Yes!

By forwarding this to the OASIS XRI group (XML Resource Identifier),
I've been involved in some discussion on what this URI scheme is for,
and how it overlaps (or doesn't overlap) with existing URI/URN schemes.

I can forward the whole correspondence, but here are a few pertinent
comments on the rationale behind the info schema from Eamonn Neylon:

"The 'info' URI scheme addresses
the problem of an inability for many users to talk about a vast number
of
informational assets using the existing URI allocation. So, or example,
there is no way, at the moment, to make an RDF assertion about a
resource
using its NASA Astrophysics Data System Bibcode or to denote that an XML
namespace is defined in a document with a particular Library of Congress
Control Number. So the 'info' scheme enables the use of these existing
public identifiers within applications that do not require resolution."

"we're not sure everyone will understand the motivation, but its good
that people are aware of the need to talk about things that are not on
the Internet using URIs."

info: therefore appears to be used when you need to use an URI syntax
(e.g. in RDF for semantic web) for an entity which is either physical or
abstract and has no obvious internet presence to resolve to. E.g. for
representing a Library of Congress Control number in a URI syntax etc.

I'd argue that in the case of record schemas the identifiers are
referring to something that is on the web, and that in the case of
indexes, they should be referencing something on the web, namely their
description.

Matthew



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Z39.50 Next-Generation Initiative [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
> On Behalf Of Ray Denenberg, Library of Congress
> Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2003 8:14 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Fw: 'info' URI scheme
> 
> I would like us to consider that SRW identifiers (schemas and 
> indexes) use
> 'info' rather than 'http'. Before I pursue this further 
> (because there are
> some syntax and administrative questions) does anyone object to this
> approach?
> 
> --Ray
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "herbert van de sompel" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Monday, September 29, 2003 11:53 AM
> Subject: 'info' URI scheme
> 
> 
> > Apologies for cross-posting
> >
> > Announcing a new Internet-Draft for an Informational RFC, to allow
> commonly used
> > identifiers to be part of the Web:
> >
> >   The "info" URI Scheme for Information Assets with 
> Identifiers in Public
> > Namespaces
> >
> >       Herbert Van de Sompel - Los Alamos National Laboratory
> >       Tony Hammond - Elsevier
> >       Eamonn Neylon - Manifest Solutions
> >       Stuart L. Weibel - OCLC Online Computer Library Center
> >
> > The draft is available at:
> >
> >   
> http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-vandesompel-info-uri-00.txt
> >
> > a. Purpose of the "info" URI scheme:
> >
> > There exist many information assets with identifiers in 
> public namespaces
> that
> > are not referenceable by URI schemes. Examples of such 
> namespaces include
> Dewey
> > Decimal Classifications [1], Library of Congress Control 
> Numbers (LCCN)
> [2],
> > NASA Astrophysics Data System Bibcodes [3], and Open 
> Archives Initiative
> (OAI)
> > identifiers [4], among others.  The "info" URI scheme will 
> facilitate the
> > referencing of information assets that have identifiers in 
> such public
> > namespaces by means of URIs. The "info" scheme is based on 
> a Registry that
> > invites the registration of public namespaces used for the 
> identification
> of
> > information assets, by the parties that maintain the namespaces.
> >
> > For example, assuming that the namespace of Dewey Decimal 
> Classifications
> (ddc:)
> > and the namespace of Library of Congress Control Numbers 
> (lccn:) would be
> > registered by their respective authorities, then:
> >
> > * the Dewey Decimal Classification 22/eng//004.678 (for the term
> "Internet")
> > could be expressed as the "info" URI <info:ddc/22/eng//004.678>
> >
> > * the Library of Congress Control Number 2002022641 could 
> be expressed as
> the
> > "info" URI <info:lccn/2002022641>
> >
> > b. Background of this effort
> >
> > The effort to create the "info" URI scheme emerged from the 
> NISO process
> to
> > standardize the OpenURL Framework for context-sensitive 
> services [5],
> which
> > requires the ability to describe resources by means of globally
> recognizable
> > identifiers.  The Draft Standard for Trial Use released for 
> Public Comment
> > introduced a "proprietary" naming architecture which 
> allowed information
> assets
> > to be referenced by means of widely used non-URI 
> identifiers (e.g. PubMed
> > identifiers, Digital Object Identifiers, Astrophysics 
> Datasystem Bibcodes,
> and
> > others) which would be registered under the OpenURL Framework.
> >
> > Public feedback led to the decision to fundamentally revise 
> the naming
> > architecture, and to base all resource identification 
> requirements within
> the
> > OpenURL Framework on URIs alone.  Because it was deemed 
> unreaslistic to
> expect
> > that all namespaces required in the OpenURL Framework would 
> be registered
> within
> > the URI allocation by the respective namespace authorities, 
> the "info" URI
> > effort was launched.  This work is being conducted under 
> the auspices of
> NISO,
> > and with active involvement and consultation from the IETF 
> and the W3C.
> It is
> > hoped that the lightweight, and community-based, 
> registration mechanism
> that
> > will underlie the "info" URI scheme will rapidly lead to 
> the availability
> of
> > "info" URIs to identify a wide variety of information assets.  More
> detailed
> > information of the effort is available at [6].
> >
> > c. References
> >
> > [1] "Dewey Decimal Classification". Retrieved September 20, 
>  2003 from
> > <http://www.oclc.org/dewey/>.
> >
> > [2] "Library of Congress Control Number". Retrieved August 
> 1, 2003 from
> > <http://lcweb.loc.gov/marc/lccn_structure.html>.
> >
> > [3] "NASA Astrophysics Data System Bibliographic Code". 
> Retrieved August
> 1, 2003
> > from <http://adsdoc.harvard.edu/abs_doc/help_pages/data.html>
> >
> > [4] Lagoze, C., H. Van de Sompel, M. Nelson and S. Warner. 
> "Specification
> and
> > XML Schema for the OAI Identifier Format", June 2002. 
> Retrieved September
> 4,
> > 2003 from
> <http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/guidelines-oai-identifier.htm>.
> >
> > [5] Draft Standard for Trial Use ANSI/NISO Z39.88, "The 
> OpenURL Framework
> for
> > Context-Sensitive Services".  Retrieved September 20, 2003 from
> > <http://library.caltech.edu/openurl/Public_Comments.htm>
> >
> >
> [6]<http://library.caltech.edu/openurl/PubComDocs/Announce/200
> 30626-Announce
> -Naming2.htm>
> >
> > --
> > Herbert Van de Sompel
> > digital library research & prototyping
> > Los Alamos National Laboratory - Research Library
> > + 1 (505) 667 1267 / http://lib-www.lanl.gov/~herbertv/
> >
> > "your argument is absolutely logical.  but people will be confused"
> > anonymous participant in OpenURL Standardization Committee
> >
> >
> >
> 
>