Re: vocabs, metadata set, datasets

Quoting Thomas Baker <tbaker@tbaker.de>:


> I see the argument but still see a problem with the notion of
> a record being "about" something.  Looking at a bibliographic
> record through traditional bibliographic glasses, one does see
> a set of data elements "about" a book.  Looking at that same
> record through RDF glasses, however, one may see statements
> "about" several different things -- the book, its author,
> the publisher, etc.

As I said before, I don't see it this way. Even though RDF is much  
more flexible than the old record model, it has the concept of  
"subject" -- the subject of the statements, in my mind, defines the  
"about". Library data contains things like author identification as an  
object, but the author is a subject only in the name authority record  
(or foaf Person description set). I really don't see statements about  
authors, publishers, etc. in a library catalog record for a book. All  
of the data there should be with the book as the subject.

In other words, what Jeff said.

kc

>
> The DCMI Abstract Model tried to express this point by
> distinguishing between a Description (a set of statements
> about just one resource -- e.g., the book OR the author OR
> the publisher) and a Description Set -- a set of related
> descriptions bundled together for practical purposes in a
> single metadata "record".
>
> Yes, we need to use a terminology related as recognizably as
> possible to things already familiar to the intended reader,
> but we also need to point out to readers where perspectives
> differ.  On this point, I suggest we find a way to say
> that "records" may provide descriptive statements "about"
> more than one something.
>
> Tom
>
> --
> Tom Baker <tbaker@tbaker.de>
>
>



-- 
Karen Coyle
kcoyle@kcoyle.net http://kcoyle.net
ph: 1-510-540-7596
m: 1-510-435-8234
skype: kcoylenet

Received on Thursday, 20 January 2011 23:00:06 UTC