Dublin Core Best Practice Guidelines

Version 2.1
December 21, 2016
Orbis Cascade Alliance Version 2.1 (December
2016)
Dublin Core Best Practice Guidelines

Orbis Cascade Alliance Dublin Core Best Practice Guidelines

VERSION DATE CREATED/CHANGED BY CHANGES MADE

1.0 April 27, 2016 Created by Orbis Cascade Alliance Archive First release
Engine West Working Group (2014) and
Digital Content Working Group (2015/2016)

2.0 November 2016 Orbis Cascade Alliance Digital Collections Addition of contributor, format,
Working Group (2016) relation, and source elements;
changes to creator, rights, spatial
coverage, language, and subject

2.1 December 21, 2016 Orbis Cascade Alliance Digital Collections Changes to creator, contributor,
Working Group (2016) date, format, spatial coverage,
subject, type; minor edits and
reformatting

The purpose of the Orbis Cascade Alliance’s Dublin Core Best Practices Guidelines are to:
● Ensure a basic level of uniformity in the structure, encoding, and content of Alliance digital object
metadata in keeping with the Mountain West Digital Library Dublin Core metadata application profile
and other relevant standards
● Promote interoperability within Alliance institutions metadata records developed from diverse
repositories
● Facilitate access to digital content by end users

Archives Engine West Working Group (2014)

Stephanie Beene Lewis & Clark College
Kira Homo University of Oregon
Tom Johnson Oregon State University/Digital Public Library of America
Sam Meister University of Montana
Leigh Grinstead Metadata Consultant
Jodi Allison-Bunnell Alliance staff

Digital Content Working Group (2015/2016)

Ann Lally (Chair, 2015/2016) University of Washington
Devin Becker (2015/2016) University of Idaho
Stephanie Beene (2015) Lewis & Clark College
Rick Block (2015/2016) Seattle University
Michael Boock (2015) Oregon State University
Laura Buchholz (2016) Reed College
Theo Gerontakos (2015/2016) University of Washington
Jodi Allison-Bunnell (2015/2016) Alliance staff

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Digital Collections Working Group (2016)

Janet Hauck (Chair, 2016) Whitworth University
Theo Gerontakos University of Washington
Julia Simic University of Oregon
Anneliese Dehner Metadata Applications Librarian
Jodi Allison-Bunnell Alliance staff

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Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………..4

I. Best Practices for All

Fields…………………………………………………………………………………………………...5
Use of semicolons
Requirement status
Enrichment
Adding local fields not covered by these guidelines
Use of the term “resource”

II. Explanation of Table

Components………………………………………………………………………………………….7

III. Element Tables (in alphabetical

order)…………………………………………………………………………………..8
contributor………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….8
creator………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...9
date……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………10
description…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………12
format………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..12
identifier……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………13
language…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….14
relation………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………….15
rights………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………...…………….16
source………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………...……………17
spatial coverage………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………...…………….17
subject………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………..………...…………….18
title……………………………………………………………………………………...…………………………………..………...……………..20
type……………………………...…………………………………………………………………………………………..………...…………….20

IV. Vocabulary Encoding Schemes…………………………………………………………………………………………...22

AAT
DCMI Type
GeoNames
IMT
ISNI
LCNAF
LCSH
RightsStatements.org
TGN
ULAN

V. Syntax Encoding Schemes…………………………………………………………………………………………………...24

EDTF

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ISO639-2
ISO8601
W3CDTF

VI.
Crosswalks………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……...25

Introduction

Created by the Orbis Cascade Alliance Archives West Working Group, Digital Content Working Group, and Digital
Collections Working Group. It is intended to guide Alliance members who create and manage digital object
metadata. These standards focus ultimately on producing the desired outputs, but offer guidance on how to create
metadata such that it will most easily create those desired outputs.

Other institutions are free to adopt the Orbis Cascade Alliance Dublin Core Best Practices Guidelines, in full or in
part, for their local use.

These guidelines are not to be used for Encoded Archival Description (EAD) records; for those, please consult the
Alliance’s EAD Best Practice Guidelines at ​https://www.orbiscascade.org/bestpracticesforead1/​.

In order for your digital objects and metadata to be harvested into an Alliance-wide aggregation of digital
content, the below requirements will need to be met to ensure consistency and usability. However, please note:
These are recommendations for preparing your digital object metadata for harvest and are not meant to
dictate how you practice metadata creation at your own institution​. That said, we do hope that these
guidelines will be useful for your practices going forward, and that the recommendations here might serve as
models for your digital object metadata creation when needed.

These guidelines are based on the Mountain West Digital Library Dublin Core Application Profile, Version 2.0,
released July 20, 2011.

The Dublin Core Best Practices Guidelines consists of six sections:

I. Best Practices for All Fields
II. Explanation of Table Components
III. Element Tables (in alphabetical order)
IV. Vocabulary Encoding Schemes
V. Syntax Encoding Schemes
VI. Crosswalk

What’s new in the Dublin Core Best Practices Guidelines 2.1:

● More information about each element
○ Options to insert common values in every record of a collection
○ Harvester transformations
○ Schemes

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● Major changes in type fields

● “Required when applicable” renamed “Recommended”
● More guidance on vocabularies and encoding schemes throughout, with tables for the major schemes
provided in new sections (IV and V)
● Inclusion of data crosswalks for DPLA and Primo in new section (VI)

I. Best Practices for All Fields

Use of semicolons
To retain integrity of data, separate multiple entries within a single field by inserting a semicolon and a space
between entries.

Requirement status
Required:​ Field must be included in record.
There are five required fields:
● date
● identifier
● rights
● title
● type
Recommended:​ Inclusion of the field is recommended.
There are six recommended fields:
● creator
● description
● format
● language
● relation
● subject
Optional:​ Inclusion of field is up to the discretion of Alliance institutions.
There are two optional fields:
● contributor
● source

Enrichment
Enriching the following fields, by reconciling values to controlled vocabulary terms, is preferred practice.
However this work at the discretion of Alliance institutions. Review the element tables of these fields for more
information about preferred schemas.
● contributor
● creator
● type

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Adding local fields not covered by these guidelines

This profile does not prohibit Alliance institutions from adding other fields to their metadata records as needed to
serve local needs. However, these fields will not be harvested by the Alliance Harvester. Some examples of fields
needed locally may include:
● fields for data specific to a particular discipline or user community
● tags needed for customized searching
● natural language date fields to display unformatted dates
● other qualified Dublin Core elements such as audience or bibliographicCitation

Use of the term “resource”

This profile uses the term resource to refer to the digital resource provided for direct access by users and
described by the metadata record. This resource may be a born-digital object, a digital object converted from
another digital format, or a digital object converted from a non-digital format such as text, taped recordings,
slides, film, etc.

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II. Explanation of Table Components

Label The name assigned to the field by these guidelines

DC Mapping Lists the Dublin Core element to map to for harvesting purposes and a URI to the DC
Metadata Element definition.

Definition Definition, based on the DC Metadata Element set.

Is Field Required? Indicates the extent to which this field is required in a record:
● Required:​ Field must be included in record.
● Recommended:​ Inclusion of the field is recommended.
● Optional:​ inclusion of field is up to the discretion of the Alliance institution.

Is Field Repeatable? “No”​ indicates a field may occur just once in a single record. ​“Yes”​ indicates a field
may appear multiple times in a single record.

OAI Editing Options Identifies option to insert a common value in every record in an OAI set.

How to Use Guidelines for the content of the field.

Schemes Identifies controlled vocabulary or format convention used to structure the data
contained in the field; these are called schemes.

For more information about a mentioned scheme: ​Section IV: Vocabulary Encoding
Schemes​ of these guidelines provide tables for the referenced vocabulary encoding
schemes while ​Section V: Syntax Encoding Schemes​ provides tables for format
conventions for languages and dates. The last row of each table provides a link to a
list of controlled vocabulary terms or explanation of a format convention such as
how to structure dates or language codes.

Indicates the extent to which use of this scheme is required in a record:

● Required:​ Data must use the identified vocabulary or convention
● Preferred:​ Using the identified vocabulary or convention is preferred, but
not required

Input Examples Identifies examples of data entered in the field.

Output Examples Identifies examples of data output from the field.

Alliance Harvester Lists data transformations performed by the Alliance harvester.

Transformations

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III. Element Tables (in alphabetical order)

Label Contributor

DC Mapping dc:contributor
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/contributor

Definition An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource.

Is Field Required? Optional

Is Field Repeatable? Yes

How to Use For multiple contributors, either repeat the property or separate values with a
semicolon.

Form according to Resource Description and Access (RDA)

OAI Editing Options None

Schemes Preferred:
● Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF)
● Getty Union List of Artist Names (ULAN)
● International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI)
● Or any other contributor to The Virtual International Name Authority File
(VIAF) http://viaf.org/

Input Examples Aggens, Steffen Heinrich, 1834-1888

Callaway Family

Output Examples <dc:contributor>Aggens, Steffen Heinrich,

1834-1888</dc:contributor>

<dc:contributor>Callaway Family</dc:contributor>

Alliance Harvester ● Splits semicolon delimited values into separate properties

Transformations ● Removes trailing punctuation
● Trims whitespace
● Strips HTML tags
● Suppresses “unknown” values
● Inserts VIAF URI as a separate contributor property when there is a VIAF
compliant text string
● For Primo, maps to 2 properties:
○ Maps to dc:contributor
○ Maps to dc:contributor.undated and strips dates from these values

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Label Creator

DC Mapping dc:creator
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/creator

Definition An entity primarily responsible for making the resource.

Is Field Required? Recommended

Is Field Repeatable? Yes

How to Use For multiple creators, either repeat the property or separate values with a
semicolon.

When present, form according to Resource Description and Access (RDA).

OAI Editing Options None

Schemes Preferred:
● Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF)
● Getty Union List of Artist Names (ULAN)
● International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI)
● Or any other contributor to The Virtual International Name Authority File
(VIAF) http://viaf.org/

Input Examples Aggens, Steffen Heinrich, 1834-1888

Callaway Family

Adelphian Literary Society (Oregon State University)

Output Examples <dc:creator>Aggens, Steffen Heinrich,

1834-1888</dc:creator>

<dc:creator>Callaway Family</dc:creator>

<dc:creator>Adelphian Literary Society (Oregon State

University)</dc:creator>

Alliance Harvester ● Splits semicolon delimited values into separate properties

Transformations ● Removes trailing punctuation
● Trims whitespace
● Strips HTML tags
● Suppresses “unknown” values
● Inserts VIAF URI as a separate creator property when there is a VIAF
compliant text string
● For Primo, maps to 2 properties:
○ Maps to dc:creator
○ Maps to dc:creator.undated and strips dates from these values

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Label Date

DC Mapping dc:date
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/date

Definition A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource.

Is Field Required? Required

Is Field Repeatable? Yes, but only the first dc:date will be harvested

How to Use A resource may have several dates associated with it. The date covered by this table
refers to the creation of the original resource, that is, when the resource was first
created, before undergoing any conversion.

Additional dates are allowed, though only one date (the first instance of dc:date
output) will be harvested.

If the date is unknown, specify an estimated date or date range.

For more complex dates than shown in examples below, see the EDTF proposed
standard at the Library of Congress, or consult Alliance staff.

OAI Editing Options None

Schemes Required:
● ISO8601
● Library of Congress Extended Date Time Format (EDTF) level 0 or 1
● W3CDTF

Input Examples Year:

YYYY (e.g. 1997)

Year and month:

YYYY-MM (e.g. 1997-07)

Complete date:
YYYY-MM-DD (e.g. 1997-07-16)
YYYYMMDD (e.g. 19970716)

Complete date plus hours and minutes:

YYYY-MM-DDThh:mmTZD (e.g. 1997-07-16T19:20+01:00)

Complete date plus hours, minutes and seconds:

YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssTZD (e.g.1997-07-16T19:20:30+01:00)

Complete date plus hours, minutes, seconds and a decimal fraction of a second:
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.sTZD (e.g.1997-07-16T19:20:30.45+01:00)

Date range:
YYYY/YYYY (e.g. 1900/1920)

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Decade:
YYYu (e.g. 194u)

Circa/approximate:
YYYY~ (e.g. 1886~)
YYYY? (e.g. 1886?)

Output Examples <dc:date>1997</dc:date>

<dc:date>1997-07</dc:date>

<dc:date>1997-07-16</dc:date>

<dc:date>19970716</dc:date>

<dc:date>1997-07-16T19:20+01:00</dc:date>

<dc:date>1997-07-16T19:20:30+01:00</dc:date>

<dc:date>1997-07-16T19:20:30.45+01:00</dc:date>

<dc:date>1900/1920</dc:date>

<dc:date>194u</dc:date>

<dc:date>1886~</dc:date>

<dc:date>1886?</dc:date>

Alliance Harvester ● Trims whitespace

Transformations ● Strips HTML tags
● Harvests the first instance of dc:date output and ignores other dc:date
values
● Replaces hyphens with forward slashes in date ranges
● Ignores timestamps
● For Digital Commons default dates (YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssTZD): ignores
month and day if both equal “01”
● For DPLA, maps to 4 properties:
○ Maps to dpla:SourceResource/dc:date
○ Maps to edm:TimeSpan/dc:date
○ Derives start date from dc:date and maps to
edm:TimeSpan/edm:begin
○ Derives end date from dc:date and maps to
edm:TimeSpan/edm:end
● For Primo, maps to 3 properties:
○ Maps to dc:date
○ Derives start date from dc:date and maps to dc:date.start; Format
as YYYYMMDD; When decade and century are approximated with
the presence of "u" or "?" (eg. 194u; 19??) transform to the first day
in the decade or century (eg. 19400101; 19000101)
○ Derives end date from dc:date and maps to dc:date.end; Format as

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YYYYMMDD; When decade and century are approximated with the

presence of "u" or "?" (eg. 194u; 19??) transform to the last day in
the decade or century (eg. 19491231; 19991231)

Label Description

DC Mapping dc:description
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/description

Definition An account of the resource.

Is Field Required? Recommended

Is Field Repeatable? Yes

How to Use Output all dc:description

OAI Editing Options None

Schemes None

Input Examples Camp II Bus Station at Poston with a Japanese flair.

Postcard of the Memorial Gymnasium on the University of Idaho campus in Moscow,

Idaho.

Alpine aster; Aster alpigenus var. alpigenus

Output Examples <dc:description>Camp II Bus Station at Poston with a

Japanese flair.</dc:description>

<dc:description>Postcard of the Memorial Gymnasium on the

University of Idaho campus in Moscow,
Idaho.</dc:description>

<dc:description>Alpine aster; Aster alpigenus var.

alpigenus</dc:description>

Alliance Harvester ● Strips HTML tags

Transformations ● When a URL is the only value in dc:description, the value is ignored

Label Format

DC Mapping dc:format
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/format

Definition The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource.

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Is Field Required? Recommended

Is Field Repeatable? Yes

How to Use Output physical format and/or digital format.

For multiple formats, either repeat the property or separate values with a semicolon.

Preferred (for physical format): output the number of units and the carrier type.

OAI Editing Options To insert a common format value in all records of an OAI set, insert format value(s)
in Alliance harvester’s submission interface.

Schemes Preferred (for digital format):

● Internet Media Type (IMT)
● A commonly used subset of the entire IMT set of acceptable formats is
available for download here: ​http://mwdl.org/docs/format_values.txt
Preferred (for physical format):
● Resource Description and Access (RDA) 3.4.1.3, making sure to use a type of
unit from the RDA 3.3 "Carrier Type" list or from the "Exceptions" list
provided at the very end of 3.4.1.3.

Input Examples audio/mp4; application/pdf

image/tiff

bronze 22 in.

Output Examples <dc:format>audio/mp4; application/pdf</dc:format>

<dc:format>image/tiff</dc:format>

<dc:format>bronze 22 in.</dc:format>

Alliance Harvester ● If format value(s) are added during OAI submission, replaces dc:format in
Transformations the OAI-PMH feed with format value(s) from the submission interface
● Splits semicolon delimited values into separate properties
● Removes trailing punctuation
● Trims whitespace
● Strips HTML tags
● For DPLA, maps to 2 properties:
○ Maps digital format values to edm:webResource/dc:format
○ Maps physical format values to dpla:sourceResource/dc:format

Label Identifier

DC Mapping dc:identifier
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/identifier

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Definition An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context.

Is Field Required? Required

Is Field Repeatable? Yes, but only the record URI will be harvested

How to Use Output the resource identifier. Many digital asset management systems, such as
CONTENTdm and bepress Digital Commons, automatically create, populate, and map
the main identifier field. This main identifier is a URL for the resource.

Additional identifier fields may be created as needed for local use, such as call
number, filename, etc. However, only the identifier containing the URI leading back
to the resource will be harvested.

OAI Editing Options None

Schemes Required:
● Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) ​http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2396.txt

Input Examples http://digitalcollections.lclark.edu/items/show/6162

http://cdm16786.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/ohc/id/2

Output Examples <dc:identifier>http://digitalcollections.lclark.edu/items/s

how/6162</dc:identifier>

<dc:identifier>http://cdm16786.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/c
ollection/ohc/id/2</dc:identifier</dc:identifier>

Alliance Harvester ● Harvests the record URI and ignores other dc:identifier values
Transformations ● Trims whitespace

Label Language

DC Mapping dc:language
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/language

Definition A language of the resource.

Is Field Required? Recommended

Is Field Repeatable? Yes

How to Use Output ISO 639-2 three letter codes or language names as they appear in ISO 639-2.

For multiple languages, either repeat the property or separate values with a
semicolon.

If there is no linguistic content, leave blank.

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OAI Editing Options To insert a common language value in all records of an OAI set, insert language
value(s) in Alliance harvester’s submission interface.

Schemes Required:
● ISO639-2

Input Examples gre

ell

eng; spa

English; Spanish

Output Examples <dc:language>gre</dc:language>

<dc:language>ell</dc:language>

<dc:language>eng; spa</dc:language>

<dc:language>English; Spanish</dc:language>

Alliance Harvester ● If language value(s) are added during submission, replaces dc:language in
Transformations the OAI-PMH feed with language value(s) from the submission interface
● Splits semicolon delimited values into separate properties
● Removes trailing punctuation
● Trims whitespace
● Strips HTML tags
● Transforms dc:language names to three letter codes
● De-duplicates dc:language values within a single record

Label Relation

DC Mapping dc:relation
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/relation

Definition A related resource.

Is Field Required? Recommended

Is Field Repeatable? Yes, but only the Archives West Archival Resource Key (ARK) will be harvested.

How to Use Output the relation value as an Archives West ARK.

Additional relation fields/values may be created as needed for local use, to show
relationships between the resource and other resources. However, only the relation
value containing the Archives West ARK will be harvested.

OAI Editing Options None

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Schemes Required:
● Archival Resource Key (ARK) https://n2t.net/ark:/13030/c7cv4br18

Input Examples http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv57799

Output Examples <dc:relation>http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/8044

4/xv57799</dc:relation>

Alliance Harvester ● Harvests the Archives West ARK and ignores other dc:relation values
Transformations ● Trims whitespace

Label Rights

DC Mapping dc:rights
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/rights

Definition Information about rights held in and over the resource.

Is Field Required? Required

Is Field Repeatable? Yes

How to Use Output a rights statement pair pertaining to the resource.

A rights statement pair consists of:

● one dc:rights property containing a RightsStatements.org URI
● one dc:rights property containing a free text rights statement that
complements the selected RightsStatements.org URI

For multiple statements, repeat the property.

See ​the Alliance’s Documentation Center​ for more information applicable to all types
of rights.

OAI Editing Options To insert a common rights value in all records of an OAI set, insert rights value(s) in
Alliance harvester’s submission interface.

Schemes Required:
● Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) ​http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2396.txt
● RightsStatements.org

Input Examples Copyright held by the estate of Estelle Baruch.

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-OW-EU/1.0/

Output Examples <dc:rights>Copyright held by the estate of Estelle

Baruch.</dc:rights>

<dc:rights>http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC

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-OW-EU/1.0/</dc:rights>

Alliance Harvester ● If rights values are added during OAI submission, replaces dc:rights in the
Transformations OAI-PMH feed with rights values from the submission interface
● Trims whitespace
● Strips HTML tags
● For Primo, maps to 2 properties:
○ Maps RightsStatements.org URIs to dc:rights.standardized
○ Maps free text rights statements to dc:rights.freetext

Label Source

DC Mapping dc:source
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/source

Definition A related resource from which the described resource is derived.

Is Field Required? Optional

Is Field Repeatable? Yes

How to Use Commonly used when the resource is the result of digitization of non-digital
originals. In these cases, sufficient information to identify and find the original
resource is provided.

OAI Editing Options None

Schemes None

Input Examples RC607.A26W574 1996

Output Examples <dc:source>RC607.A26W574 1996</dc:source>

Alliance Harvester ● Trims whitespace

Transformations ● Strips HTML tags

Label Spatial coverage

DC Mapping dc:coverage
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/coverage

Definition The spatial topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the
jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant.

Is Field Required? Recommended

Is Field Repeatable? Yes

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How to Use Output spatial coverage only.

For multiple coverage statements, either repeat the property or separate values with
a semicolon.

Output as human readable place name or geographic coordinates (expressed as

decimal degrees instead of degrees-minutes-seconds format).

If outputting geographic coordinates in separate properties, output latitude first.

OAI Editing Options None

Schemes Use of a scheme is recommended. Some options are:

● GeoNames
● Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)
● Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN)

Input Examples Boise (Idaho)

United States--Idaho--Boise

43.618881, -116.215019

Boise, Ada County, Idaho, United States

Output Examples <dc:coverage>Boise (Idaho)</dc:coverage>

<dc:coverage>United States--Idaho--Boise</dc:coverage>

<dc:coverage>43.618881, -116.215019</dc:coverage>

<dc:coverage>Boise, Ada County, Idaho, United

States</dc:coverage>

Alliance Harvester ● Splits semicolon delimited values into separate properties

Transformations ● Removes trailing punctuation
● Trims whitespace
● Strips HTML tags
● Joins latitude and longitude values, separating with a comma, when
coordinates are present in separate dc:coverage properties
● For Primo, maps to 2 properties:
○ Maps human readable placenames to dc:coverage.spatial
○ Maps geographic coordinates to dc:coverage.spatial.latlng

Label Subject

DC Mapping dc:subject
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/subject

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Definition The topic of the resource.

Is Field Required? Recommended

Is Field Repeatable? Yes

How to Use Output all dc:subject.

For multiple subjects, either repeat the property or separate values with a
semicolon.

OAI Editing Options None

Schemes None

Input Examples Dentistry

Racetracks (Horse racing)--United States

Heart Failure/physiopathology

Gastronomy

Pencils

Film trailers

Nature films

Dogs; Cats; Zebras

Output Examples <dc:subject>Dentistry</dc:subject>

<dc:subject>Racetracks (Horse racing)--United

States</dc:subject>

<dc:subject>Heart Failure/physiopathology</dc:subject>

<dc:subject>Gastronomy</dc:subject>

<dc:subject>Pencils</dc:subject>

<dc:subject>Film trailers</dc:subject>

<dc:subject>nature films</dc:subject>

<dc:subject>Dogs; Cats; Zebras</dc:subject>

Alliance Harvester ● Splits semicolon delimited values into separate properties

Transformations ● Removes trailing punctuation
● Trims whitespace
● Strips HTML tags

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Label Title

DC Mapping dc:title
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/title

Definition A name given to the resource.

Is Field Required? Required

Is Field Repeatable? Yes

How to Use Each title property should have a single title value.

For multiple titles, repeat the property.

OAI Editing Options None

Schemes None

Input Examples Haystack Rock

Bakery at McNeil Island Penitentiary

White Pass & Yukon Railroad train stopped at the summit of White Pass, ca. 1914

Output Examples <dc:title>Haystack Rock</dc:title>

<dc:title>Bakery at McNeil Island Penitentiary</dc:title>

<dc:title>White Pass & Yukon Railroad train stopped at the

summit of White Pass, ca.1914</dc:title>

Alliance Harvester ● Trims whitespace

Transformations ● Strips HTML tags

Label Type

DC Mapping dc:type
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/type

Definition The nature or genre of the resource.

Is Field Required? Required

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Is Field Repeatable? Yes

How to Use Output at least one value from DCMI Type vocabulary.

For multiple values, either repeat the property or separate values with a semicolon.

Optional:
● Output one or more genre value(s) to refine the selected DCMI Type value.
Adding genre values is optional and is in addition to the required type
value(s).

OAI Editing Options To insert a common type or genre value in all records of an OAI set, insert value(s) in
Alliance harvester’s submission interface.

Schemes Required (for required type):

● DCMI Type Vocabulary
Preferred (for optional genre):
● Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT)
● A commonly used subset of the entire AAT genre terms is available for
download here: ​http://mwdl.org/docs/AAT_subset.txt

Input Examples Image; Black-and-white photographs

Image; MovingImage

Sound; Text

Text; Articles

Output Examples <dc:type>Image; Black-and-white photographs</dc:type>

<dc:type>Image; MovingImage</dc:type>

<dc:type>Sound; Text</dc:type>

<dc:type>Text; Articles</dc:type>

Alliance Harvester ● If type value(s) are added during OAI submission, replaces dc:type in the
Transformations OAI-PMH feed with type value(s) from the submission interface
● Splits semicolon delimited values into separate properties
● Removes trailing punctuation
● Trims whitespace
● Strips HTML tags
● Adds DCMI Type URI to DCMI Type text strings
● Adds AAT URI to AAT text strings
● For DPLA, maps to 2 properties:
○ Maps DCMI Type values to dpla:sourceResource/dcterms:type
○ Maps non-DCMI Type values to dpla:sourceResource/edm:hasType
● For Primo, maps to 2 properties:
○ Maps DCMI Type values to dc:type
○ Maps non-DCMI Type values to dc:genre

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IV. Vocabulary Encoding Schemes

Term AAT

Full Name Art and Architecture Thesaurus

Definition A structured vocabulary containing terms, descriptions, and other information for
generic concepts related to art, architecture, and material culture. It is organized
hierarchically within seven facets: associated concepts, physical properties, styles
and periods, agents, activities, materials, and objects.

List of Terms http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/aat

A commonly used subset of the entire AAT genre terms is available for download
here: ​http://mwdl.org/docs/AAT_subset.txt

Term DCMI Type

Full Name DCMI Type Vocabulary

Definition The set of classes specified by the DCMI Type Vocabulary, used to categorize the
nature or genre of the resource.
http://purl.org/dc/terms/DCMIType

List of Terms http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-type-vocabulary/

Term GeoNames

Full Name GeoNames

Definition A geo-spatial database including geographic data such as place names in various
languages, latitude, longitude, and altitude.

List of Terms http://www.geonames.org/

Term IMT

Full Name Internet Media Types

Definition Media types specified by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority.

http://purl.org/dc/terms/IMT

List of Terms http://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/

A commonly used subset of the entire IMT set of acceptable formats is available for

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download here: ​http://mwdl.org/docs/format_values.txt

Term ISNI

Full Name International Standard Name Identifier

Definition ISNI is the ISO certified global standard number for identifying contributors to
creative works and those active in their distribution, including researchers,
inventors, writers, artists, visual creators, performers, producers, publishers,
aggregators, etc.

List of Terms http://www.isni.org/

Term LCNAF

Full Name Library of Congress Name Authorities File

Definition The set of authorized personal and corporate names specified by the Library of
Congress.

List of Terms http://authorities.loc.gov

Term LCSH

Full Name Library of Congress Subject Headings

Definition The set of labeled concepts specified by the Library of Congress Subject Headings.

List of Terms http://www.loc.gov/aba/cataloging/subject/

Term RightsStatements.org

Full Name RightsStatements.org

Definition 12 standardized rights statements, developed by Europeana and DPLA, that can be
used by cultural heritage institutions to communicate the copyright and re-use
status of digital objects to the public.

List of Terms http://rightsstatements.org/page/1.0/?language=en

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Term TGN

Full Name Thesaurus of Geographic Names

Definition A structured vocabulary, including names, descriptions, and other metadata for
extant and historical cities, empires, archaeological sites, and physical features
important to research of art and architecture.

List of Terms https://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/tgn/index.html

Term ULAN

Full Name Union List of Artist Names

Definition A Getty structured vocabulary, including names, biographies, related people, and
other metadata about artists, architects, firms, studios, museums, patrons, sitters,
and other people and groups involved in the creation and study of art and
architecture.

List of Terms https://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/ulan/index.html

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V. Syntax Encoding Schemes

Term EDTF

Full Name Library of Congress Extended Date Time Format

Definition Defines a profile of and extension to ISO 8601, the International Standard for the
representation of dates and times.
Level 0: profile of ISO 8601
Level 1: simple extensions

List of Terms Level 0: ​http://www.loc.gov/standards/datetime/pre-submission.html#level0

Level 1: ​http://www.loc.gov/standards/datetime/pre-submission.html#level1

Term ISO639-2

Full Name ISO 639-2

Definition 639-2, Codes for the representation of names of languages--Part 2: Alpha-3 code, ISO
639-2 is a code that aims to define three letter identifiers for human languages.

List of Terms http://lcweb.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/langhome.html

Term ISO8601

Full Name ISO 8601:2004

Definition An international standard covering the exchange of date and time-related data,
issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

List of Terms http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/iso8601.htm

Summary: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-time.html

Term W3CDTF

Full Name W3C-DTF

Definition Defines a profile of ISO 8601, the International Standard for the representation of
dates and times.
http://purl.org/dc/terms/W3CDTF

List of Terms https://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-datetime

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VI. Crosswalks

Alliance to DPLA MAP, v.4

A detailed crosswalk between DPLA Metadata Application Profile, v.4 and data harvested from Orbis Cascade
Alliance digital repositories:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eVKvh8xdoq_eQAsNyfLexrkijqh5CpQXPGgSVpeDlEw/edit?usp=sharing
(first sheet)

Alliance to ExLibris Primo PNX

A detailed crosswalk between the ExLibris Primo PNX record and data harvested from Orbis Cascade Alliance
digital repositories:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eVKvh8xdoq_eQAsNyfLexrkijqh5CpQXPGgSVpeDlEw/edit?usp=sharing
(second sheet)

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