identifier or name of a second collection that describes the current collection (for example, the catalogue for the current collection).

Described collection cld:isDescriptionOf
(sub-property of dc:relation) The identifier or name of a second collection that is described by the current collection.

Associated collection cld:hasAssociation
(sub-property of dc:relation) The identifier or name of a second collection that is associated by provenance with the current collection.

Associated publication cld:hasPublication
(sub-property of dc:relation) The identifier or name of a publication that is based on the use, study, or analysis of the collection.

Location

Attribute RDF property Definition

General attributes

Name dc:title The name of the location.

Identifier dc:identifier A formal identifier for the location.

Access Conditions cld:accessConditions Hours of access, classes of permitted user, etc.

Held collection cld:isLocationOf
(sub-property of dc:relation) The identifier for a collection held at this physical or online (digital) location.

See also cld:seeAlso
(sub-property of dc:relation) The identifier of a resource that provides further information about this location (typically the URL for an organisational home page).

Associated agents

Administrator cld:administrator
(sub-property of dc:publisher) The identifier for an agent who has responsibility for the physical or electronic environment in which the collection is held.

Physical location

Postal address cld:address
(sub-property of dc:identifier) The full postal address for the physical location of the physical collection.

Post/zip code cld:postcode The post code or zip code for the physical location of the collection.

Country cld:country The country in which the collection is physically located.

Online location

Locator cld:locator
(sub-property of dc:identifier) The online location (URL) of an online (digital) collection.

Agent

Attribute RDF property Definition

General attributes

Name vcard:fn The name of the agent.

Identifier dc:identifier A formal identifier for the agent.

Organisation name vcard:org The organisational name of, or affiliated with, the agent.

Role vcard:role The role (typically an organisational role) fulfilled by the agent.

Telephone number vcard:voice
(sub-property of vcard:tel) The telephone number of the agent.

Fax number vcard:fax
(sub-property of vcard:tel) The fax number of the agent.

Email address vcard:email The electronic mail address of the agent.

Agent History cld:agentHistory An administrative history of, or biographical details on, the agent.

Collection
Attribute	RDF property	Definition
General attributes
Title	dc:title	The name of the collection.
Identifier	dc:identifier	A formal identifier for the collection.
Description	dc:description	A description of the collection.
Strength	cld:strength (sub-property of dc:description)	An indication (free text or formalised) of the strength(s) of the collection.
Physical Characteristics	dc:format	The physical or digital characteristics of the collection.
Language	dc:language	The language of the items in the collection.
Type	dc:type	The type of the collection.
Access Control	cld:accessControl (sub-property of dc:rights)	A statement of any access restrictions placed on the collection, including allowed users, charges, etc.
Accrual Status	cld:accrualStatus (sub-property of dc:description)	A statement of accrual policy (closed, passive, active, partial/selective), accrual method (purchase, deposit)) and accrual periodicity (closed, irregular, periodic).
Legal Status	cld:legalStatus (sub-property of dc:description)	A statement of the legal status of the collection.
Custodial History	cld:custodialHistory (sub-property of dc:description)	A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the collection that are significant for its authenticity, integrity and interpretation.
Note	cld:note (sub-property of dc:description)	Any general information about the collection.
Location	cld:hasLocation (sub-property of dc:relation)	The identifier for the physical or online (digital) location of the collection.
Subject
Concept	dc:subject	A concept (keyword) of the items in the collection.
Object	cld:objectName (sub-property of dc:subject)	An object name associated with the items in the collection.
Name	cld:agentName (sub-property of dc:subject)	An personal or corporate name associated with the items in the collection.
Place	dcq:spatial (sub-property of dc:coverage)	The spatial coverage of the items in the collection.
Time	dcq:temporal (sub-property of dc:coverage)	The temporal coverage of the items in the collection.
Dates
Accumulation Date Range	cld:accumulationDateRange (a sub-property of dc:date)	The range of dates over which the collection was accumulated.
Contents Date Range	cld:contentsDateRange (a sub-property of dc:date)	The range of dates of the individual items within the collection.
Associated agents
Collector	dc:creator	The identifier for an agent who gathers (or gathered) the items in a collection together.
Owner	cld:owner	The identifier for an agent who has legal possession of the collection.
External relationships
Sub-collection	dcq:hasPart (sub-property of dc:relation)	The identifier or name of a second collection contained within the current collection.
Super-collection	dcq:isPartOf (sub-property of dc:relation)	The identifier or name of a second collection that contains the current collection.
Catalogue or description	cld:hasDescription (sub-property of dc:relation)	The identifier or name of a second collection that describes the current collection (for example, the catalogue for the current collection).
Described collection	cld:isDescriptionOf (sub-property of dc:relation)	The identifier or name of a second collection that is described by the current collection.
Associated collection	cld:hasAssociation (sub-property of dc:relation)	The identifier or name of a second collection that is associated by provenance with the current collection.
Associated publication	cld:hasPublication (sub-property of dc:relation)	The identifier or name of a publication that is based on the use, study, or analysis of the collection.
Location
Attribute	RDF property	Definition
General attributes
Name	dc:title	The name of the location.
Identifier	dc:identifier	A formal identifier for the location.
Access Conditions	cld:accessConditions	Hours of access, classes of permitted user, etc.
Held collection	cld:isLocationOf (sub-property of dc:relation)	The identifier for a collection held at this physical or online (digital) location.
See also	cld:seeAlso (sub-property of dc:relation)	The identifier of a resource that provides further information about this location (typically the URL for an organisational home page).
Associated agents
Administrator	cld:administrator (sub-property of dc:publisher)	The identifier for an agent who has responsibility for the physical or electronic environment in which the collection is held.
Physical location
Postal address	cld:address (sub-property of dc:identifier)	The full postal address for the physical location of the physical collection.
Post/zip code	cld:postcode	The post code or zip code for the physical location of the collection.
Country	cld:country	The country in which the collection is physically located.
Online location
Locator	cld:locator (sub-property of dc:identifier)	The online location (URL) of an online (digital) collection.
Agent
Attribute	RDF property	Definition
General attributes
Name	vcard:fn	The name of the agent.
Identifier	dc:identifier	A formal identifier for the agent.
Organisation name	vcard:org	The organisational name of, or affiliated with, the agent.
Role	vcard:role	The role (typically an organisational role) fulfilled by the agent.
Telephone number	vcard:voice (sub-property of vcard:tel)	The telephone number of the agent.
Fax number	vcard:fax (sub-property of vcard:tel)	The fax number of the agent.
Email address	vcard:email	The electronic mail address of the agent.
Agent History	cld:agentHistory	An administrative history of, or biographical details on, the agent.

References

An Analytical Model of Collections and their Catalogues
<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/rslp/model/>
Dublin Core Metadata Element Set, Version 1.1: Reference Description
<http://mirrored.ukoln.ac.uk/dc/documents/rec-dces-19990702.htm>
Dublin Core Qualifiers
<http://mirrored.ukoln.ac.uk/dc/documents/rec/dcmes-qualifiers-20000711.htm>
RFC 2426 - vCard MIME Directory Profile
<http://www.imc.org/rfc2426>

Maintained by: Andy Powell
Last updated: May 2000
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