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On Fri, 6 Aug 2004, Fred Riley wrote: > Er, I think I would, Andy, perhaps because I'm a layperson in this > context, not being a Librarian or Information Scientist or whatever > they're called these days. To me, and I suspect to Jane and Joe Punter, > the word "repository" means a place where resources repose, a resource > bank. If you say a repository isn't a repository because it doesn't use > this or that interoperability protocol, then that doesn't leave many > repositories that really are repositories. Sounds almost sectarian ;-) Yes, I suppose so... and I see what you are getting at. On the other hand, I guess we'd agree that a Web site isn't a Web site unless it supports HTTP - but Joe Punter doesn't need to know what HTTP is to know what a Web site is?? So there are 'hidden' technical requirements in the definitions of things currently in the information landscape that the general public don't necessarily have to be aware of. What I was trying to suggest is that, in the context of eLearning, there is a more detailed set of technical requirements that make a LOR a LOR and that it might be useful to enumerate them? I guessing that in your view, a LOR is defined simply as something like a managed database of learning objects [with a Web-based front-end] I'm not sure about the bit in [] whereas I want to go further and say something like a database of learning objects with a Web-based user-interface that supports the following functionality - content management (add/update/delete) - metadata management (add/update/delete) - exposing content and metadata to other software services (harvest/search/alert) - content packaging (pack/unpack) - access management (authentication/authorisation/accounting) (Note that the other kinds of services listed at the end of Lorna's Alt-i-Lab paper go beyond the core functionality of a LOR IMHO). But perhaps you are right and that my list goes well beyond a lay person's definition of a LOR?? Andy. > Perhaps you could differentiate a repository employing a particular > protocol (of which there seems to be quite an alphabetti spaghetti > assortment) as a LRI-compliant or a OAI-PMH-compliant or > CDM-and-bar-compliant repository. > > Following this, I'll certainly be careful about what I call the database > of learning objects I'm starting to put together, if repository is going > to be a reserved word - any suggestions for alternatives? > Tongue-in-cheek suggestions welcome ;-) > > Cheers > > Fred > > Fred Riley > Learning Technologist > Room C57 > School of Nursing > University of Nottingham > Queen's Medical Centre > Nottingham > NG7 2HA > > Tel: +44 (0)115 92 49924 ext 37180 > Email: [log in to unmask] > > >>> Andy Powell <[log in to unmask]> 05/08/2004 16:25:26 >>> > Therefore, if any of the 'repositories' listed on > http://elearning.utsa.edu/guides/LO-repositories.htm does not support the > OAI-PMH (or one of the other protocols specified in the DR spec) then it > isn't really a LOR! > > Would people disagree with that? > > > This message has been scanned but we cannot guarantee that it and any > attachments are free from viruses or other damaging content: you are > advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the > University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation. > > Andy -- Distributed Systems, UKOLN, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/ukoln/staff/a.powell +44 1225 383933 Resource Discovery Network http://www.rdn.ac.uk/ ECDL 2004, Bath, UK - 12-17 Sept 2004 - http://www.ecdl2004.org/