definitions of element sets and value vocabularies--Scope vs. Appendix A?

Currently we define element sets and value vocabularies in Appendix A. However these get used in 3 paragraphs throughout the report (pasted below),

Are we still comfortable with having the definitions in the Appendix? (I could see adding these back to the Scope, but I'm divided on whether it's worth the extra complication.)

(Datasets, of course, will get defined where ever these two do; but it has an intuitive meaning that will serve readers reasonably well, in my opinion.)

-Jodi


Fewer bibliographic datasets have been published as Linked Data than value vocabularies and element sets
Many metadata element sets and value vocabularies have been published as Linked Data over the past few years, including flagship vocabularies such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings and Dewey Decimal Classification. Key element sets, such as Dublin Core, and reference frameworks such as Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) have been published as Linked Data or in a Linked Data-compatible form.
Relatively fewer bibliographic datasets have been made available as Linked Data, and relatively less metadata for journal articles, citations, or circulation data -- information which could be put to effective use in environments where data is integrated seamlessly across contexts. Pioneering initiatives such as the release of the British National Bibliography reveal the effort required to address challenges such as licensing, data modeling, the handling of legacy data, and collaboration with multiple user communities. However, they also demonstrate the considerable benefits of releasing bibliographic databases as Linked Data. As the community's experience increases, the number of datasets released as Linked Data is growing rapidly.
[edit]The quality of and support for available data varies greatly
The level of maturity or stability of available resources varies greatly. Many existing resources are the result of ongoing project work or the result of individual initiatives, and describe themselves as prototypes rather than mature offerings. Indeed, the abundance of such efforts is a sign of activity around and interest in library Linked Data, exemplifying the processes of rapid prototyping and "agile" development that Linked Data supports. At the same time, the need for such creative, dynamically evolving efforts is counterbalanced by a need for library Linked Data resources that are stable and available for the long term.
It is encouraging that established institutions are increasingly committing resources to Linked Data projects, from the national libraries of Sweden, Hungary, Germany, France, the Library of Congress, and the British Library, to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. Such institutions provide a stable foundation on which library Linked Data can grow over time.
[edit]Linking across datasets has begun but requires further effort and coordination
Establishing connections across datasets realizes a major advantage of Linked Data technology and will be key to its success. Our inventory of available data (see Appendix A) shows that many semantic links have been created between published value vocabularies -- a great achievement for the nascent library Linked Data community as a whole. More can -- and should -- be done to resolve the issue of redundancy among the various authority resources maintained by libraries. More links are also needed among datasets and among the metadata element sets used to structure Linked Data descriptions. Key bottlenecks are the comparatively low level of long-term support for vocabularies, the limited communication among vocabulary developers, and the lack of mature tools to lower the cost for data providers to produce the large amount of semantic links required. Efforts have begun to facilitate knowledge sharing among participants in this area as well as the production and sharing of relevant links (see the section on linking in Appendix B).
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Preserve Linked Data element sets and value vocabularies
Many Linked Data vocabularies are essentially cultural reference works, giving authoritative information about people, places, events, and concepts within regional, national, or international contexts. As such, preservation of Linked Data vocabularies is a natural, and essential, extension of the activity of memory institutions. Linked Data will remain usable twenty years from now only if its URIs persist and remain resolvable to documentation of their meaning. As keys to the correct interpretation of data, both now and in the future, element sets and value vocabularies are particularly important as objects of preservation. This situation presents libraries with an important opportunity to assume a key role in supporting the Linked Data ecosystem.