----------------------------Original message---------------------------- ------------------ Forwarded from the NINCH list. =3E=3E=3E NINCH-ANNOUNCE =3Cdavid=40ninch.org=3E 07/11/00 12:18PM =3E=3E=3E NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community July 11, 2000 Announcement of =22Dublin Core Qualifiers=22 http://purl.org/dc/documents/dcmes-qualifiers Reminder: 8th Dublin Core Metadata Initiative Workshop October 4-6, 2000: National Library of Canada, Ottawa http://www.ifla.org/udt/dc8/call.htm =3EContacts: =3ESally Khudairi =3ERoderic Olvera Young =3EZOT Group =3E+1.617.542.5335 =3Edcmi=40zotgroup.com =3E =3EDUBLIN CORE RELEASES RECOMMENDED QUALIFIERS =3EBuilding the De Facto Metadata Standard and Improving Access to the = World's Information =3E =3Ehttp://purl.org/dc/ - 11 July 2000 - =3E =3EThe Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI), an organization =3Eleading the development of international standards to improve =3Eelectronic resource management and information discovery, =3Etoday announced the formal recommendation of the Dublin Core =3E(DC) Qualifiers. The addition of the DC Qualifiers enhances =3Ethe semantic precision of the existing DC Metadata Element Set. =3E =3E=22Think of Legos. The close tolerances of these simple toys =3Eensure all the different Lego themes, built at different times, =3Ecan work together smoothly. Dublin Core is the basic Lego block =3Efor promoting discovery of resources on the Web: a simple and =3Einteroperable foundation upon which many information solutions =3Ecan be built. The introduction of Dublin Core Qualifiers is like =3Eadding color and themes to the Legos - it helps enrich the =3Edescription of information resources on the Internet=22 =3Esaid Stuart Weibel, DCMI Director. =3E =3EThe DC Qualifiers build upon the DC Metadata Element Set, =3Ewhich provides 15 categories to describe resources on the Web =3E- a catalog card with new dimensions. Known as the Dublin Core, =3Ethe metadata model has become the de facto standard for =3Edescription of information on the Internet. =3E =3EFor the past year, working groups of the Dublin Core developed =3Ethese newly agreed upon refinements to the catalog card to give =3Ebetter access to information we seek. In essence, the new =3Erecommendations for Dublin Core Qualifiers increase the effectiveness of metadata by giving it finer granularity. For example, a publication's date, which would be the Dublin Core Metadata Element, may be further detailed as = a particular type of date by using a Dublin Core Qualifier such as date last modified, date =3Ecreated, or date issued. =3E =3EDublin Core's Usage Committee today launches the next step =3Etoward a cohesive metadata standard. The DC Qualifiers improve =3Einterpretation of metadata values and can be easily recorded =3Eor transferred into HTML, XML, RDF or relational databases. =3EThe evolution of DC Qualifiers draws from the input of many =3Eindividuals across a broad array of disciplines. =3E =3EUsers include museum informatics specialists, archivists, digital =3Elibrary researchers, libraries, and government information providers =3Eand a variety of content providers. Their efforts have led standards =3Eorganizations, such as NISO (National Information Standards Organization)= in the U.S. and CEN in Europe (European Committee for Standardization) to view = the DC Metadata Element Set as a benchmark candidate for simple resource = description on the Internet. More recently, new sectors, such as education and industry, have been attracted to Dublin Core's simplicity, multilingual scope, = consensus philosophy and widespread adoption. =3E =3EMore information about the new recommendation can be found at: =3Ehttp://purl.org/dc/documents/dcmes-qualifiers =3E =3EThe metadata for this press release can viewed at: =3Ehttp://purl.org/dc/pressreleases/qualifiers20000711.htm.rdf =3E =3EPraise for DC Qualifiers from Key Leaders in Metadata: =3E =3E=22The ratification of Dublin Core Qualifiers is an important milestone =3Ethat will improve the usefulness of Dublin Core metadata for libraries = and the greater Internet community. OCLC is pleased to host the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative as part of its continuing commitment to global open standards = which facilitate international knowledge access. We expect the Dublin Core to play= an important role in bridging traditional library cataloging and Internet = resource description.=22 =3E-- Jay Jordan, CEO, OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. =3E =3E=22I'm delighted to see this important next step on the Dublin Core =3EMetadata Initiative's program, which begins to map the path between the lowest-common-denominator unqualified elements and the need for greater precision in many actual applications. This is a relatively short document, = but it distills an enormous amount of thinking, discussion and hard work by a worldwide community concerned with metadata, and the consensus it captures represents a substantial accomplishment.=22 =3E-- Clifford Lynch, Executive Director, Coalition for Networked = Information. =3E =3E=22The Dublin Core qualifiers establish an important precedent for the =3E=22best-practice=22 use of the Dublin Core Element Set. The W3C work on = the Resource Description Framework (RDF) anticipated from its very beginning the need within the Dublin Core framework to use qualifiers to represent = encoding schemes as well as vocabulary refinement. The adoption of this set of = qualifiers leads the way for more widespread use of the Dublin Core to describe = materials on the Web in greater detail.=22 =3E-- Ralph R. Swick, Technical Director, Technology and Society Domain, = World Wide Web Consortium. =3E =3E=22Most Dublin Core implementation projects have always used element = qualifiers. To current and future Dublin Core users, agreement on core Qualifiers is a hallmark event which can only be compared with completion of the 15 basic = Dublin Core Metadata Elements. Now, with both Elements and their Qualifiers in = place, Dublin Core is a much more powerful and versatile tool.=22 =3E-- Juha Hakala, Development Director, Helsinki University Library. =3E =3E=22Implementers of Internet search engines are certain to welcome the =3Emost recent development of the Dublin Core standard. In Australia, =3EDublin Core is being used to support access to information resources by governments, the museum and library communities, and a number of projects = within academia. The approval of standard qualifiers will be welcomed by these communities and ensure improved interoperability in the discovery of = Internet resources.=22 =3E-- Dr. Warwick Cathro, Assistant Director-General of the =3ENational Library of Australia. =3E =3E=22Melbourne IT's clients register domain names to move their businesses = and other activities online. Their goal of realizing the potential of the Web = can be fulfilled by Dublin Core. It delivers relevance to the information end-users seek. Today, we are well placed to implement the new Dublin Core standards = in our own developments and to advise our clients as to how they can benefit = from using them.=22 =3E-- Peter Gerrand, CEO of Melbourne IT. =3E =3E=22With the general adoption and the publication of the Dublin Core =3EQualifiers, Dublin Core establishes itself as a reliable international =3Emetadata standard. I am pleased that this consolidation process, with =3Eits great importance for libraries, museums, archives and many other =3Ecommunities, was set in motion during the 7th Dublin Core Workshop in Frankfurt.=22 =3E-- Dr. Elisabeth Niggeman, Director, Die Deutsche Bibliothek. =3E =3EABOUT THE DUBLIN CORE METADATA INITIATIVE =5BDCMI=5D =3E =3EThe Dublin Core Metadata Initiative is an open forum engaged since1995 in= the development of interoperable online metadata standards that support a broad range of purposes and business models. Its primary offering, the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set, is the de-facto worldwide standard for the description= of information =3Eresources across disciplines and languages. DCMI's activities =3Einclude consensus-driven working groups, global workshops, conferences, standards liaison, and educational efforts to promote widespread acceptance = of metadata standards and practices. Representatives from industries worldwide = are active contributors to the DCMI=3B participation is open to practitioners = and theoreticians from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Further information on DCMI, the Dublin Core family of specifications and various = online metadata solutions can be found at http://purl.org/dc/ =3E =3EThe 8th Dublin Core Metadata Initiative Workshop, hosted by the =3ENational Library of Canada and the International Federation of =3ELibrary Associations and sponsored by OCLC, the Coalition for =3ENetworked Information, and the National Science Foundation, will =3Ebe held the 4th through the 6th of October and will help shape =3Ethe future of metadata, implementation and evolution of the standard. =3ETo register, please visit http://www.ifla.org/udt/dc8/call.htm =3E __________________________________________________________________ Mail submissions to [log in to unmask] Administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc) to [log in to unmask] ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance: http://lsv.uky.edu/archives/arlis-l.html Questions may be addressed to list owner at: [log in to unmask]