RSLP Collection Description

Collection Description Schema

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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:

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.

References


Maintained by: Andy Powell
Last updated: May 2000
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