On 3 Mar 03, at 19:34, Makx Dekkers wrote:
> We have just published a new version of the DCMI Web site.
>
> http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/
>
Thoroughly impressive though this document is, there's still one thing I'd like
to point out.
Is there a way to encode the fact that an element content conforms to a code of
rules, like AACR2? This is not an encoding scheme since it would not necessarily
mean that the element content, for example a name, would be taken from an
authority file.
A formal way of knowing that a name conforms with AACR2 (or RAK, for that matter)
would mean that one might send a search request to an OPAC (known to conform with
the rules) with a good level of confidence. Vast amounts of metadata exist that
conform with the established rules, and these data are readily accessible, so
it should make sense to contemplate this. For example, if the creator field
contained "Lazinger, Susan S." and you knew that this name form is AACR2, then
you'd know a search via z39.50 of the LC catalog will succeed. If the name
element contains "Suzan Lazinger" and you don't know if this conforms to anything
then your search will in fact fail (even the "keyword anywhere search fails), but
then you'd know ahead of time that this may happen AND that it wouldn't mean LC
had nothing.
I wonder why the library application profile doesn't mention this either. Maybe
they thought about it and dismissed the idea. In that case: why?
(http://dublincore.org/documents/2002/09/24/library-application-profile/)
Regards, B.E.
Bernhard Eversberg
Universitaetsbibliothek, Postf. 3329,
D-38023 Braunschweig, Germany
Tel. +49 531 391-5026 , -5011 , FAX -5836
e-mail [log in to unmask]
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