Forwarded from Sherman Clarke:

Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2005 16:57:27 -0500
From: Sherman Clarke <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: VRA Core 4.0 Beta Draft

Good afternoon listees,

I am happy to announce that the VRA Core 4.0 Beta Draft documents and 
XML schema are now available for perusal on vraweb!  You can access 
these documents from the "What's New" column on the VRA home page at 
http://www.vraweb.org or from the new Data Standards home page at 
http://www.vraweb.org/datastandards/VRADS_Main_page.htm  At this site, 
there are links to the following documents:  Introduction, Element 
Outline, Element Description, and the VRA Core XML Schema and Examples 
page.  This last page, beautifully designed by our schema author Esme 
Cowles, has links to two XML schemas (one lax and one strict) and a 
number of examples submitted by DSC members.  Each example has 2 
data "views," created by xslt stylesheets to illustrate how the XML 
data may be formatted for different kinds of display, in addition to a 
raw XML data view.  At the bottom of this page are links to an XML 
validator, some XML information sites, and the stylesheets and java 
source code used to format the examples.

We are currently looking for brave beta testers to put the XML schema 
through its paces by testing it against real-world data and 
applications.  Please pass this message on to any technical support 
people with whom you work.  An Online Discussion Forum has been set up 
on MemberClicks where anyone can post, read, and/or reply to comments, 
questions, and suggestions.  While you need not be a VRA member to 
read, post, or reply to this forum, we ask that you log in to 
MemberClicks first if you are a VRA member.  If you are not a VRA 
member, please be sure to include your name and institutional 
affiliation along with your post so we know who's talking!  The success 
of the XML schema depends on testing its limits in a variety of 
settings and with different kinds of collection data.  All of these 
documents represent working drafts that may change at any time, based 
on input received via the Discussion Forum so don't be shy about making 
yourself heard.  Your suggestions and  findings will help shape this 
into a truly useful tool.  Please try to send your comments and/or test 
results to the Forum by January 31, 2006 so we can finalize the schema 
before we all meet in Baltimore in March.  Happy testing!

Jan Eklund
Chair, VRA Data Standards Committee
UC Berkeley
[log in to unmask] 

[forwarded to MARC, metadatalibrarians-monarchos, and CCS-SAC by 
Sherman Clarke, VRA rep to MARC Advisory Committee, New York University 
Libraries - [log in to unmask]]