Using Dublin Core

Title:

Glossary

Creator: Mary S. Woodley
Contributor:
Contributor: Pete Winn
Date Issued:
2001-04-12
Date Updated: 2001-02-24
Identifier:
Replaces:
Is Replaced By:
Is Part Of: http://dublincore.org/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2001-04-12/
Status of Document:
This is a DCMI Working Draft.

7. Glossary

The Dublin Core™ Metadata Glossary is a collaborative effort of the User Guide Committee with special thanks to Gail Clement & Pete Winn, whose original glossary was a basis for this version. Terms included in this glossary are based on Dublin Core™ documents, presentations at DC conferences, and discussions on the DC General listserv. We welcome comments and feedback regarding additions, deletions or changes to the terms and/or definitions found below.

The glossary was last updated on 02/24/2001

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1:1 principle
    </dd>
  </dl>
The principle whereby related but conceptually different entities, for example a painting and a digital image of the painting, are described by separate metadata records

A

AACR2
      <dd>See <a href="#Anglo-AmericanCataloguingRules">Anglo-American
      Cataloguing Rules</a>
      <dt>

administrative metadata

      <dd>Metadata used in managing and administering
      information resources, e.g., location or donor
      information. Includes rights and access information, data
      on the creation and preservation of the digital
      object.</dd>

      <dt>

Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2)

      <dd>The dominant bibliographic standard regulating
      cataloging in the English-speaking world.  AACR2
      represents a set of rules for the standard description of
      and access to all materials which a library holds or to
      which it has access.</dd>

      <dt>

American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)

      <dd>A scheme that provides standard numeric values to
      represent letters, numbers, punctuation marks and other
      characters.  The use of standard values allows
      computers and computer programs to exchange data.</dd>

      <dt>

application profile

      <dd>A set of metadata elements, policies, and guidelines
      defined for a particular application. The elements may be
      from one or more element sets, thus allowing a given
      application to meet its functional requirements by using
      metadata from several element sets including locally
      defined sets. For example, a given application might
      choose a subset of the Dublin Core&#8482; that meets its needs,
      or may include elements from the Dublin Core, another
      element set, and several locally defined elements, all
      combined in a single schema. An Application profile is
      not complete without documentation that defines the
      policies and best practices appropriate to the
      application.</dd>

      <dt><b>ASCII</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#AmericanStandardCodeforInformationInterchange">American
      Standard Code for Information Interchange</a>
      <dt><b>Author</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#creator">Creator</a>
      <dt>

authority control

      <dd>A set of rules or procedures that maintain
      consistency for accessing names or terms within a
      database. Means of establishing a consistent form of the
      name or concept through authority records.</dd>

      <dt>

authority file

      <dd>A collection of authority records.</dd>

      <dt>

authority record

      <dd>A record that shows the preferred form of a personal
      or corporate name, geographic region or subjects. It
      indicates variant forms of the established heading.</dd>
    </dl>


    <h3>

B

    <dl>
      <dt><b><a id="bsr" name="bsr"></a>Basic Semantics
      Register</b></dt>

      <dd>An <a href="http://forum.afnor.fr/afnor/WORK/AFNOR/GPN2/TC154WG1/PUBLIC/WEB/ENGLISH/content.htm">
      ISO Standard ISO/TS 16668:2000</a> which identifies and
      defines semantic components for use in data
      exchange.</dd>

      <dt>

best practice

      <dd>Guide and documentation to describe and standardize
      the use of metadata elements that best support a
      community's needs.</dd>

      <dt><b>BSR</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#bsr">Basic Semantics Register</a>
  </dd>
</dl>

C

case-sensitive
      <dd>Lower and upper case letters are not treated as being
      the same; e.g. 'a' is not the same as 'A'.</dd>

      <dt>

classification

      <dd>A logical scheme for arrangement of knowledge,
      usually by subject. Classification schema are alpha
      and/or numeric; for example, Library of Congress
      Classification, Dewey Classification, Universal Decimal
      Classification.</dd>

      <dt>

controlled vocabulary

      <dd>A prescribed set of consistently used and carefully
      defined terms.</dd>

      <dt>

Contributor

      <dd>The Dublin Core&#8482; element used to designate the entity
      responsible for making contributions to the content of
      the resource. Examples of a Contributor include a person,
      an organization or a service. Typically, the name of a
      Contributor should be used to indicate the entity. <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2001-04-12/sectc/#contributor">
      See also section 4 of the Dublin Core&#8482; Users
      Guide.</a>
      <dt>

Coverage

      <dd>The Dublin Core&#8482; element used to designate the extent
      or scope of the content of the resource. Coverage will
      typically include spatial location (a place name or
      geographic co-ordinates), temporal period (a period
      label, date, or date range) or jurisdiction (such as a
      named administrative entity). Recommended best practice
      is to select a value from a controlled vocabulary, and
      that, where appropriate, named places or time periods be
      used in preference to numeric identifiers such as sets of
      co-ordinates or date ranges. <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2001-04-12/sectb/#coverage">
      See also section 4 of the Dublin Core&#8482; Users
      Guide.</a>
      <dt><b><a id="creator" name="creator"></a><a href="/specifications/dublin-core/dces/">Creator</a></b></dt>

      <dd>The Dublin Core&#8482; element used to designate the entity
      primarily responsible for making the content of the
      resource. Examples of a Creator include a person, an
      organization, or a service. <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2001-04-12/sectc/#creator">
      See also section 4 of the Dublin Core&#8482; Users
      Guide.</a>
      <dt><b><a id="crosswalk" name="crosswalk">Crosswalk</a></b></dt>

      <dd>A table that maps the relationships and equivalencies
      between two or more metadata formats. Crosswalks or
      metadata mapping support the ability of search engines to
      search effectively across heterogeneous databases, i.e.
      crosswalks help promote interoperability.</dd>
    </dl>

  </dd>
</dl>

D

Date
      <dd>The Dublin Core&#8482; element used to designate the date
      associated with an event in the life cycle of the
      resource. Typically, Date will be associated with the
      creation or availability of the resource. <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2001-04-12/sectd/#date">
      See also section 4 of the Dublin Core&#8482; Users
      Guide.</a>
      <dt><b>DCMES</b></dt>

      <dd>Dublin Core&#8482; Metadata Element Set. See <a href="#dc">Dublin Core</a>.</dd>

      <dt><b>DCMI</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#dcmi">Dublin Core&#8482; Metadata
      Initiative</a>
      <dt>

Description

      <dd>The Dublin Core&#8482; element used to designate a textual
      description of the content of the resource. <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2001-04-12/sectb/#description">
      See also section 4 of the Dublin Core&#8482; Users
      Guide.</a>
      <dt><b>DCSV</b></dt>

      <dd><a href="#dcsv">See Dublin Core&#8482; Structured
      Value</a></dd>

      <dt>

descriptive metadata

      <dd>Metadata that supports the discovery of a digital
      object.</dd>

      <dt>

digital tourist

      <dd>An inexperienced searcher in the digital environment
      who does not possess knowledge of community- specific
      vocabularies. The Dublin Core&#8482; provides a rudimentary
      vocabulary, or "pidgin language" for information
      discovery when exploring new digital territories. Coined
      by Ricky Erway at the Metadata Workshop on Metadata for
      Networked Images, September 24-25, 1996.</dd>

      <dt>

discovery software

      <dd>A computer application designed to simplify, assist
      and expedite the process of finding information
      resources.</dd>

      <dt>

Document Object Identifier

      <dd>DOI was developed by the International DOI Foundation
      as a system for identifying and exchanging intellectual
      property in the digital environment.</dd>

      <dt>

Document Type Definition (DTD)

      <dd>
        In SGML or XML, a formal description of the components
        of a specific document or class of documents. DTDs
        provide a formal grammar used for machine processing
        (parsing) of documents expressed in SGML or XML. A DTD
        description includes: 

        <ul>
          <li>The containers or elements that make up the
          document; e.g., paragraphs, headings, list items,
          figures, tables, etc.</li>

          <li>The logical structure of the document; e.g.,
          chapters containing sections, etc.</li>

          <li>Additional information associated with elements
          (known as attributes); e.g., identifiers, date
          stamps, etc.</li>
        </ul>
      </dd>

      <dt>

document-like object (DLO)

      <dd>Originally defined as an entity that resembles a
      document from the standpoint that it is substantially
      text-based and shares other properties of a document;
      e.g., electronic mail messages or spreadsheets. The
      definition was expanded at the <a href="http://www.oclc.org/oclc/research/publications/review96/image.htm">
      3rd DC workshop</a> to refer to any discrete information
      resource that are characterized by being fixed (i.e.,
      having identical content for each user). Examples include
      text, images, movies, and performances.</dd>

      <dt><b>DOI</b></dt>

      <dd>see <a href="#doi">Document Object
      Identifier</a>
      <dt>

dot.syntax

      <dd>A mechanism for refining the meaning of the element
      in HTML; for example, &lt;META
      NAME="DC.Title.Alternative"
      CONTENT="<i>Title</i>"&gt;</dd>

      <dt><b>DTD</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#DocumentTypeDefinition">Document Type
      Definition</a>
      <dt>

Dublin Core

      <dd>The Dublin Core&#8482; is a <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/dces/">15-element
      metadata element set i</a>ntended to facilitate discovery
      of electronic resources. The Dublin Core&#8482; has been in
      development since 1995 through a series of focused
      invitational workshops that gather experts from the
      library world, the networking and digital library
      research communities, and a variety of content
      specialties. See Section 1 of this guide or the <a href="">Dublin Core&#8482; Web
      Site</a>.</dd>

      <dt><b>Dublin Core&#8482; Simple</b></dt>

      <dd>The fifteen Dublin Core&#8482; elements used without
      qualifiers, that is without element refinement or
      encoding schemes.</dd>

      <dt><b><a id="dcmi" name="dcmi"></a>Dublin Core&#8482; Metadata
      Initiative</b></dt>

      <dd>Dublin Core&#8482; Metadata Initiative, the body responsible
      for the ongoing maintenance of Dublin Core&#8482;. DCMI is
      currently hosted by the <a href="http://oclc.org/home/">OCLC Online Computer Library
      Center, Inc</a>., a not-for-profit international library
      consortium. The work of DCMI is done by contributors from
      many institutions in many countries. DCMI is a
      consensus-driven organization organized into working
      groups to address particular problems and tasks. DCMI
      working groups are open to all interested parties.
      Instructions for joining can be found at the DCMI web
      site under Working Groups (<a href="">http://dublincore.org</a>)</dd>

      

      <dt><b><a id="dcsv" name="dcsv"></a> <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/dcmi-dcsv/2000-07-11/#sec2">
      Dublin Core&#8482; Structured Values</a></b></dt>

      <dd>DCSV recognizes two types of substrings: labels and
      values. A label is the name of the type of a value, and a
      value is the data itself. A value that is comprised of
      components, i.e. a value which has its own label and
      value, is called a structured value. Punctuation supports
      the parsing of the DCSV.</dd>

      <dt>

Dumb-down Principle

      <dd>A rule for the application of Interoperability
      Qualifiers, which stipulates that qualifiers can refine
      but not extend the meaning of the element to which they
      are applied. Thus, ignoring a qualifier ("dumbing down"
      the qualifier) may cause a loss of precision, but the
      resulting value should still be of some use to an
      application or user.</dd>
    </dl>

  </dd>
</dl>

E

EAD
      <dd>see <a href="#ead">Encoded Archival
      Description</a>
      <dt>

electronic information resource

      <dd>An information resource that is maintained in
      electronic, or computerized format, and may be accessed,
      searched and retrieved via electronic networks or other
      electronic data processing technologies (e.g.,
      CD-ROM)</dd>

      <dt>

element

      <dd>A discrete unit of data or metadata. An element may
      contain subelements that are called <a href="#qualifier">qualifiers</a> in Dublin Core&#8482;.</dd>

      <dt>

element refinement (qualifier)

      <dd>Qualifiers make the meaning of an element narrower or
      more specific.</dd>

      <dt><b><a id="embed" name="embed"></a>embedded
      metadata</b></dt>

      <dd>Metadata that is maintained and stored within the
      object it describes; the opposite of stand-alone
      metadata.</dd>

      <dt>

Encoded Archival Description

      <dd>An SGML DTD that represents a highly structured way
      to create digital finding aids for a grouping of archival
      or manuscript materials.</dd>

      <dt><b><a id="encoding" name="encoding">encoding
      scheme</a></b></dt>

      <dd>A scheme that aids in the interpretation of an
      element value. These schemes include controlled
      vocabularies and formal notations or parsing rules. A
      value expressed using an encoding scheme will thus be a
      token selected from a controlled vocabulary (e.g., a term
      from a classification system or set of subject headings)
      or a string formatted in accordance with a formal
      notation.</dd>

      <dt>

extensible

      <dd>Having the potential to be expanded in scope, area or
      size. In the case of Dublin Core, the ability to extend a
      core set of metadata with additional elements.</dd>

      <dt>

Extensible Markup Language (XML)

      <dd>A subset of Standard Generalized Markup Language
      (SGML), a widely used international text processing
      standard. XML is being designed to bring the power and
      flexibility of generic SGML to the Web, while maintaining
      interoperability with full SGML and HTML. For more
      information, see <a href="http://www.w3.org/XML/">http://www.w3.org/XML/</a>
  </dd>
</dl>

F

Format
      <dd>The Dublin Core&#8482; element used to designate the
      physical or digital manifestation of the resource. <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2000-07-16/sectd/#format">
      See also section 4 of the Dublin Core&#8482; Users
      Guide</a>.</dd>
    </dl>

  </dd>
</dl>

G

GIF
      <dd>See <a href="#gif">Graphics Interchange
      Format</a>
      <dt><b>GILS</b></dt>
    </dl>


    <dl>
      <dd>See <a href="#gils">Global Information Locator
      Service</a>
      <dt>

glossary

      <dd>An alphabetized list of terms with definitions often
      created by an organization to reflect its needs. Normally
      lacks hierarchical arrangement or cross references. Also
      known as a term list.</dd>

      <dt>

Global Information Locator Service (GILS)

      <dd>GILS embraces open standards to implement
      interoperable searching across diverse, decentralized
      information 'locators' to return references to all kinds
      of electronic and non-electronic information resources.
      Locators are implemented as common semantics for
      characterizing information resources, i.e. common
      metadata semantics. Formally known as Government
      Information Locator Service.</dd>

      <dt>

Graphics Interchange Format (GIF)

      <dd>The dominant graphics format on the Web, limited to
      256 colors. GIFs provide sharper black &amp; white images
      than JPEGs.</dd>

      <dt>

granularity

      <dd>The level of detail at which an information object or
      resource is viewed or described.</dd>
    </dl>

  </dd>
</dl>

H

HTML
      <dd>See <a href="#HypertextMarkupLanguage">Hypertext
      Markup Language</a>
      <dt>

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

      <dd>The standard text-formatting language for documents
      on the World Wide Web. HTML text files contain content
      that is rendered on a computer screen and markup, or
      tags, that can be used to tell the computer how to format
      that content. HTML tags can also be used to encode
      metadata and to tell the computer how to respond to
      certain user actions, such as a mouse click. For more
      information, see <a href="http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/">http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/</a>.</dd>
    </dl>

  </dd>
</dl>

I

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          The Dublin Core&#8482; element that is an unambiguous
          reference to the resource within a given context.
          Recommended best practice is to identify the resource
          by means of a string or number conforming to a formal
          identification system. <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2001-04-12/sectd/#identifier">
          See also section 4 of the Dublin Core&#8482; Users
          Guide.</a>
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          <b>IETF</b>
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          See Internet <a href="#ieft">Engineering Task
          Force</a>
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          <a id="index" name="index"></a><b>indexing</b>
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          The process of evaluating information entities and
          creating indexing terms, normally subject or topical
          terms, that aid in finding and accessing the entity.
          Index terms may be in natural language or controlled
          vocabulary or a classification notation.
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          <b>IMT</b>
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          See <a href="#imt">Internet Media Type</a>
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          <a id="indexprogram" name="indexprogram"></a><b>indexing program</b>
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          Computer software used to order things; frequently
          used to refer to software that alphabetizes some or
          all of the terms in one or more electronic documents.
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          <a id="informationresource" name="informationresource"></a><b>information
          resource</b>
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          Any entity, electronic or otherwise, capable of
          conveying or supporting intelligence or knowledge;
          e.g. a book, a letter, a picture, a sculpture, a
          database, a person. See also <a href="#dlo">DLO</a>
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          <a id="instantiation" name="instantiation"></a><b>instantiation</b>
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          An identifiable occurrence or occasion of something;
          in the case of Dublin Core, a specific occurrence of
          an information resource.
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          <a id="iso" name="iso"></a><b><a href="http://www.iso.ch/">International Organization
          for Standardization</a></b>
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          ISO was established in 1947 as a worldwide federation
          of national standards bodies from some 130 countries.
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          <a id="commons" name="commons"></a><b>Internet
          Commons</b>
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          The global Internet environment, collection of
          information-bearing repositories whose data can be
          accessed through the Internet.
        </div>
      </dd>
    </dl>


    <blockquote>
      <p><a id="ieft" name="ieft"></a><a href="http://www.ietf.org/home.html"><b>Internet
      Engineering Task Force</b></a> (IETF)</p>
    </blockquote>

    <dl>
      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          The IETF is responsible for solving short-term
          engineering needs of the Internet. It has over 40
          Working Groups.
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dt>

Internet Media Type (IMT)

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          A set of terms that describe types of resources on
          the Internet. Used as an encoding scheme for the
          Format element in Dublin Core&#8482;. <a href="http://isi.edu/in-notes/iana/assignments/media-types/media-types">
          http://isi.edu/in-notes/iana/assignments/media-types/media-types</a>
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          <a id="interoperability" name="interoperability"></a><b>interoperability</b>
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          The ability of different types of computers,
          networks, operating systems, and applications to work
          together effectively, without prior communication, in
          order to exchange information in a useful and
          meaningful manner. There are three aspects of
          interoperability: semantic, structural and
          syntactical.
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          <b>Interoperability Qualifiers</b>
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          Additional metadata used either to refine the
          semantics of a Dublin Core&#8482; metadata element's value,
          or to provide more information about the encoding
          scheme used for the value.
        </div>
      </dd>

      <dd>
        <div align="left">
          <b>ISO</b>
        </div>

        <dl>
          <dd>
            <div align="left">
              See <a href="#iso">International Organization for
              Standardization</a>
            </div>
          </dd>
        </dl>

      </dd>
    </dl>

  </dd>
</dl>

J

Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG)
      <dd>A standard for compressing digital images. The
      advantage of JPEG is that it uses compression to make
      graphics files smaller, making them faster to transfer
      and view over the World Wide Web. More than 16 million
      color hues are available. Better than GIF for color
      photographs. The disadvantage is some loss of image
      quality due to data loss during compression.</dd>

      <dt><b>JPEGs</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#jpeg">Joint Photographic Experts
      Group</a>
  </dd>
</dl>

K

Keywords
      <dd>See <a href="#subject">Subject</a>
  </dd>
</dl>

L

Language
      <dd>The Dublin Core&#8482; element used to designate the
      language of the intellectual content of the resource.
      Recommended best practice for the values of the Language
      element is defined by <a href="http://search.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3066.txt?number=3066">
      RFC 3066</a> <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2001-04-12/sectd/#language">
      See also section 4 of the Dublin Core&#8482; Users
      Guide.</a>
      <dt>

literal

      <dd>A literal or "appropriate literal" is the value of
      any given metadata entity that can be either a hyperlink
      or a string value (literal). A literal affords a great
      deal of flexibility and power, but increases complexity.
      Metadata should as well include an appropriate literal
      that reflects the base value of the metadata entity. For
      example, in these fragments: creator = "Public, John Q."
      creator = " http://authority.org/public-john-q-1234" the
      first has a value expressed as an appropriate literal
      whereas the second has a (hypothetical) link to an
      authority structure. It is not entirely clear what a
      person or application will find at the end of the link,
      so the metadata should contain an appropriate literal for
      simple discovery purposes.</dd>
    </dl>

  </dd>
</dl>

M

mapping metadata
      <dd>See <a href="#crosswalk">crosswalk</a>
      <dt>

MARC

      <dd>Machine-Readable Cataloging Record. The MARC formats
      are standards for the representation and communication of
      bibliographic and related information (authority,
      holdings, classification, community information) in
      machine-readable form. <a href="http://lcweb.loc.gov/marc/96principl.html">MARC
      21</a> grew out of the harmonization of USMARC and
      CAN/MARC, formerally national standards, and has emerged
      as an international standard. MARC21 is an implementation
      of the American National Standard, Information
      Interchange Format (ANSI Z39.2) and its international
      counterpart, Format for Information Exchange (ISO 2709).
      <a href="http://www.ifla.org/VI/3/ubcim.htm">UniMARC</a>
      was originally designed for conversion between national
      formats but now has been adopted by some countries as
      their national standard.</dd>

      <dt>

META tag

      <dd>The HTML element used to demarcate metadata on a Web
      page. &lt;META&gt; &lt;/META&gt;.</dd>

      <dt>

metadata

      <dd>In general, "data about data;" functionally,
      "structured data about data." Information about an
      information resource. In the case of Dublin Core,
      information that expresses the intellectual content,
      intellectual property and/or instantiation
      characteristics of an information resource. See <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/#whatismetadata">
      Section 1.1</a> of this guide.</dd>

      <dt>

metadata record

      <dd>A syntactically correct representation of the
      descriptive information (metadata) for an information
      resource. In the case of Dublin Core, a representation of
      the Dublin Core&#8482; elements that has been defined for the
      resource. The majority of metadata records and record
      fragments in this document are presented in HTML
      syntax.</dd>

      <dt>

Metadata registry

      <dd>A publicly accessible system that records the
      semantics, structure and interchange formats of any type
      of metadata. A formal authority, or agency, maintains and
      manages the development and evolution of a metadata
      registry. The authority is responsible for policies
      pertaining to registry contents and operation.</dd>

      <dt><b>MIME</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#MultipurposeInternetMailExtensions">Multipurpose
      Internet Mail Extensions</a>
      <dt>

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions

      <dd>The standard for attaching files to Internet e-mail
      messages. Attached files may be text, graphics,
      spreadsheets, documents, sound files, etc.</dd>
    </dl>

  </dd>
</dl>

N

National Information Standards Organization
      <dd>NISO, accredited by <a href="http://web.ansi.org/">ANSI</a>, develops and
      promotes technical standards used in a wide variety of
      information services.</dd>

      <dt>

namespace

      <dd>A unique name that identifies an organization that
      has developed an XML schema. A namespace is identified
      via a Uniform Resource Identifier (a URL or URN). For
      example, the namespace for Dublin Core&#8482; elements and
      qualifiers would be expressed respectively in XML
      as:</dd>
    </dl>

  </dd>
</dl>
xmlns:dc = "http://dublincore.org/elements/1.0/"
xmlns:dcq = "http://dublincore.org/qualifiers/1.0/" >
>
The use of namespaces allows the definition of an > element to be unambiguously identified with a URI, even > though the label "title" alone might occur in many metadata > sets. In more general terms, one can think of any closed > set of names as a namespace. Thus, a controlled vocabulary > such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings, a set of > metadata elements such as DC, or the set of all URLs in a > given domain can be thought of as a namespace that is > managed by the authority that is in charge of that > particular set of terms.
> >
> networked > resource >
> >
An object that is available electronically via a > network.
> >
NISO
> >
See National Information Standards > Organization >
>

O

OCLC
      <dd>See <a href="#oclc">Online Computer Library
      Center</a>
      <dt>

Online Computer Library Center (OCLC)

      <dd>The major source of cataloging data for libraries
      around the world; located in Dublin, Ohio, US.</dd>
    </dl>

  </dd>
</dl>

P

parsing
      <dd>Parsing may be divided into parts: lexical analysis
      and semantic parsing. Lexical analysis divides strings
      into components based on punctuation or tagging. Semantic
      parsing then attempts to determine the meaning of the
      string.</dd>

      <dt><b><a id="purl" href="http://www.purl.org" name="purl">Persistent Uniform Resource
      Locator</a></b></dt>

      <dd>An approach to the URL permanence problem proposed by
      OCLC. A PURL is a public alias for a document. A PURL
      remains stable, while the document's background URL will
      change as it is managed (e.g. moved) over time. A PURL is
      created by a Web administrator who is registered as a
      PURL "owner" and who maintains a mapping of the PURL to a
      current and functioning URL. A PURL is a form of
      URN.</dd>

      <dt><b>Property</b></dt>

      
  <dd>A property is a specific aspect, characteristic, attribute, or relation 
    used to describe a resource. Dublin Core&#8482; metadata elements are properties 
    <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/dc-xml-guidelines/2002-04-14/"> http://dublincore.org/specifications/dublin-core/2002/04/14/dc-xml-guidelines/</a>
      <dt>

Publisher

      <dd>The Dublin Core&#8482; element used to designate the entity
      responsible for making the resource available. Examples
      of a Publisher include a person, an organization, or a
      service. Typically, the name of a Publisher should be
      used to indicate the entity. <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2001-04-12/sectc/#publisher">
      See section 4 of the Dublin Core&#8482; Users Guide</a>.</dd>

      <dt><b>PURL</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#purl">Persistent Uniform Resource
      Locator</a>
  </dd>
</dl>

Q

qualifier
      <dd>Something that describes or characterizes an object.
      In the case of Dublin Core, a qualifier refines an
      element's meaning. A qualifier must follow the <a href="#dumb">Dumb-Down Principle</a>. There are two broad
      categories of qualifiers: <a href="#encoding">Encoding
      schema</a> and <a href="#elementrefine">Element
      refinement.</a>
  </dd>
</dl>

R

RDF
      <dd>See <a href="#rdf">Resource Description
      Framework</a>.</dd>

      <dt><b><a id="rss" name="rss"></a> <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rss-dev/files/specification.html">
      RDF Site Summary</a></b></dt>

      <dd>RSS was created and popularized by Netscape for their
      personalized portal site. Rich Site Summary (RSS) is a
      lightweight XML application designed to exchange headline
      metadata between news content providers and portals.</dd>

      <dt><b>Record</b></dt>

      
  <dd>A record is some structured metadata about a resource, comprising one 
    or more properties and their associated values. <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/dc-xml-guidelines/2002-04-14/"> http://dublincore.org/specifications/dublin-core/2002/04/14/dc-xml-guidelines/</a>
      <dt>

registry

      <dd>A system to provide management of metadata elements.
      Metadata registries are formal systems that provide
      authoritative information about the semantics and
      structure of data elements. Each element will include the
      definition of the element, the qualifiers associated with
      it, mappings to multilingual versions and elements in
      other schema.</dd>

      <dt>

Relation

      <dd>The Dublin Core&#8482; element used to designate A reference
      to a related resource. Recommended best practice is to
      reference the resource by means of a string or number
      conforming to a formal identification system. <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2001-04-12/sectb/#relation">
      See section 4 of the Dublin Core&#8482; Users Guide</a>.</dd>

      <dt>

Request for Comment (RFC)

      <dd>A Request for Comment (RFC) is the process of
      establishing a standard on the Internet. Discussion of
      the proposed standard on the Internet is facilitated by
      the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Once
      approved, the standard receives a unique number which
      identifies it; e.g., RFC See <a href="http://www.isi.edu/rfc-editor/">http://www.isi.edu/rfc-editor/</a>.
      and <a href="http://www.ietf.org/rfc.html">http://www.ietf.org/rfc.html</a>
      <dt><b>Resource</b></dt>

      
  <dd>A resource is anything that has identity. Familiar examples include 
    an electronic document, an image, a service (e.g., "today's weather report 
    for Los Angeles"), and a collection of other resources. Not all resources 
    are network "retrievable"; e.g., human beings, corporations, and bound 
    books in a library can also be considered resources. <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/dc-xml-guidelines/2002-04-14/"> http://dublincore.org/specifications/dublin-core/2002/04/14/dc-xml-guidelines/</a>
      <dt>

Resource Description Framework (RDF)

      <dd>The basic language for writing metadata; a foundation
      which provides a robust flexible architecture for
      processing metadata on the Internet. RDF will retain the
      capability to exchange metadata between application
      communities, while allowing each community to define and
      use the metadata that best serves their needs. For more
      information see <a href="http://www.w3.org/RDF/">http://www.w3.org/RDF/</a>
      <dt>

resource discovery

      <dd>The process through which one searches and retrieves
      an <a href="#informationresource">information
      resource</a>.</dd>

      <dt><b>Resource Type</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#Type">Type</a>.</dd>

      <dt><b>Resource Description</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#Description">Description</a>.</dd>

      <dt><b>Resource Identifier</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#Identifier">Identifier</a>
      <dt><b>RFC</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#rfc">Request for Comment</a>
      <dt><b><a id="rights" name="rights"></a><a href="/specifications/dublin-core/dces/">Rights</a></b></dt>

      <dd>The Dublin Core&#8482; element used to provide a link to
      information about rights held in and over the resource.
      Typically a Rights element will contain a rights
      management statement for the resource, or reference a
      service providing such information. Rights information
      often encompasses Intellectual Property Rights (IPR),
      Copyright, and various Property Rights. If the rights
      element is absent, no assumptions can be made about the
      status of these and other rights with respect to the
      resource. <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2001-04-12/sectc/#rights">
      See section 4 of the Dublin Core&#8482; Users Guide.</a>
      <dt><b>Rights Management</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#rights">Rights</a>
      <dt>

ROADS

      <dd>Resource Organisation And Discovery in Subject based
      services. A UK funded project whose aim is to develop
      discovery software for Internet resources.</dd>

      <dt><b>RSS</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#rss">RDF Site Summary</a> .</dd>
    </dl>

  </dd>
</dl>

S

scheme
      <dd>A scheme, or schema, is a systematic, orderly
      combination of elements. A set of rules for encoding
      information that supports a specific community of
      users.</dd>

      <dt>

search engine

      <dd>A utility capable of returning references to relevant
      information resources in response to a query.</dd>

      <dt>

semantic interoperability

      <dd>Is achieved through agreements about content
      description standards; for example, Dublin Core,
      Anglo-American Cataloging Rules.</dd>

      <dt>

Semantic Web

      <dd>A term coined by Tim Berners-Lee which views the
      future Web as a web of data, like a global database. The
      infrastructure of the Semantic Web would allow machines
      as well as humans to make deductions and organize
      information. The architectural components include
      semantics (meaning of the elements), structure
      (organization of the elements), and syntax
      (communication). <a href="http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/Semantic.html">http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/Semantic.html</a>
      <dt>

semantics

      <dd>Significance or meaning. In the case of Dublin Core,
      the significance or intended meaning of individual
      metadata elements and their components.</dd>

      <dt><b>SGML</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#StandardGeneralizedMarkupLanguage">Standard
      Generalized Markup Language</a>
      <dt>

SICI

      <dd>Serial Item and Contribution Identifier (ANSI/NISO
      Z39.56-1996 Vers. 2) A numeric notation to identify
      serial issues and articles uniquely regardless of their
      distribution medium (paper, electronic, microform).</dd>

      <dt>

software agent

      <dd>A computer program that carries out tasks on behalf
      of another entity. Frequently used to reference a program
      that searches the Internet for information meeting the
      specified requirements of an individual user.</dd>

      <dt>

Source

      <dd>The Dublin Core&#8482; element used to designate a reference
      to a resource from which the present resource is derived.
      The present resource may be derived from the Source
      resource in whole or part. Recommended best practice is
      to reference the resource by means of a string or number
      conforming to a formal identification system. <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2001-04-12/sectb/#source">
      See also section 4 of the Dublin Core&#8482; Users
      Guide.</a>
      <dt>

Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)

      <dd>A non-proprietary language/enabling technology for
      describing information. Information in SGML is structured
      like a database, supporting rendering in and conversion
      between different formats. Both XML and later versions of
      HTML are instances of SGML. For more information see <a href="http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/SGML/">http://www.w3.org/SGML/</a>.</dd>

      <dt>

stand-alone metadata

      <dd>Metadata that is created, maintained and stored
      independently of the object it describes. The opposite of
      embedded metadata.</dd>

      <dt><b>structured value</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#dcsv">Dublin Core&#8482; Structured
      Value</a>
      <dt>

structural interoperability

      <dd>Is achieved through data models for specifying
      semantic schemas in a way that they can be shared; for
      example, RDF.</dd>

      <dt>

structural metadata

      <dd>Structural metadata defines the digital object's
      internal organization and is needed for display and
      navigation of that object.</dd>

      <dt><b>Sub-element</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#elementrefine">element
      refinement</a>
      <dt>

Subject

      <dd>The Dublin Core&#8482; element used to designate the topic
      of the resource. The element may use controlled
      vocabularies or keywords or phrases that describe the
      subject or content of the resource. <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2001-04-12/sectb/#subject">
      See also section 4 of the Dublin Core&#8482; Users
      Guide.</a>
      <dt>

Subject Headings

      <dd>An alphabetical list of words or phrases that
      represent a concept that is under authority control,
      e.g., the Library of Congress Subject Headings.</dd>

      <dt>

surrogate content

      <dd>Metadata as a substitute for an actual resource.</dd>

      <dt><b>switching language</b></dt>

      <dd>A mediating language used to establish equivalencies
      among various indexing languages. Dublin Core&#8482; has been
      viewed as a switching "language" between various metadata
      schemas.</dd>

      <dt>

syntactic interoperability

      <dd>Achieved by marking up our data in a similar fashion
      so we can share the data and so that our machines can
      understand and take the data apart in sensible ways; for
      example, XML, EAD and MARC.</dd>

      <dt>

syntax

      <dd>The form and structure with which metadata elements
      are combined. In the case of Dublin Core, the form and
      structure of how metadata elements and their components
      are combined to form a metadata record.</dd>
    </dl>

  </dd>
</dl>

T

TEI
      <dd>See <a href="#tei">Text Encoding Initiative</a>
      <dt>

temporal

      <dd>Limited by or in regard to time.</dd>

      <dt>

Text Encoding Initiative (TEI)

      <dd>An international project to develop guidelines for
      the preparation and interchange of electronic texts for
      scholarly research as well as a broad range of other
      language industry uses. The TEI DTD is an SGML Document
      Type Definition for encoding literary works. For more
      information, see <a href="http://www-tei.uic.edu/orgs/tei/info/teij16.html">http://www-tei.uic.edu/orgs/tei/info/teij16.html</a>
      <dt>

thesaurus

      <dd>A controlled vocabulary of terms or concepts that are
      structured hierarchically (parent/child relationships) or
      as equivalences (synonyms), and related terms
      (associative). See also Subject headings and
      glossary.</dd>

      <dt>

Thesaurus of Geographic Names

      <dd>The TGN is a controlled vocabulary containing around
      1,000,000 names and other information about places. It
      includes physical features and administrative entities,
      such as cities and nations. The emphasis in TGN is on
      places important for art and architecture.</dd>

      <dt><b><a id="title" name="title"></a><a href="/specifications/dublin-core/dces/">Title</a></b></dt>

      <dd>The Dublin Core&#8482; element used to designate the name
      given to the resource. Typically, a Title will be a name
      by which the resource is formally known. <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2001-04-12/sectb/#title">
      See also section 4 of the Dublin Core&#8482; Users
      Guide.</a>
      <dt>

tokens

      <dd>The means to denote the status of an element or
      qualifier within a registry; e.g., proposed, recommended,
      conforming (to the namespace), obsolete, or local.</dd>

      <dt>

Type

      <dd>The Dublin Core&#8482; element used to designate the nature
      or genre of the content of the resource. Type includes
      terms describing general categories, functions, genres,
      or aggregation levels for content. Recommended best
      practice is to select a value from a controlled
      vocabulary <a href="/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2001-04-12/sectb/#type">
      See also section 4 of the Dublin Core&#8482; Users
      Guide</a>
  </dd>
</dl>

U

ULAN

    <dl>
      <dd>See <a href="#UnionListsofArtistsNames">Union List of
      Artist Names</a>
      <dt>

Unicode

      <dd>A universal encoding scheme designed to allow
      interchange, processing and display of the world's
      principal languages, as well as many historic and archaic
      scripts. Unicode supports and fosters a multilingual
      computing world community by allowing computers using one
      language to "talk" to computers using a different
      language. A registered trademark of Unicode, Inc.</dd>

      <dt>

Unicode Transformation Format, 8-bit (UTF-8)

      <dd>A temporary form of Unicode that is well suited for
      routing data through systems that are not designed for
      Unicode, such as some email servers and Web clients.
      UTF-8 is an attractive way of storing multilingual data
      on the Internet, without requiring full Unicode
      compliance.</dd>

      <dt>

Uniform Resource Identifier (URI)

      <dd>The syntax for all names/addresses that refer to
      resources on the World Wide Web. For information about
      Internet addressing, see <a href="http://www.w3.org/Addressing/Addressing.html">http://www.w3.org/Addressing/Addressing.html</a>.</dd>

      <dt>

Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

      <dd>A technique for indicating the name and location of
      Internet resources. The URL specifies the name and type
      of the resource, as well as the computer, device and
      directory where the resource may be found. The URL for
      Dublin Core&#8482; Metatdata Initiative <a href="/">http://dublincore.org/</a>.
      For information about Internet addressing, see <a href="http://www.w3.org/Addressing/Addressing.html">http://www.w3.org/Addressing/Addressing.html</a>.</dd>

      <dt>

Uniform Resource Name (URN)

      <dd>A URI (name and address of an object on the Internet)
      that has some assurance of persistence beyond that
      normally associated with an Internet domain or host name.
      For information about Internet addressing, see <a href="http://www.w3.org/Addressing/Addressing.html">http://www.w3.org/Addressing/Addressing.html</a>.</dd>

      <dt>

Union Lists of Artists' Names (ULAN)

      <dd>Union List of Artist Names. A controlled vocabulary
      of artists' names and biographical and bibliographic
      information produced by the Getty Vocabulary
      Program.</dd>

      <dt><b>URI</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#uri">Uniform Resource
      Identifier</a>
      <dt><b>URL</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#url">Uniform Resource Locator</a>
      <dt><b>URN</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#urn">Uniform Resource Name</a>
      <dt><b>USMARC</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#marc">MARC</a>
      <dt><b>UTF-8</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#unicode">Unicode Transformation Format,
      8-bit</a>.</dd>
    </dl>

  </dd>
</dl>

V

value qualifier

    <dl>
      <dd>Value qualifier refers to either an encoding rule or
      controlled vocabulary that aids in the interpretation of
      the value within the metatag. See <a href="#encoding">encoding scheme</a>.</dd>

      <dt>

vcard

      <dd>A standard for storing information about individuals
      or corporations; an electronic business card.</dd>

      <dd>For more information, check the <a href="http://www.imc.org/pdi/%20">Internet Mail
      Consortium</a> page on personal data exchange.</dd>
    </dl>

  </dd>
</dl>

W

Warwick Framework
      <dd>An architecture for the interchange of metadata
      packages, or "containers"; designed to satisfy the need
      for competing, overlapping, and complementary metadata
      models. For more information, see <a href="http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july96/07weibel.html">http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july96/07weibel.html</a>.</dd>

      <dt>

World Wide Web (WWW)

      <dd>The panoply of Internet resources (text, graphics,
      audio, video, etc.) that are accessible via a Web
      browser.</dd>

      <dt>

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

      <dd>An international industry consortium founded in
      October 1994 to lead the World Wide Web to its full
      potential by developing common protocols that promote its
      evolution and ensure its interoperability. For additional
      information see <a href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/">http://www.w3.org/Consortium/</a>.</dd>

      <dt><b>WWW</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#WorldWideWeb">World Wide Web</a>
      <dt><b>W3C</b></dt>

      <dd>See <a href="#WorldWideWebConsortium">World Wide Web
      Consortium</a>
  </dd>
</dl>

X

XML
      <dd>See <a href="#xml">Extensible Markup
      Language</a>
  </dd>
</dl>

Y

Z

Z39.50
      <dd>A NISO standard for an application layer protocol for
      information retrieval which is specifically designed to
      aid retrieval from distributed servers. <a href="http://lcweb.loc.gov/z3950/agency">http://lcweb.loc.gov/z3950/agency</a>
  </dd>
</dl>

 

Acknowledgements

Many sources were consulted for the creation of this glossary:

BIBLINK: Objectives, Scope and Glossary

Clement, Gail and Peter Winn. A user guide for simple Dublin Core: glossary (draft). Last updated 05/12/99.

Baca, Murtha, ed. Introduction to metadata: glossary. Version 2.0 http://www.getty.edu/research/institute/standards/intrometadata/index.html

Lanzi, Elisa. Introduction to vocabularies: enhancing access to cultural heritage information. Los Angeles: Getty Information Institute, 1998. Updated by Patricia Harpring, 2000. http://www.getty.edu/research/institute/vocabulary/introvocabs/

Moen, William. An Overview of Z39.50, Supplemented by a Case Study of Implementing the Zebra Server Under the Linux Operating System http://www.unt.edu/wmoen/Z3950/GIZMO/appendix_d.htm

Schemas glossary http://www.schemas-forum.org/related/glossary.html

Smith, Allison. Terms commonly used in authority control and thesaurus construction. Word document provided to DC-general listserv.

 

Other useful glossaries :

Digital Library Initiative at the Univerisity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. http://dli.grainger.uiuc.edu/glossary.htm

UKOLN Glossary http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/glossary/

National Library of Canada. A Glossary of Digital Library Standards, Protocols and Formats. http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/pubs/netnotes/notes54.htm

http://www.muni.org/gis/gisinternet/htmls/metadata/glossary.htm

http://www.nulook.uneb.edu/about/glossary.html

Web Thesaurus Compendium. Provides listings of thesaurai by alphabetical order and subject. Has links to related literature and software for building thesaurai. http://www.darmstadt.gmd.de/~lutes/theslit.html