Metadata and Technology/Architecture Working Groups

DLF Aquifer Project

DLF Fall ForumProvidence, RI

November 14, 2008

AgendaIntroductions and background

MODS GuidelinesAsset Actions

Hands-on workMODS and/or Asset Actions

Wrap-upParticipants’ comments/questionsFuture of Asset Actions and other Aquifer

activities

This is an interactive session!We’re here to help you implement Asset

Actions and MODS in your local environment

Open your browser to:

http://tinyurl.com/dlfaqua

I’m going to introduce MODS.Stay tuned for Asset Actions.

Why MODS?Metadata aggregations have clearly

demonstrated more robust metadata will allow higher-level services.

MODS attempts to strike a “happy medium.”DLF institutions should be among those best

positioned to implement standards like MODS.

Why MODS Guidelines?Everything is open to interpretation.To systematically interpret MODS for the

purposes of sharing metadata.To give some direction in cases where the

decision is arbitrary.An attempt to promote consistency.

Yes, we know that’s impossible.But you have to start somewhere!

Yikes, that’s a lot!No institution can completely conform to a

set of externally-imposed guidelines.Levels of Adoption document helps:

Separates what’s functional from what’s cosmetic.

Connects features of metadata to functionality for end-users these features support.

We need your feedback!

MODS help available in this sessionImplementing the Aquifer MODS Guidelines

GenerallyAccording to the Levels of Adoption

Mapping your native metadata to MODSConceptual mappingTechnical mapping using XSLT

Asset Actions: GoalsSimple, low-barrier-to-entry method of exposing

digital library content and structureNot just a URL to a web presentationVersions of an image, pages of a book, scenes of a

videoEnable cross-content cross-tool interoperabilityEasier than METS profiles

Similar to Fedora notion of “behaviors”Not Fedora-specific

Asset Actions: OriginsBegan out of discussions between UVA, Tufts,

and Northwestern in 2005Adopted by DLF Aquifer to help achieve

“deep sharing” of digital resources in 2006Asset Actions Prototype portal

Implementation in DLF Aquifer American Social History Online portal

Asset ActionsSeries of typed URLs providing access to

“views” of an objectExpressed (currently) via XML documentGrouped into Action Groups by format

Asset Action GroupsDefine sets of actions corresponding to

various types of digital objects

DefaultBasic ImageAddressable ImageStructured TextImage Text (Paged Image)

Asset Action GroupsDefine sets of actions corresponding to

various types of digital objects

DefaultBasic ImageAddressable ImageStructured TextImage Text (Paged Image)

Asset Action Groups: Examples

DefaultgetAssetDefinitiongetPreviewgetLabelgetDCRecordgetWebViewgetDefaultContent

Basic ImagegetThumbnailgetScreenSizegetMaxSizegetDynamicView

Basic ImagegetThumbnailgetScreenSize

getMaxSizegetDynamicVie

wDefaultgetAssetDefiniti

ongetLabel

getDCRecordgetPreview

getDefaultContent

getWebView

Bashful girl in red velvet

DLF Asset Actions & OAI-OREDLF-AA model provides semantics to express typed (labeled),

actionable URIs associated with an intellectual resource In the Web Architecture URIs identify Web resources,

so a DLF-AA package is a manifest of Web resources associated with an intellectual resource such as a digital text or image

“Open Archives Initiative Object Reuse and Exchange (OAI-ORE) defines standards for the description and exchange of aggregations of Web resources” – ORE abstract data modelORE aggregations are described by ORE Resource Maps

(ReMs)OAI-ORE leaves typing of Web resources within an ORE

aggregation up to communities of useWe can use DLF-AA semantics within context of OAI-ORE to

create ORE ReMs describing DLF-AA packages – i.e., ORE ReM becomes manifest of URIs associated with an intellectual resource

DLF Asset Actions & OAI-ORE (2)A ORE ReM is not the same as a DLF-AA package

Different data model & data model semanticsDLF-AA package data model simpler, single purpose ORE ReM data model general-purpose, conforms better to

core principles of RDF & Web ArchitectureORE-ReMs can be used to describe a range of different

kinds of aggregations, not just DLF-AA manifests

However, ORE ReM model may be used to express a DLF-AA manifest – so functionally, a ORE ReM can be used instead of a DLF-AA package to deliver essentially the same information

** Note, to use DLF-AA semantics in ORE ReMs required registering

info URIs, e.g.: info:dlf/aquifer/assetActions/getPreview

Asset Actions ExerciseChoose a sample image objectCreate Asset Action XML record containing

Default and Basic Image action groupsUpload to the MODS / Asset Actions Explorer

and experiment

Hands-on work

http://tinyurl.com/dlfaqua