Dublin Core Metadata Element Set, Version 1.1
Introduction
The Dublin Core Metadata Element Set is a vocabulary of fifteen
properties for use in resource description. The name "Dublin"
is due to its origin at a 1995 invitational workshop in Dublin,
Ohio; "core" because its elements are broad and generic,
usable for describing a wide range of resources.
The fifteen element "Dublin Core" described in this
standard is part of a larger set of metadata vocabularies
and technical specifications maintained by the Dublin Core
Metadata Initiative (DCMI). The full set of vocabularies,
DCMI Metadata Terms [DCMI-TERMS], also includes sets of
resource classes (including the DCMI Type Vocabulary [DCMI-TYPE]),
vocabulary encoding schemes, and syntax encoding schemes.
The terms in DCMI vocabularies are intended to be used in
combination with terms from other, compatible vocabularies
in the context of application profiles and on the basis of
the DCMI Abstract Model [DCAM].
All changes made to terms of the Dublin Core Metadata Element
Set since 2001 have been reviewed by a DCMI Usage Board in
the context of a DCMI Namespace Policy [DCMI-NAMESPACE].
The namespace policy describes how DCMI terms are assigned
Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) and sets limits on the
range of editorial changes that may allowably be made to
the labels, definitions, and usage comments associated with
existing DCMI terms.
This document, an excerpt from the more
comprehensive document "DCMI Metadata Terms"
[DCTERMS]
provides an abbreviated reference version of the fifteen
element descriptions that have been formally endorsed in the
following standards:
Since 1998, when these fifteen elements entered into
a standardization track, notions of best practice in the
Semantic Web have evolved to include the assignment of formal
domains and ranges in addition to definitions in natural language.
Domains and ranges specify what kind of described resources and
value resources are associated with a given property. Domains
and ranges express the meanings implicit in natural-language
definitions in an explicit form that is usable for the
automatic processing of logical inferences. When a given
property is encountered, an inferencing application may
use information about the domains and ranges assigned to
a property in order to make inferences about the resources
described thereby.
Since January 2008, therefore, DCMI includes formal domains
and ranges in the definitions of its properties. So as not
to affect the conformance of existing implementations of
"simple Dublin Core" in RDF, domains and ranges have not been
specified for the fifteen properties of the dc: namespace
(http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/). Rather, fifteen new
properties with "names" identical to those of the Dublin
Core Metadata Element Set Version 1.1 have been created
in the dcterms: namespace (http://www.calshop.net/spacer.gif).
These fifteen new properties have been defined as
subproperties of the corresponding properties of DCMES
Version 1.1 and assigned domains and ranges as specified
in the more comprehensive document "DCMI Metadata Terms"
[DCTERMS].
Implementers may freely choose to use these fifteen properties
either in their legacy dc: variant (e.g., http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/creator) or
in the dcterms: variant (e.g., http://purl.org/dc/terms/creator) depending
on application requirements. The RDF schemas of
the DCMI namespaces describe the subproperty relation of
dcterms:creator to dc:creator for use by Semantic
Web-aware applications. Over time, however, implementers are
encouraged to use the semantically more precise dcterms:
properties, as they more fully follow emerging notions of
best practice for machine-processable metadata.
References
The Elements
|
Term Name: contributor |
| URI:
|
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/contributor
|
| Label:
|
Contributor |
| Definition:
|
An entity responsible for making
contributions to the resource. |
| Comment:
|
Examples of a Contributor include a person,
an organization, or a service. Typically, the
name of a Contributor should be used to indicate
the entity. |
|
Term Name: coverage |
| URI:
|
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/coverage
|
| Label:
|
Coverage |
| Definition:
|
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the
spatial applicability of the resource, or the
jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant. |
| Comment:
|
Spatial topic and spatial applicability may be a named place or a location specified by its geographic coordinates. Temporal topic may be a named period, date, or date range. A jurisdiction may be a named administrative entity or a geographic place to which the resource applies. Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary such as the Thesaurus of Geographic Names [TGN]. Where appropriate, named places or time periods can be used in preference to numeric identifiers such as sets of coordinates or date ranges. |
| References:
|
[TGN] http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/tgn/index.html |
|
Term Name: creator |
| URI:
|
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/creator
|
| Label:
|
Creator |
| Definition:
|
An entity primarily responsible for making
the resource. |
| Comment:
|
Examples of a Creator include a person, an
organization, or a service. Typically, the name
of a Creator should be used to indicate the entity. |
|
Term Name: date |
| URI:
|
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/date
|
| Label:
|
Date |
| Definition:
|
A point or period of time associated with an
event in the lifecycle of the resource. |
| Comment:
|
Date may be used to express temporal information
at any level of granularity. Recommended best
practice is to use an encoding scheme, such as
the W3CDTF profile of ISO 8601 [W3CDTF]. |
| References:
|
[W3CDTF] http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-datetime |
|
Term Name: description |
| URI:
|
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/description
|
| Label:
|
Description |
| Definition:
|
An account of the resource. |
| Comment:
|
Description may include but is not limited to:
an abstract, a table of contents, a graphical
representation, or a free-text account of
the resource. |
|
Term Name: format |
| URI:
|
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/format
|
| Label:
|
Format |
| Definition:
|
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions
of the resource. |
| Comment:
|
Examples of dimensions include
size and duration. Recommended best practice is
to use a controlled vocabulary such as the list
of Internet Media Types [MIME]. |
| References:
|
[MIME] http://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/ |
|
Term Name: identifier |
| URI:
|
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/identifier
|
| Label:
|
Identifier |
| Definition:
|
An unambiguous reference to the resource within
a given context. |
| Comment:
|
Recommended best practice is to identify the
resource by means of a string conforming
to a formal identification system. |
|
Term Name: language |
| URI:
|
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/language
|
| Label:
|
Language |
| Definition:
|
A language of the resource. |
| Comment:
|
Recommended best practice is to use a controlled
vocabulary such as RFC 4646 [RFC4646]. |
| References:
|
[RFC4646] http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc4646.txt |
|
Term Name: publisher |
| URI:
|
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/publisher
|
| Label:
|
Publisher |
| Definition:
|
An entity responsible for making the resource
available. |
| Comment:
|
Examples of a Publisher include a person, an
organization, or a service. Typically, the name of
a Publisher should be used to indicate the entity. |
|
Term Name: relation |
| URI:
|
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/relation
|
| Label:
|
Relation |
| Definition:
|
A related resource. |
| Comment:
|
Recommended best practice is to identify the
related resource by means of a string conforming
to a formal identification system. |
|
Term Name: rights |
| URI:
|
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/rights
|
| Label:
|
Rights |
| Definition:
|
Information about rights held in and
over the resource. |
| Comment:
|
Typically, rights information includes
a statement about various property rights
associated with the resource, including
intellectual property rights. |
|
Term Name: source |
| URI:
|
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/source
|
| Label:
|
Source |
| Definition:
|
A related resource from which the described resource is derived. |
| Comment:
|
The described resource may be derived from the
related resource in whole or in part. Recommended
best practice is to identify the related resource
by means of a string conforming to a formal
identification system. |
|
Term Name: subject |
| URI:
|
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/subject
|
| Label:
|
Subject |
| Definition:
|
The topic of the resource. |
| Comment:
|
Typically, the subject will be represented using
keywords, key phrases, or classification codes.
Recommended best practice is to use a controlled
vocabulary. To describe the spatial or temporal
topic of the resource, use the Coverage element. |
|
Term Name: title |
| URI:
|
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/title
|
| Label:
|
Title |
| Definition:
|
A name given to the resource. |
| Comment:
|
Typically, a Title will be a name by which
the resource is formally known. |
|
Term Name: type |
| URI:
|
http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/type
|
| Label:
|
Type |
| Definition:
|
The nature or genre of the resource. |
| Comment:
|
Recommended best practice is to use a controlled
vocabulary such as the DCMI Type Vocabulary
[DCMITYPE]. To describe the file format, physical
medium, or dimensions of the resource, use the
Format element. |
| References:
|
[DCMITYPE] http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-type-vocabulary/ |
Copyright © 1995-2008 DCMI. All Rights Reserved. | |
