Finding the Celtic Metadata Schema
The FtC website hosted by iBiblio stores RDF metadata, which can point to data on many different servers (including the iBiblio servers). If you are contributing metadata to FtC, it is very important that you understand the RDF elements and values well.
All RDF files should have the suffix .rdf and be encoded as UTF-8 text files.
The table below is a summary of the elements defined by the FtC schema. A detailed explanation of each of the elements follow the table.
Element Summary Table
The table belowcontains:
- The title of the element, as referred to in FtC documentation
- An indication if the element is required
- An indication if the element is limited to a single value or if it can have multiple values
- The formal name of the element as it appears in RDF file
- A short explanation of the element
Important Formatting Caveats
- The RDF indexer is case-sensitive, so you must follow the upper- and lower-case conventions shown here!
- The character '&' cannot appear in the values (such as Title, Archive, etc). Instead, spell out as "and" or something similar.
- Element values should not have leading or trailing whitespaces. For example, <dc:date>1875</dc:date> is correct but <dc:date> 1875 </dc:date> is not.
| Title | Req'd | Multi | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identifier | Yes | No | <namespace rdf:about="value"> | Unique identifier for the object |
| Archive | Yes | No | <ftc:archive> | A shorthand reference to the contributing project |
| Title | Yes | No | <dc:title> | The human-readable title for data item |
| AlternativeTitle | No | Yes | <dcterms:alternative> | Alternative names for object |
| ItemType | Yes | No | <ftc:itemtype> | Type of object this is |
| Role | No | Yes | <role:entry> | Person who created/edited/etc the object |
| Date | Yes | No | <dc:date> | Year(s) when object created/used |
| Period | Yes | No | <ftc:period> | Era when object created |
| Country | Yes | No | <ftc:country> | Country where object found (or associated) |
| FoundLoc | No | No | <ftc:foundloc> | Long/Lat coordinate where object found |
| Language | No | Yes | <ftc:language> | Language(s) appearing in text |
| Material | Yes | Yes | <ftc:material> | Materials from which object made |
| Text | No | No | <ftc:text> | Text transcription of/about object |
| SourceCode | No | No | <ftc:source rdf:resource="URL" /> | Pointer to source code for object (usually XML) |
| SeeAlso | No | Np | <rdfs:seeAlso rdf:resource="URL" /> | Pointer to webpage of object |
| Thumbnail | No | No | <ftc:thumbnail rdf:resource="URL" /> | Pointer to mini picture of object |
| Image | No | No | <ftc:image rdf:resource="URL" /> | Pointer to full image of object |
| SourceWork | No | Yes | <dc:source> | Name of source work(s) |
| Parent | No | No | <dcterms:isPartOf rdf:resource="URI" /> | Pointer to object containing this one |
| Children | No | Yes | <dcterms:hasPart rdf:resource="URI" /> | List of objects contained by this one |
| Relations | No | Yes | <dc:relation rdf:resource="URI" /> | Pointer to related objects |
Full Tag Definitions
Below are the full explanation of the tags and allowed values.
Identifier
Required: Yes Allow multiples? No
The URI (Unique Resource Identifier) for the object (i.e., no other object in FtC can have this name). The namespace element is one of a number of namespaces defined by the FtC system administrator.
Example:
<mnd rdf:about = "http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/primary/meigle1">
mnd is a custom namespace defined in FtC for the data archives of Michael Newton; this particular object is identified by the unique string http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/primary/meigle1. (No other item can have the same identifier.)
Archive
Required: Yes Allow multiples? No
The name of the project or website from which the data for the object was obtained, and to which the SeeAlso link points. Special archives will have internal codes assigned to them; otherwise, a readable name should be given.
Example:
<ftc:archive>cci</ftc:archive>
(See the Samples page for some examples of objects tied to online sites.)
Title
Required: Yes Allow multiples? No
The human-readable title for the object.
Example:
<dc:title>Táin Bó Cúailgne</dc:title>
AlternativeTitle
Required: No Allow multiples? Yes
One or more alternative titles for the object (for example, in translation).
Example:
<dcterms:alternative>The Cattle Raid of Cooley</dcterms:alternative>
ItemType
Required: Yes Allow multiples? No
What kind of object this is. Allowable values are:
- Activity: Processes, activities, tasks, customs, etc
- Architecture: Buildings, forts, roads, other man-made structures
- Artifact: A physical object
- Audio: An audio recording
- Definition: The definition of a word or concept, or biographical profile
- Event: The definition of an historical event or time period
- Manuscript: Image(s) of manuscript folios
- Map: Image(s) of maps
- Site: A location of importance
- Text: An original text (e.g., poem, tale, book, article, commentary, etc)
Example:
<ftc:itemtype>Text</ftc:itemtype>
Role
Required: No Allow multiples? Yes
A list of individuals involved in the creation of various forms of the object. All personal names must be in the order Surname, Forename. The role types are as follows:
- <role:AUT>: Author/Creator of object, or Authority on which material is based
- <role:EDT>: Editor of object
- <role:PUB>: Publisher (or Patron) of object
- <role:TRL>: Translator of text
- <role:PER>: Performer or Tradition Bearer of material
Example:
<role:AUT>Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill</role:AUT>
<role:TRL>William J. Watson</role:TRL>
Date
Required: Yes Allow multiples? No
The year (in the Common Era calendar) when the object was created, in the case of an artifact, text, etc; the date of occupation for a site; the date referred to by an event or definition. Negative numbers refer to the year BCE. In the case of dates ranges, the Date element can contain both a human-readable label (with the <ftc:date> element) and a numeric entry (with the <rdf:value>, which can specify a set or range of years which is necessary when the year is uncertain, such as archeological artifacts).
A date range is in the form of Y1xY2, where Y1 is less than Y2. Alternatively you can also use "u" as a wildcard to construct year ranges. (You can't use both "x" and "u".) For example -1uu refers to the second century BCE; 87u refers to the range of years 870-879 Common Era.
Example 1 (The simplest case: a single date):
<dc:date>549</dc:date>
Example 2 (Date range 110BCE to 122 AD):
<dc:date>-110x122</dc:date>
Example 3 (Alternative form of date range):
<dc:date>
<ftc:date>
<rdfs:label>1540s (circa)</rdfs:label>
<rdf:value>154u</rdf:value>
</ftc:date>
</dc:date>
Period
Required: Yes Allow multiples? No
The period when the object was created, in the case of an Artifact, Manuscript, etc; the date of occupation for a Site; the date referred to by an Event or Definition. The periods are broadly chronological, but are stylistic in definition as well.
The allowable values are as follows:
- Hallstatt: 1200 BCE - 500 BCE
- La Tene: 500 BCE - 100 BCE
- Romano-Celtic: 100 BCE - 400 CE
- Early Medieval: 400 - 950
- High Medieval: 950 - 1250
- Late Medieval: 1250 - 1500
- Modern: 1500 - present
Example:
<ftc:period>Early Medieval</ftc:period>
(NOTE: Due to problems with UTF-8 characters across computer environments and programming languages, "La Tene" must be spelt without the diacritical mark on the vowel.)
Country
Required: Yes Allow multiples? No
The two-letter country code for the country (defined by modern boundaries of nation-states in 2007 Country Code List). If no single country is appropriate, use code ZZ.
- which is the subject of the object (for ItemTypes Text, Audio, Map, Event or Definition), or
- in which an object was found/created (for other ItemTypes).
The exceptions for these country codes are the Celtic areas of the modern period; in these cases, the following codes should be used:
- BR: Brittany
- CN: Cornwall
- EN: England
- IE: The island of Ireland (not restricted to the Republic)
- MN: The island of Man
- SC: Scotland
- WA: Wales
Example:
<ftc:country>IE</ftc:country>
FoundLoc
Required: No Allow multiples? No
The geopgraphical location (as latitude,longitude coordinate) at which an object was found (see Google Maps API for info about coordinates). Online resources for finding geo-coords include Google Earth, GeoNames webservice, the Nearby webservice and MultiMap
Example:
<ftc:foundloc>56.6009,-4.0524</ftc:foundloc>
Language
Required: No Allow multiples? Yes
The languages that appear in any textual materials in the object.
Allowable values are: Proto-Celtic, Gaulish, Lepontic, Hispano-Celtic, Old Brithonic, Cumbric, Pictish, Breton, Cornish, Middle Welsh, Modern Welsh, Old Gaelic, Classical Gaelic, Middle Gaelic, Manx, Modern Irish, Modern Scottish, Latin, Greek, French, German, English, Lowland Scots, Spanish, Other.
Example:
<ftc:language>Old Gaelic</ftc:language>
Material
Required: Yes Allow multiples? Yes
The material(s) of which an object is comprised. If the object exists only in digital form (when ItemType is Event, Definition, or Site), the value is Digital.
Allowable values are: Digital, Paper, Vellum, Leather, Wood, Stone, Gem, Bronze, Copper, Lead, Pewter, Brass, Iron, Silver, Gold, Bone, Textile, Botanical, Glass, Ceramic, Human Remains
Example:
<ftc:material>Silver</ftc:material>
<ftc:material>Glass</ftc:material>
Text
Required: No Allow multiples? No
Contains either (1) a short, plain text value, or (2) a URL to a web-accessible, plain text file containing the text for the object. Note that in both of these cases, the text cannot contain special markup (like XML or other embedded codes). The text is used by the COLLEX search engine for the purposes of indexing.
It is recommended that you supply a text element containing a summary of the item if it is not available online. The summary text can then be indexed by the search engine and located in phrase searches even if the item is not otherwise in digital form.
Examples:
<ftc:text>An edition of Scottish Gaelic poetry from the isle of Arran c. 1600 - 1850.</ftc:text>
<ftc:text rdf:resource="http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/text/harlaw.txt"/>
SourceCode
Required: No Allow multiples? No
A URL to the web-accessible source code for the object's data (usually in XML).
Example:
<ftc:source rdf:resource="http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/xml/obj121v2definition.xml"/>
SeeAlso
Required: No Allow multiples? No
The URL to a webpage that will render the object.
Example:
<rdfs:seeAlso rdf:resource="http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/html/taintext.html"/>
Thumbnail
Required: No Allow multiples? No
A URL to the web-accessible miniature image of the object (no larger than 100 pixels in height or width). If no thumbnail is supplied, the default FtC thumbnail will appear.
Example:
<ftc:thumbnail rdf:resource="http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/thumbs/obj121v2.jpg"/>
Image
Required: No Allow multiples? No
A URL to the web-accessible full-size image of the object.
Example:
<ftc:image rdf:resource="http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/images/obj121v2.jpg"/>
SourceWork
Required: No Allow multiples? Yes
The title of the larger object of which this object is a part (for example, a journel series, an anthology, a manuscript containing many texts, an archeological site).
Example:
<dc:source>Scottish Gaelic Studies</dc:source>
Parent
Required: No Allow multiples? No
Points to the parent object, if any, that "contains" this object (see the Relationships Between Objects section of the Contributor Guidelines page). The value for the element is the Identifier element of the parent object.
Example:
<dcterms:isPartOf rdf:resource="http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/primary/meigle"/>
Children
Required: No Allow multiples? Yes
Points to any objects "contained" by this object (see the Relationships Between Objects section of the Contributor Guidelines page). The value for the element is the Identifier element of the parent object.
Example:
<dcterms:hasPart rdf:resource="http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/primary/meigle2"/>
Relations
Required: No Allow multiples? Yes
Points to any resources related to the object, but that have not been addressed by the other elements in the RDF (i.e., the formal Parent-Children relationship). This could be used, for example, for differing versions of an item (like different recensions of a tale), or for a book to point to illuminations that might have their own objects, even if they are included in the book. The value for the element is the Identifier element of the related object.
Example:
<dcterms:relation rdf:resource="http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/primary/pict12"/>