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Dear MODS/MADS Community, This is a reminder the MODS/MADS Editorial Committee is looking for use cases for geospatial information in MODS. Please send any use cases you have to the MODS list - we'd like MODS to evolve to handle this type of information in a way that's useful to you. Thanks, Jenn Riley Chair, MODS/MADS Editorial Committee > -----Original Message----- > From: Metadata Object Description Schema List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On > Behalf Of Riley, Jenn > Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 9:19 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: [MODS] geospatial information in MODS - call for use cases > > Dear MODS/MADS community, > > In considering changes for future versions of MODS, the MODS/MADS > Editorial Committee is starting to think about how to better handle > geospatial information. Detailed geospatial information in the form of > coordinates, etc. is becoming more and more common and can promote many > innovative user interactions with resources. Currently MODS has poor > support for this information. > > The committee would like to bring together use cases for supporting > geospatial access to resources from MODS and/or MADS implementations. > We are interested both in use cases that you already have in your > MODS/MADS implementation and that any local geospatial experts you have > access to can provide, to help us inform how MODS and/or MADS should > evolve to better handle this information. It should be noted this > discussion came to the Editorial Committee from the more specific > geospatial elements (latitude/longitude, > equinox/epoch) in RDA, although we want to look beyond RDA for guidance > in this decision. > > So far, we have identified the following use cases for geospatial data: > > - To allow resources with a geospatial component (interpreted widely) > to be plotted on an interactive map-based interface > - Interactively overlaying different maps, including aerial > photographs, digitized historic maps, and current maps in a GIS > environment > - To index coordinate data about the geographic coverage of a resource > for retrieval purposes > - To index coordinate data about the geographic origin of a resource > for retrieval purposes > > What others can you provide? > > Are there more specific use cases both for geospatial *coverage* (what > a resource is about or represents) and geospatial *origin* (where a > resource is from, for example, a soil sample)? This distinction seems > important but it would be useful to understand what is done differently > in each case. > > There is some question as to whether the appropriate place for this > information is MODS or MADS - thoughts on this issue? Should MODS/MADS > be looking to embedding or referencing other standards for this > information, and, if so, which and where? What is the best balance > between functionality (and potentially complexity) and ease of > creation/maintenance/use? > > We look forward to hearing discussion on this issue - it's a complex > but important one that will benefit from community contribution. > > Jenn Riley, Chair, MODS/MADS Editorial Committee > > ======================== > Jenn Riley > Metadata Librarian > Digital Library Program > Indiana University - Bloomington > Wells Library W501 > (812) 856-5759 > www.dlib.indiana.edu > > Inquiring Librarian blog: www.inquiringlibrarian.blogspot.com