Development:ChemEd Content management system

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ChemEd DL aims to provide not only a cataloguing service to describe and discover its contents, but to also provide the content itself. In order to manage the large amount of content envisioned requires much more than storage space. A scalable architecture for managing the content is imperative if the digital library hopes to be a content repository.

To provide enterprise content management, ChemEd DL is using an open source product, Alfresco. Alfresco provides a readily deployed content mangement system in conjunction with library services and workflows.

Contents

Rationale

One of the current shortcomings of many digital libraries is the content. The metadata to describe digital items along with an associated search and discovery tool are made readily available. However, the links to the actual items referenced are difficult to maintain in the current incarnation of the WWW. One way to combat this problem is for the library to also hold the content.

One of the biggest complaints of users of digital libraries has to do with broken links. By maintaining the content, the digital library has a better chance of maintaining accurate links to the content.

Many contributors would like to have a central, institutionalized repository for their content. It can be difficult to maintain a constant URL when moving through the academic path from student to faculty to retirement.

Access

Access to ChemEd Content beyond what is available to everyone (Guest account) requires an account.

You can find instructions for gaining access to ChemEd Content [[Development::ChemEd Content management system::Access|here]].

Content Model

The content model for ChemEd Content should provide for Journal, JCE Software, JCE Digital Library, and ChemEd DL content (including NSDL metadata as defined by Metadata Working Group). In order to develop such a model, we compile here the aspects and categories that are currently used in our various systems. In developing our content model for ChemEd DL, we aggregate into aspects and categories all the information from the various systems that we now use.

Development Questions to be Considered

  • What Types of Metadata Fields Are Needed? (Ed, 2007-10-10)

A question I (Ed) have about the alfresco metadata fields/aspects: what are the TYPES or CATEGORIES of fields, and what is their significance?

In CWIS there are "Controlled Name" fields, "Tree" fields, "Date" fields, etc., and it makes a great deal of difference—in some cases—what kind of field certain metadata are in. For example, the built-in CWIS browsing tools can only be used to browse records via metadata that is contained in a "Tree" field. Other fields can be searched, but not browsed. So if you want to be able to browse by say, a particular subject/topic, that metadata has to be in a "Tree" type field, not a "Controlled Name" field as it is currently. Furthermore, in CWIS, the field type cannot be changed once the field is created. A new field must be created of the desired type, repopulated, and each record re-assigned new values in the new field.

So I think an important question to answer in architecting ChemedDL content and corresponding metadata is "what purposes do we want to be able to apply to that metadata", in addition to "what metadata is needed".

    • Responses (Robert Anglin, 10-11-2007)

The tree-fields are Collection, Topic(T), Audience(T), Domain(T), Pedagogy(T) and Resource Type(T). They are the contents of the Metadatafields.FieldName field in CWis that are associated with Classifications and not Controlled Names. There are two types of metadata name/value pairs associated with resources in CWis. The name is always in the Metadatafields.FieldName field. The value is in the Classifications.ClassificationName field in the case of tree-name/value pairs and in the Controllednames.ControlledName field in the case of controlled name values. All of the Field Names are listed along with their types and descriptions in the first table below.

In addition to being a tree name, Collection is also a value in the Controllednames.ControlledName field. It's corresponding name in the Metadatafields.FieldName field (its name) is always Resource Type (without the "(T)".) Therefore what we have are actually Resource Type/Collection/Classifications.ClassificationName triplets for every resource for Collection is either a Metadatafields.FieldName or a Controllednames.ControlledName. The tree-values for the Collection tree-name are listed in the second table below.

Resource Types could be either Alfresco Content Types or Categories. I'm inclined to say content type. Collection could be a content type but the remaining tree fields seem to be better as aspects since they seem to apply to individual resources. The other resource types (controlled names) are listed in the third table below. Other than Collection, all of the remaining tree-names are also in the Controllednames.ControlledName field, without the "T".

Alfresco aspects are groups of properties. On my development server, which I used in my demonstration last week, I defined a Keywords aspect. This aspect has the JCE keywords, Audience, Domain, Pedagogy, Element and Topic, as properties. We need to decide how to divide up the metadata elements listed below into groups of properties (aspects), or categories or types of submissions (content types) in Alfresco. As I see it, aspects are something you assign or attach to submissions, categories are hierarchical groups of submissions and content types are types of submissions.

With regards to aspect properties that are assigned to submissions, there are three kinds: those that are visible to users (or a subset of users) and editable, those that are visible and not editable and those that are neither visible nor editable. All three can be used to manage workrules and define workflows. Some of the metadata content below should not be visible to users but should go along with the submissions.

I have added an extra column to the tables below. Anyone can add comments regarding how the contents should be dealt with in Alfresco. To do this you need to click Edit at the top of this page, find the empty "<td></td>" tag set next to the name and add your comment between the tags. I have added these tables as html because that is how my database software exports it. If ease of use becomes a problem I will try to find a way of presenting this that makes adding comments easier.

Field Name Field Type Description Comment
Alternate Title  Text  This is a variant name by which resources may be known. It allows access when the exact

title may impede retrieval and includes complete names/words abbreviated in the Title, commonly

known name, or an associated text. 
 
Citation  Text  The bibliographic citation for the item as published in the Journal.   
Coverage  Text  The extent or scope of the content of the resource. Coverage will typically include

spatial location (a place name or geographic coordinates), temporal period (a period label,

date, or date range) or jurisdiction (such as a named administrative entity). Dublin Core

Metadata Initiative recommended best practice is to select a value from a controlled vocabulary

(for example, the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names) and that, where appropriate, named places

or time periods be used in preference to numeric identifiers such as sets of coordinates or date

ranges. 
 
Email Address  Text  The email address for contact of the creator, editor, site administrator, manager,

information desk, user support agent, etc. or other entity responsible for answering questions

and correspondence regarding the resource. 
 
JCE-ID  Text  Identifier used within JCE publishing.   
JCE-language  Text  A constant value for the Language element.    
JCEPublisher  Text  The publisher of JCE articles; (used instead of the Publisher field so that we can always use the same default).   
oldURL  Text  URL from old version of JCE ONline   
Relation  Text  A reference to a related resource. Dublin Core Metadata Initiative recommended best

practice is to reference the resource by means of a string or number conforming to a formal

identification system. 
 
Rights  Text  Information about rights held in and over the resource. Typically, a Rights element will

contain a rights management statement for the resource, or reference a service providing such

information. Rights information often encompasses Intellectual Property Rights, Copyright, and

various Property Rights. 
 
Source  Text  A Reference to a resource from which the present resource is derived. The present

resource may be derived from the Source resource in whole or in part. Dublin Core Metadata

Initiative recommended best practice is to reference the resource by means of a string or number

conforming to a formal identification system. 
 
Title  Text  Name by which the resource is formally known. Title is used and displayed as a headline

in the SPT. This field is a required field. Required fields may not be customized as to the

field type or disabled. Required fields must be completed in each resource record. 
 
Url  Text  The complete, current location or unique identifier of the resource. Because of the

functionality of the domain limit, remember to always add the trailing slash after the domain.

Portal administrators may make this a required field. Required fields must be completed in each

resource record. 
 
Cumulative Rating  Number  This field records the evaluative ratings given to a particular resource by portal users.   
Verification Attempts  Number  This field records the number of attempts a URL checking software has made to confirm

the current the accuracy of the URL of the resource. By default this when the portal software is

shipped, this field is disabled and does not appear visible anywhere throughout the portal.

Administrators may at any time enable this field in the database editor in the portal

Administration. 
 
Date Issued  Date  The year the resource being described was created, published, or otherwise made

available. Records a date in a standard format. Users do not need to enter the date in this

format. The software will translate a provided date into the standard format (YYYY-MM-DD). It is

also possible to enter a partial date or an open ended (continuing) date or qualify the date in

the case of uncertainty. For further examples see extended definitions. 
 
Date Record Checked  Date  Date the URL of the resource being described was determined to be accurate and

adequately addressed by the cataloging record. This date may be entered in the same manner as

described above in Date Issued definition. The software automatically enters the current date if

this field is left uncompleted. 
 
Date Last Modified  TimeStamp  This is a time stamp recording the last time anything in a given resource record was altered. This date cannot be manually edited.   
Date Of Record Creation  TimeStamp  Date the resource being described was entered into the database collection. This date

must be entered in the YYYY-MM-DD format. The software automatically enters the current date if

this field is left uncompleted. 
 
Date Of Record Release  TimeStamp  Date the resource being described was released (Release Flag changed from Not Ok For

Viewing to OK For Viewing). This date must be entered in the YYYY-MM-DD format. The software

automatically enters the current date if this field is left uncompleted. 
 
Description  Paragraph  Text describing the scope, subject matter, and usefulness of the resource. Sometimes

this field is also referred to as account of the content of the resource or an annotation.

Description may include but is not limited to: an abstract, table of contents, reference to a

graphical representation of content or a free-text account of the content. This is a required

field. Required fields may not be customized as to the field type or disabled. Required fields

must be completed in each resource record. 
 
JCE-Access  Paragraph  A qualified extension of the RIghts element, describing access rights (as opposed to ownership)   
ShortDescription  Paragraph  A concise summary of the description - one or two lines.   
Release Flag  Flag  This internal administrative feature allows resource administrators to withhold record

from public view and searching. Intended to provide a method for internal review and editing.

The record will only be available for view by authorized resource editors and site administrator

and is not available in the Advanced search. This is a required field. Required fields may not

be customized as to the field type or disabled. In the Administration database editor feature,

portal administrators may set the default value for this field. 
 
Audience(T)  Tree  Tree version of Audience.  Property of Keywords Aspect - combined with non-tree Audience
Collection  Tree  The Metadata Tool allows the use an existing standard classification schema or your

organization's homegrown taxonomy. Classification in the portal provides users with a way of

browsing through the resources in hierarchical tiers. This approach guides users unfamiliar with

terminology to appropriate resources descending in specificity from broadly defined to more

precise. Privilege to to build or edit the vocabulary or taxonomy of classifications requires

authorization from the portal administrator. 
Content Type
Domain(T)  Tree  Tree version of Domain  Property of Keywords Aspect - combined with non-tree Domain
Pedagogy(T)  Tree  Tree version of pedagogy field.  Property of Keywords Aspect - combined with non-tree Pedogogy
Resource Type(T)  Tree  tree version of Resource Type   
Topic(T)  Tree  Copy of Topic, except of type:Tree  Property of Keywords Aspect - combined with non-tree Topic
Contributor  ControlledName  An entity responsible for making contributions to the content of the resource. Examples

of a Contributor include a person, an organization, or a service. This field also employs

Controlled Names as described above in the definition for Creator. 
 
Creator  ControlledName  The personal, corporate, meeting/conference, etc. name(s) of the party(s) responsible

for creation of resource content. Any work can have single, multiple, corporate, or personal

creators. Personal creators are people. Some typical examples of corporate creators are

associations, institutions, business firms, non-profit enterprises, governments, government

agencies, projects, programs, religious bodies, church groups, and conferences. 
 
Domain  ControlledName  describes a general area of study or interest within chemistry within which the

cataloged resource falls and represents the first level of specificity beyond the term chemistry

itself; chemistry is understood to include chemical education 
Property of Keywords Aspect
Element  ControlledName  Any chemical element may be a keyword.  Property of Keywords Aspect
PChemTopic  ControlledName  A subset of topic terms specifically for Physical Chemistry.   
Pedagogy  ControlledName  describes an aid to learning, an instructional approach, or a medium that is associated with the cataloged resource  Property of Keywords Aspect
Publisher  ControlledName  An entity responsible for making the resource available. Examples of a publisher include

a person, an organization, or a service. Publishers are not necessarily the creators of the

intellectual content of the resource, but they do claim some responsibility for the content. As

with the Creator field (above), SPT Metadata Tool allows for a Controlled Name and a Variant

Name. 
 
Subject  ControlledName  Terms or a nonhierarchical string of terms relating the resource's content. Recommended

best practice is to select from a controlled vocabulary, Library of Congress Subject Headings,

etc. 
Property of Keywords Aspect
Topic  ControlledName  indicates with greater specificity an area within chemistry (and chemical education) that is closely related to the cataloged resource  Property of Keywords Aspect
Audience  Option  A category of user for whom the resource is intended. Frequently, creators and

publishers of resources in education explicitly state the category of user for whom the resource

is intended. In like fashion, end-users in the education/training domain frequently search using

audience characteristics as search terms. The default values are drawn from the broadest

educational category levels. The software allows for multiple values to be selected from this

field. This field is used by the Advanced Search Engine as a Limiter. The portal software allows

for modifications and edits to these default values through the Edit Option Lists feature on the

Metadata Tool navigation bar. This feature will not be visible to anyone without adequate

permission. 
Property of Keywords Aspect
Format  Option  The physical or digital manifestation of the resource. Typically, Format may include the

media-type or dimensions of the resource. Format may be used to determine the software, hardware

or other equipment needed to display or operate the resource. Examples of dimensions include

size and duration. The default values are selections from the list of Internet Media Types

(MIME) defining computer media formats. When entering a resource record, the software allows

for multiple values to be selected from this field. This field is used by the Advanced Search

Engine as a Limiter. The portal software allows for modifications and edits to these default

values through the Edit Option Lists feature on the Metadata Tool navigation bar. This feature

will not be visible to anyone without adequate permission. 
 
Language  Option  A language of the intellectual content of the resource. The default values are selected

from several commonly used major languages. The software allows for multiple values to be

selected from this field. This field is used by the Advanced Search Engine as a Limiter. The

portal software allows for modifications and edits to these default values through the Edit

Option Lists feature on the Metadata Tool navigation bar. This feature will not be visible to

anyone without adequate permission. 
 
Resource Type  Option  The nature or genre of the content of the resource. Type includes terms describing

general categories, functions, genres, or aggregation levels for content. When entering a

resource record, the software allows for multiple values to be selected from this field. This

field is used in the Advanced Search as a Limiter. The portal software allows for modifications

and edits to these default values through the Edit Option Lists feature on the Metadata Tool

navigation bar. This feature will not be visible to anyone without adequate permission. NOTE:

The default values come from the working draft list of Dublin Core Types. Further, to describe

the physical or digital manifestation of the resource, use the FORMAT element per Dublin Core

definitions. 
 
Added By Id  User  System supplied field which records the account name of the person creating the resource

record. This field cannot be directly edited. All resource editors login name with automatically

appear as an option in the Metadata Tool search limits and on the full record

display. 
 
Last Modified By Id  User  System supplied field which records the account name of the person who last modified the

resource record. This field cannot be directly edited. All resource editors login name with

automatically appear as an option in the Metadata Tool search limits and on the full record

display. 
 
Screenshot  Still Image  Still, digital image or snapshot to be attached to a resource metadata record for illustration or other purposes. Acceptable file formats are .jpg, .bmp, and gif.   
CollectionDescription or Comment
ACS Education Division 
Biographical Snapshots 
Biographical Snapshots -- Biographical Snapshots 
CCA!&mdash;Chemistry Comes Alive 
Chemical Education 
ChemInfo 
ChemInfo -- Organic Chemistry Info. 
DigiDemos 
Featured Molecules 
LivTexts 
LrnCom 
QBank 
QBank -- ConcepTests 
QBank -- CQs and CPs 
QBank -- Physical Chemistry 
QBank -- Physical Chemistry -- Quantum States 
QBank -- UW General Chemistry 
QBank -- UW Organic Chemistry 
SymMath 
SymMath -- Open Review 
SymMath -- Peer-Reviewed 
Web-Ready software programs 
Web-Ready software programs -- ChemPages Laboratory 
Web-Ready software programs -- General Chemistry Multimedia Problems 
Web-Ready software programs -- Netorials 
WebWare 
WebWare -- Open Review 
WebWare -- Peer-Reviewed 
Resource TypeDescription or Comment
Collection Content Type
Dataset Content Type
Event No resources currently in CWis
Image Content Type
Interactive Resource Content Type
PhysicalObject Probably won't be in Alfresco
Service Will this be in Alfresco?
Software Content Type
Sound Content Type
Text Content Type
Textbook Content Type
Unit of Instruction  Content Type
  • Question 2 Title (Name, date)
    • Responses (Name, date)
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