Jonathan:
What strikes me about the code list you found is how difficult it is to
use, as compared to what we're starting to do for RDA. The methodology
that ONIX uses to build and maintain their lists really pushes a lot of
the onus over to the user to keep up with changes in their
vocabularies. Among other things, it presupposes a "system" into which
the XML or CSV can be loaded.
I have spoken briefly to some of their folks about using the Registry
(or something like it) to maintain their vocabularies (or, at least, to
assist others in using their vocabularies), but I'm not sure they quite
get the notion of re-use outside their community (publishers) quite
yet. The work that has been done with the RDA/ONIX effort is a start,
but obviously there's a way to go yet.
Diane
Jonathan Rochkind wrote:
Thanks, that's interesting too.
One of the most useful lists I've found is actually in ONIX, Code List 7.
http://www.editeur.org/codelists.html
Although Code List 7 actually needs to be supplemented by Code List 78
if you want full detail. (Like whether a VHS tape is NTSC or PAL; or
the fact that a printed book is in Braille (US or UK? Can specify
either, hooray.)).
The ONIX list is a pretty good and complete list of physical formats
for published items, and appears to be free, and is available in XML
as well.
It does become an awfully LONG list. And is still not entirely
intellectually consistent---the article Diane pointed to in D-Lib is
the result of trying to harmonize this with library practices in an
intellectually consistent way, but it becomes something so abstract
that it's kind of hard to deal with, and also leaves many vocabularies
unspecified. I think a more or less flat list with specified
vocabulary, even if not entirely intellectually consistent, that
corresponds to the universe of actually existing published items, is
probably more useful.
Jonathan
Chris Beer wrote:
Hi Jonathan,
As Esha said, PBCore might be worth looking at. It's probably one of
the more complete lists. If you want something more formal than the
PBCore list, the EBU also has a good vocabulary in an XML format
(http://www.ebu.ch/metadata/cs/ebu_StorageMediaTypeCodeCS.xml). The
nice thing about the EBU list is that some of their term definitions
might help identify more obscure materials.
Have you looked at PBCore? It's a metadata standard developed by
the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and is used for tv and
other multi media cataloging.
Jonathan Rochkind wrote:
Anyone know of any good existing controlled vocabulary for
'format' or 'carrier' for multimedia materials? I'm thinking of
things like "CD", "DVD", "digital", etc.
The closest I can get is from RDA at http://metadataregistry.org/
concept/list/vocabulary_id/46.html (thanks Karen and Diane), but
it seems _really_ insufficient. As far as I can tell "audio disc"
is used for both a CD and a vinyl disc, and there's nothing
available there for "DVD" at all. Or for "digital". Although
I'm not sure what I mean by "digital", I guess CD and DVD are
both digital, but I was thinking of something to identify a
digital file on a computer network free of particular carrier. I
guess that wouldn't be in a carrier vocabulary at all, after all,
that would be sort of a null carrier. Phew, this stuff does get
complicated quick. Which I guess is why nobody's worked out a
good one yet.
Too bad RDA's is so _far_ from good though. Any others anyone
knows about?
Jonathan
Chris
