FAO/COAIM-2/Tech.2

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. The AGRIS Application Profile

III. AGRIS Application Profile: Element overview and description

Appendix I

I. Introduction

Background

1. This document is a summary of the document “AGRIS: Guidelines for Description of Information Objects for International Information System on Agricultural Sciences and Technology” which describes the purpose, content, and role of AGRIS application profile (AGRIS AP) in modernizing the AGRIS information management system and provides a guideline to describe information objects under the AGRIS system.

2. Download the full paper from ftp://ext-ftp.fao.org/agris/COAIM/

Objectives and Goals

3. The objective of the AGRIS Application Profile is to develop a metadata format that would be used for description of bibliographic resources collected within AGRIS adhering to the current metadata standards. This would facilitate exposure of the metadata in a format that is interoperable with other information systems in FAO and the agricultural community as a whole.

4. The expected benefits of AGRIS Application Profile are:

• a common format for description and exchange of information resources within the current AGRIS network;
• a standard data model for bibliographic description of resources in the agriculture domain, covering publications in different areas of the domain such as Fishery, Forestry, etc.;
• different communities to be able to access and re-use existing application profile schema and to establish a common format for homogenizing results on a search interface derived from parallel searching of heterogeneous archives.
• harvesting of metadata from data sources within and beyond the domain of agriculture;
• encoding the metadata using new tools such as Resource Description Framework (RDF) and the Extensible Markup Language (XML). This in turn will greatly facilitate the exchange of information by:

1. Providing an overall metadata framework for better search capabilities on the internet;
2. Offering a mechanism for interoperability between applications; and
3. Supplying a potential means for automated processing of web resources.

Scope of the AGRIS Application Profile

5. The AGRIS application profile specifications are meant to replace the data entry process described in the previous AGRIS Guideline Manual (1998). The new specifications are proposed in the light of many pressing issues, some of which are: a greater need for storing and disseminating data in a common exchange format that can be interoperable with different systems namely, the XML format and a lesser willingness to send data in ISO2709 format. Rapid development of information technologies that facilitate searching of multiple databases is also a motivation.

6. The old specifications were created with mainly non-electronic resources in mind and the data structure was mainly flat and could not immediately be applied to the more popular and practical relational databases and do not allow exchange of information with different systems. The current format of the specifications adheres to the current advances in information technology namely, XML and RDF which also cater for electronic documents; enable storing of data in relational databases as well as exchange between different systems.

Needs for Metadata Standards

7. Metadata standards are simply a common set of terms (semantics) and definitions that describe data/resource. The benefits of using standards to describe and generate metadata include:

1. Metadata Standards can be registered in registries and thus are open for reuse by everyone, avoiding duplication of effort and waste of resource and time;
2. Standards guide how a collection of resources are described and how individual values are normalised. This facilitates interaction and interoperability between institutions handling similar resources;
3. Standards allow cross-site access of online resources. It allows for the definition of a common format for homogenising set results on a search interface that enables parallel searching of heterogeneous archives. (federation of libraries/archives);
4. Standards maintain consistency and avoid confusion. They promote consistent use of semantics. These allow interoperability amongst systems;
5. The use of a common syntax such as XML and frame such as RDF enables exchange of resources stored using different applications. They allow for the metadata to be machine readable; thus allowing for different applications to be comparable and interoperable;
6. Standards facilitate implementation of value-added services such as the Open Archives Initiative which allow for data from different databases to be homogenised. All the databases provide their information in XML using simple DC elements as its elements.
7. Standards ensure that a controlled vocabulary is used to describe resources. Using terminology from a controlled vocabulary such as AGROVOC, CABI Thesaurus etc. ensures consistency and can improve the quality of search results. When key semantic content of the resource is represented in the metadata, appropriate resources are matched to relevant queries thereby ensuring that the search results are of high precision and recall. It also reduces the likelihood of spelling errors when recording metadata;
8. With the advent of web technologies, metadata can be generated automatically by search engines. These require that some recognised standard metadata formats exist. Standard metadata formats and semantics will enable data to be processable and manageable.

The Agricultural Metadata Standards Initiative

8. A task force of experts within the AGRIS/CARIS Group has set out a specification for the first metadata standard, based on the Dublin Core Elements² and Qualifiers³, as well as extensions which were considered necessary for the comprehensive description of Agricultural information documented in the Agricultural Metadata Element Set (AgMES)⁴. This work was done under the Agricultural Standards Metadata Initiative (AgStandards) which proposes standards for defining metadata elements required for describing resources in the domain of agriculture.

What is AGMES?

9. The Agricultural Metadata Element Set (AgMES) is a proposed set of metadata elements for describing resources in the domain of agriculture. Agriculture here is used not in a restricted sense but for covering all subject areas that are important for FAOs goal – achieving food-security. The proposal is mainly based on the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (DCMES); however, other standards useful for description of resources have also been consulted. It is noted that the use of standardized and structured descriptions of resources will not only improve accessibility but also visibility in a more open environment. The AGRIS Application profile is a specification defined from the AgMES, with extensions from the AGRIS metadata elements.

II. The AGRIS Application Profile

What is an Application Profile?

10. An application profile is a type of metadata schema which consists of data elements drawn from one or more namespaces, combined together and optimised for a particular local application.

11. In the context of AgStandards Initiative, an application profile has the above definition. The elements in every AgStandards application profile will consist of elements, refinements and schemes drawn from the DCMES, AgMES or any other namespace from which a term might be reused to meet the needs of the FAO applications. When dealing with application profiles, it becomes important to discuss namespaces.

Namespaces

12. An XML namespace is a collection of names, identified by a URI reference which are used in XML documents as element types and attribute names. XML namespaces differ from the "namespaces" conventionally used in computing disciplines in that the XML version has internal structure and is not, mathematically speaking, a set.

13. In the context of AgStandards Initiative, the elements defined in Agricultural Metadata Element Set (AgMES) constitute a namespace. The AgMES element set defines newly coined elements, deemed necessary to accurately describe information resources in the domain of agriculture. This element set will be maintained at a stable location and will identify a reference point where elements are defined and are maintained to be used by different applications.

14. For example the AgMES namespace provides the following information:

• It identifies the management authority for all the elements and schemes, which in this case is FAO;
• It provides unique identifiers for elements; and
• It uniquely defines schemes and controlled lists.

15. The creation of the AgMES will be an on-going process. Proposed new elements and schemes might be appended to the current list after proper impact assessment is done.

Creating the AGRIS Application Profile

16. The AGRIS application profile follows the basic requirements of an Application Profile.

• It draws elements from existing namespaces, namely DCMES and AgMES;

• It introduces no new data elements;
• It specifies the cardinality and data-typing information;
• It specifies the application specific schemes and controlled list values; and
• It slightly refines standards definitions of some of the elements.

Essential Definitions

17. The three most commonly used terms in this document are described below for the sake of clarification.

• Element – An element is described as a unit of data or metadata. The element allows us to give more information about the described information;
   
• Element Refinement – An element qualifier that makes the meaning of an element either narrower or more specific. Additionally, element refinement shares the meaning of the unqualified element, but with a more restricted scope. When a client does not understand the element refinement, it can be ignored and the value is used as content of the unqualified element;
   
• Encoding Scheme – An encoding scheme aids in the interpretation of the value of an element. Encoding schemes may either be controlled vocabularies or formal notations. A value drawn from an encoding scheme can be taken from a controlled list of vocabulary (e.g. a term from a classification such as AGRIS Subject Categories or a term from a thesaurus such as AGROVOC). Formal notations are used to format a value of an element (e.g., date expressed the “YYYY-MM-DD” format). When a client does not understand the encoding scheme, it can be still useful for human readers.

Methodology used to develop the AGRIS Application Profile

18. The strategy and methodology adopted to formulate the AGRIS AP involves the following:

• Development of a conceptual map of the different types of information resources used in the AGRIS application.

• Remodelling of the AGRIS data model to meet current information needs.
• Evaluation of standards and common resource description practices, mainly using the Dublin Core Metadata Element set (DCMES), the Agricultural Metadata Element Set (AgMES) and the Australian Government Locator Service Metadata Set (AGLS).
• Mapping of currently used elements to the available element pool.
• Proposing of the unavailable element and schemes for addition in the AgMES.
• Coding of the application profile schema into XML DTD.
• Studying of implementation results, problems encountered and incorporation of amendments.

19. Full element description is done for all the elements as shown below.

Element: Element Name

Element Refinements: Refinements of the elements

Definition

Purpose

Corresponding AGRIS Field(s)

Examples in XML

Rules of entry

20. For example in the case of Title element: The definition of the element will be given, the purpose of the field described. Example in XML syntax is provided and rules on how the title should be entered are given. A table like one below gives more information on the element including the corresponding AGRIS Tags, data type, cardinality, obligation, attributes and some important notes.

III. AGRIS Application Profile: Element overview and description

Overview

21. The table below gives a summary of mapping of all the AGRIS elements to the elements from DCMES, AgMES and AGLS; showing the AGRIS input field name and the corresponding AgMES element together with the element refinements and schemes. The first column denotes the bibliographical level which is indicates whether the fields are for an Analytical, a Monograph or a Serial.

Element Description

22. This section gives an overview of the elements and their refinements. For detailed information see http://www.fao.org/agris/agmes/

a) Title

Definition: A name given to the resource.

Title refinements: Alternative Title; Supplement Title

b) Creator

Definition: Entity primarily responsible for creating, making available and making contribution to the intellectual content of the resource.

Creator refinements: Personal Author; Corporate Author; Conference

c) Publisher

Definition: An entity (person or organization) responsible for making the resource available.

Publisher Refinements: Place of Publication

d) Subject

Definition: The topic of the content of the resource

Subject refinements: Classification; Thesaurus

e) Description

Definition: An account of content of the resource

Description refinements: Notes; Edition; Abstract

f) Date

Definition: A date associated with an event in the life cycle of the resource.

Date Refinement: Date of Publication

g) Identifier

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

Identifier refinements: URI; ISBN; ISSN; Report no.; International Patent no.; Job no.; Patent Number and TRN

h) Type

Definition: The nature or genre of the content of the resource.

Type Refinements: Collection; Literary indicator, Also see http://www.dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-type-vocabulary/ and http://www.fao.org/agris/agmes/

i) Format

Definition: The physical or digital manifestation of the resource.

Format refinements: Extent

j) Language

Definition: A language of the intellectual content of the resource.

k) Relation

Definition: A reference to a related resource.

Relation Refinements: isTranslationOf; isPartOf; hasPart; isVersionOf; hasVersion; isFormatOf; hasFormat; references; isReferencedBy; isRequiredBy requires; isReplacedBy; replaces; hasTranslation

l) Audience

Definition: A category of user for whom the resource is intended.

m) Availability

Definition: A number or code that is uniquely associated with an item used to identify that item within an organization. This number is normally assigned by the organization that holds the item. Since this is local information, availability must include the name or code identifying the institution or repository in which the item is housed.

Availability Refinements: Place, Number

Appendix I

(1) DOCUMENT TYPE DESCRIPTION (DTD) FOR AGRIS AP

NOTE: The DTD is prepared with new guidelines in encoding Dublin core in XML. It is only a first draft to demonstrate the encoding. The draft is under revision and should not be used for application building.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!-- edited with XML Spy v3.5 NT (http://www.xmlspy.com) by () -->

<!ATTLIST metadata

trn ID #REQUIRED

level (M | AS | AM | MS | AMS) #REQUIRED>

<!ELEMENT metadatas (metadata)*>

<!ELEMENT metadata (dc:title+, dcterms:alternative*, ags:supplementtitle*, ags:creator*, ags:personalauthor*, ags:corporateauthor*, ags:conference*, dc:publisher*, ags:place*, dcterms:issued*, dc:subject*, ags:classification*, ags:thesaurus*, dc:description*, ags:notes*, ags:edition?, dc:abstract*, dc:identifier*, dc:type*, dc:format*, dcterms:extent*, ags:location*, ags:number*, dcterms:audience*, dc:language*, dc:relation*, dcterms:ispartof*, dcterms:haspart*, dcterms:isversionof*, dcterms:hasversion*, dcterms:isformatof*, dcterms:hasformat*, dcterms:references*, dcterms:isreferencedby*, dcterms:isrequiredby*, dcterms:requires*, dcterms:isreplacedby*, dcterms:replaces*, ags:hastranslation*, dcterms:istranslationof*)>

<!ELEMENT dc:title (#PCDATA)>

<!ATTLIST dc:title

xml:lang CDATA #REQUIRED

bib_level (A | M | S) #REQUIRED>

<!ELEMENT dcterms:alternative (#PCDATA)>

<!ATTLIST dcterms:alternative

xml:lang CDATA #REQUIRED

bib_level (A | M | S) #REQUIRED>

<!ELEMENT ags:supplementtitle (#PCDATA)>

<!ATTLIST ags:supplementtitle

xml:lang CDATA #REQUIRED

bib_level (A | M | S) #REQUIRED>

<!ELEMENT ags:creator (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT ags:personalauthor (#PCDATA)>

<!ATTLIST ags:personalauthor

xml:lang CDATA #IMPLIED

bib_level (A | M) #IMPLIED>

<!ELEMENT ags:corporateauthor (#PCDATA)>

<!ATTLIST ags:corporateauthor

xml:lang CDATA #IMPLIED

bib_level (A | M) #IMPLIED>

<!ELEMENT ags:conference (#PCDATA)>

<!ATTLIST ags:conference

xml:lang CDATA #IMPLIED

bib_level (A | M) #IMPLIED>

<!ELEMENT dc:publisher (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT ags:place (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT dcterms:issued (#PCDATA)>

<!ATTLIST dcterms:issued
xml:lang CDATA #IMPLIED
bib_level (M | S) #REQUIRED>

<!ELEMENT dc:subject (#PCDATA)>
<!ATTLIST dc:subject
xml:lang CDATA #REQUIRED
scheme CDATA #IMPLIED>

<!ELEMENT ags:classification (#PCDTA)>
<!-- should this one have all the primaryA subject categories? -->
<!ATTLIST ags:classification
scheme CDATA #REQUIRED>

<!ELEMENT ags:thesaurus (#PCDATA)>
<!ATTLIST ags:thesaurus
xml:lang CDATA #REQUIRED
scheme CDATA #REQUIRED>

<!ELEMENT dc:description (#PCDATA)>
<!ATTLIST dc:description
xml:lang CDATA #REQUIRED
bib_level (A | M | S) #IMPLIED>

<!ELEMENT ags:notes (#PCDATA)>
<!ATTLIST ags:notes
xml:lang CDATA #REQUIRED
bib_level (A | M | S) #IMPLIED>

<!ELEMENT ags:edition (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT dc:abstract (#PCDATA)>
<!ATTLIST dc:abstract
xml:lang CDATA #REQUIRED>

<!ELEMENT dc:identifier (#PCDATA)>
<!ATTLIST dc:identifier
scheme CDATA #IMPLIED>

<!ELEMENT dc:type (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT dc:format (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT dcterms:extent (#PCDATA)>
<!ATTLIST dcterms:extent
xml:lang CDATA #IMPLIED
bib_level (A | M | S) #REQUIRED>

<!ELEMENT ags:location (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT ags:number (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT dcterms:audience (#PCDATA)>
<!ATTLIST dcterms:audience
xml:lang CDATA #IMPLIED>

<!ELEMENT dc:language (#PCDATA)>
<!ATTLIST dc:language
scheme CDATA "ISO639-1"
bib_level (A | M) #REQUIRED>

<!ELEMENT dc:relation (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT dcterms:ispartof (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT dcterms:haspart (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT dcterms:isversionof (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT dcterms:hasversion (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT dcterms:isformatof (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT dcterms:hasformat (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT dcterms:references (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT dcterms:isreferencedby (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT dcterms:isrequiredby (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT dcterms:requires (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT dcterms:isreplacedby (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT dcterms:replaces (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT ags:hastranslation (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT dcterms:istranslationof (#PCDATA)>

______________________________

¹ AGRIS: Guidelines for Description of Information Objects for International Information System on Agricultural Sciences and Technology. A summary. August 2002. Prepared by AGRIS/CARISn Documentation Group. Based on: AGRIS Guidelines for Bibliographic Descriptions and Input Sheet Preparation by M. Natlacen et. al, January 1998.

² Dublin Core Element set http://www.dublincore.org/documents/1999/07/02/dces/

³ Dublin Core qualifiers http://www.dublincore.org/documents/2000/07/11/dcmes-qualifiers/

⁴ Agricultural Metadata Element Set http://www.fao.org/agris/agmes/