TypesofResources
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Note: Summary of best practices added. Jenn Riley 10/12/05
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[edit] Types of Resources
[edit] Summary of Best Practices
- Present format and type/genre information in all OAI records.
- Choose type values from relevant controlled vocabularies consistently and explicitly.
- Express multiple type terms in repeated fields.
Information about the type of resource being described can be very useful for searching, presentation and sorting of materials. Using values from an identified controlled vocabulary greatly increases this potential, allowing service providers to offer improved search functionality.
There are two basic divisions within this category:
- Format -- Refers to the physical medium or material of the digital object, for example Internet Media (MIME) Types.
- Type / Genre -- Refers to the content of the digital object. These can be general, like the DCMI type vocabulary and Marc Genre terms, or highly structured and specific, like the Thesaurus for Graphic Materials II: Genre and Physical Characteristic Terms (TGM II) and Guidelines on Subject Access to Individual Works of Fiction, Drama, Etc., (GSAFD). More genre sources are listed at the Library of Congress Source Codes for Genre site.
Place each type term in its own element rather than placing multiple values within a single element (when using a metadata scheme that allows repeating elements).
[edit] Best
Ideally this information should be expressed using a controlled vocabulary. The metadata format exposed should allow specification of the controlled vocabulary being used. (Note that simple Dublin Core does not allow controlled vocabularies to be specified; this is another argument for exposure of metadata formats in addition to DC records.) Information about the format as well as type / genre of the resource should be provided.
[edit] Good
If the metadata format used does not allow identification of a controlled vocabulary, the next best option is to apply terms from a single standard controlled vocabulary consistently within an OAI set or an entire repository, and specify the vocabulary within the set description Set Practices or Identify response. See Providing Supplemental Documentation to OAI Service Providers.
[edit] Adequate
Metadata providers should attempt to use a controlled list of terms for indicating the format or type of material being described, even if they are unable to document this. Metadata authors may also wish to supply uncontrolled terms. This should be done as a supplement to a controlled vocabulary.
