DC Type Working Group Review of Resource Type Qualifier Usage

Date: 4 August 1999

Revised: 16 August 1999

Status: None

This report summarizes usage in existing Dublin Core implementations of qualifiers for the element Resource Type. It has some examples of schemes in current use in implementation projects, although it is not comprehensive because of a lack of response from implementors for the call for qualifiers.

TYPE QUALIFIER

Most implementors do not qualify RESOURCE TYPE with a type qualifier. Exceptions are:

Australian Government Information Service

Usage: federal government

Reference: http://www.naa.gov.au/govserv/agls/user_manual/cover.htm

Qualifiers: Category, aggregationLevel, documentType, serviceType

Cooperative Online Resource Catalog (CORC)

Usage: general

Reference: http://www.oclc.org/oclc/research/projects/corc/

Qualifier: Note

SCHEME QUALIFIER

Implementors favor a controlled list of values for Resource Type. Some favor a general list, such as DCT1. Often implementors tend to use their own lists of values for types, developed for their particular applications. These will be accommodated in DC-Type by using a scheme qualifier. A comprehensive survey of controlled lists of values has not been done. Information about some implementations are noted below.

Arts and Humanities Data Service (AHDS)

Usage: arts, humanities

Reference: http://ahds.ac.uk/public/metadata/disc_05.html

In its user guide, AHDS supports the use of a controlled list of types and endorses the earlier list that was the basis for DCT1 (http://sunsite.Berkeley.edu/Metadata/types.html. It considers the list of general material descriptors in the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules a potentially useful scheme.

Australian Government Information Service

Usage: federal government

Reference: http://www.naa.gov.au/govserv/agls/user_manual/cover.htm

AGLS has its own list of values categorized under agls-document or agls-service, but encourages use of other controlled lists.

Catalog and Index for French Speaking Health Sites (CISMeF)

Usage: health information

Reference: http://www.chu-rouen.fr/documed/typeressource.html

CISMeF has developed its own list of types.

Consortium for the Computer Interchange of Museum Information (CIMI)

Usage: museum information

Reference: http://www.cimi.org/documents/meta_bestprac_v031.html#type

CIMI determined that the DCT1 list could be used with 2 additions: Place, Constituent (also called Party). It has used the previous list from the Resource Type and Format Working Group with the additions of:

original or surrogate
item or collection
natural or cultural

Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM)

Usage: education

Reference: http://www.geminfo.org/Workbench/Metadata/Vocab_Type.html

GEM has developed its own list of types.

Nordic Metadata Project

Usage: General

Reference: http://linnea.helsinki.fi/meta/

The Nordic Metadata Project uses the following highest level types from DCT1 with its own subtypes (e.g. Text.Homepage; Image.Moving):

text
image
sound
software
data
interactive

There may be more than one subtype (e.g. Text.Serial.Magazine; Text.Thesis.Masters).

Scout Report Signpost

Usage: general

Reference: http://www.signpost.org/signpost/index.html

The Scout Report has developed its own list of types.

Social Science Information Gateway (SOSIG)

Usage: social science

Reference: http://www.sosig.ac.uk/help/search.html#type

SOSIG has developed its own list of types.

Information on the use of controlled lists for Resource Type in projects not represented here may be submitted to: Rebecca Guenther, DC-Type WG chair.