List of Resource Types

The main changes from the earlier list of resource types are:

• addition of collection with definition
• addition of service with definition
• reordering elements into alphabetical order'
• addition of "resource" to "interactive" Proposed List of Resource Types:

Type is used to categorize the nature or genre of the content of the resource. Recommended best practice is to select a value from an enumerated list, and to identify the list being used with the scheme qualification. The content of SCHEME should be a URI of the controlled list. It may be repeated as necessary to include different categories. The following is offered as the Dublin Core™ default list of resource types.

• collection
• dataset
• event
• image
• interactive resource
• physical object
• service
• software
• sound
• text

These can be defined and used as follows:

collection

  <dd>a multipart group of items that are assembled by common
  provenance or administrative convenience. The term collection
  means that the resource is described as a group; its parts
  may be separately described and navigated (using the Relation
  element).</dd>

  <dt><em>dataset</em></dt>

  <dd>structured information encoded in lists, tables,
  databases, etc., which will normally be in a format available
  for direct machine processing. For example - spreadsheets,
  databases, GIS data, midi data. Note that unstructured
  numbers and words will normally be considered to be type
  <em>text</em>.</dd>

  <dt><em>event</em></dt>

  <dd>non-persistent, time-based occurence. Metadata for an
  event provides descriptive information that is the basis for
  discovery of the purpose, location, duration, responsible
  agents, and links to related events and resources. The
  resource of type <em>event</em> may not be retrievable if the
  described instantiation has expired or is yet to occur.
  Examples - exhibition, web-cast, conference, workshop,
  open-day, performance, battle, trial, wedding, tea-party,
  conflagration.</dd>

  <dt><em>image</em></dt>

  <dd>the content is primarily symbolic visual representation
  other than text. For example - images and photographs of
  physical objects, paintings, prints, drawings, other images
  and graphics, animations and moving pictures, film, diagrams,
  maps, musical notation. Note that image may include both
  electronic and physical representations.</dd>

  <dt><em>interactive resource</em></dt>

  <dd>resources which require interaction from the user to be
  understood, executed, or experienced. For example - forms on
  web pages, applets, multimedia learning objects, chat
  services, virtual reality.</dd>

  <dt><em>physical object</em></dt>

  <dd>objects or substances. For example - a person, a
  computer, the great pyramid, a sculpture, wheat. Note that
  digital representations of, or surrogates for, these things
  should use <em>image</em>, text or one of the other
  types.</dd>

  <dt><em>service</em></dt>

  <dd>a system or institutional activity that supports
  system-based user interaction. Examples are: online library
  systems, FTP sites, electronic bulletin boards, network
  information centers.</dd>

  <dt><em>software</em></dt>

  <dd>computer programs in source or compiled form which may be
  available for installation non-transiently on another
  machine. For software which exists only to create an
  interactive environment, use <em>interactive</em>
  instead.</dd>

  <dt><em>sound</em></dt>

  <dd>the content is primarily audio. For example - music,
  speech, recorded sounds.</dd>

  <dt><em>text</em></dt>

  <dd>resources in which the content is primarily words for
  reading. For example - books, letters, dissertations, poems,
  newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that
  facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre
  text.</dd>
</dl>

Note that comments on the definitions of collection and service are encouraged.

Future Work

Future work on qualified Dublin Core™ will consider categorizing the different concepts of resource types, such as genre, aggregation level, purpose. This may result in assigned type qualifiers to bring out such aspects, with separate lists of terms for each.