Re: Library data is expressed primarily as text strings

>On Mon, Sep 5, 2011 at 10:00 AM, Antoine Isaac <aisaac@few.vu.nl> wrote:
>> Bouncing on that thread, I'd like to mention that the section
>>immediately
>> following this one, "Library controlled vocabularies are expressed as
>>text
>> strings", is slightly redundant, see:
>> 
>>http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/lld/wiki/index.php?title=Draft_issues_pa
>>ge_take2&oldid=6141#Library_data_is_expressed_primarily_as_text_strings
>>
>> I'm also not fond of the heading "Library controlled vocabularies are
>> expressed as text strings": the vocabularies as a whole are expressed as
>> structured data, even though this data relies  on strings, mostly...

I especially agree with Antoine about this heading ""Library controlled
vocabularies are
expressed as text strings". The text strings are usually used as the
values in practices. A vocabulary itself does not have to be
expressed/represented in only one way.
 
Marcia

>>
>> Is there any objection to my trying to merge the two in the coming
>>hours?
>>
>> Antoine
>>
>>
>>> I found the point "Library data is expressed primarily as text
>>>strings" to
>>> be
>>> vague as written, so I have sharpened the point [1] to emphasize the
>>> difference
>>> between "unique alphanumeric strings" such as ISBNs and
>>>"display-oriented
>>> text"
>>> such as "words and names".  Please read the following paragraph and
>>>raise
>>> a
>>> flag if I have somehow "overinterpreted"...:
>>>
>>>     Most information in library data is encoded as display-oriented
>>>text
>>>     strings. Some of the resource identifiers used in library data are
>>> based on
>>>     unique alphanumeric strings, such as ISBNs for books, but most
>>>     identification is done using words and names.  Some data fields in
>>> MARC
>>>     records are coded uniquely, but there is no clear incentive to
>>>include
>>>     these in all records as few of them are used for library-system
>>> functions.
>>>     Some data fields, such as authority-controlled names and subjects,
>>> have
>>>     associated records in separate files, and these records have
>>> identifiers
>>>     that could be used to represent those entities in library metadata;
>>>     however, the data formats in current use do not always support
>>> inclusion of
>>>     these identifiers in records, so many of today's library systems do
>>> not
>>>     properly support their use.
>>>
>>> Note "authority-controlled" with hyphen.
>>>
>>> Tom
>>>
>>> [1]
>>> 
>>>http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/lld/wiki/index.php?title=Draft_issues_p
>>>age_take2&diff=6098&oldid=6090
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>

Received on Monday, 5 September 2011 15:27:29 UTC