At the request of the DSpace Committers and Developers, the DSpace Community Advisory Team (https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/cmtygp/DSpace+Community+Advisory+Team
) (DCAT) has begun an effort to build a community consensus on improving the metadata support in future DSpace releases. Last month this process began with a community survey to collect feedback on what improvements organizations would like to see relative to metadata support in DSpace.
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1) Add metadata authority controls/vocabularies to the data model. Since there is an existing add-on for controlled vocabularies (https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/DSPACE/Authority+Control+of+Metadata+Values), DCAT interprets this to mean that we should open up the rights to use a controlled vocabulary and possibly link it from an external source. Some examples would be the National Agricultural Library (linked open data) and the National Library of Medicine (subject based).
2) Update the Qualified Dublin Core registry to the current DCMI standards, adopting the newer DC Terms namespace (http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/ ) as an evolutionary step over the 15 original elements (http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/) in the dc namespace. Based on the community survey, DCAT also recommends that the default configuration should separate out standardized DC metadata, administrative metadata and local customizations into distinct metadata schemas. Repository administrators would be prevented from modifying the standardized DC metadata which would effectively break compliance. Instead, local modifications would be accomplished in a separate metadata schema.
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5) Explore the implications of offering hierarchal metadata in DSpace and whether it makes sense, given the DSpace/Fedora integration work. Hierarchal metadata would allow for relationships between community/collection/bitstream metadata. Because Fedora metadata is not stored in the database, as it is in DSpace, but in files, the relational aspect functionality in Fedora is more flexible. It is hoped that the DSpace/Fedora integration work would take advantage of Fedora's flexibility. DCAT proposes that the community explore the implications/reasonableness of a separate effort on hierarchal metadata in addition to the DSpace/Fedora integration.
How can you help?
If any of the above priorities are important to you or your organization, we need your help. In order to move forward we need to put together a project team for each priority. If there are no volunteers, there will likely be no meaningful movement forward. Please contact Valorie Hollister at vhollister@duraspace.org in you are interested in contributing your time and effort.