LIS 7410: Digital Libraries (Spring 2016, Section 01)

LIS 7410 - Digital Libraries
Spring 2016 -- Section 01
Homework Assignment 3 (Professional Track)

Metadata Scheme and XML Encoding Exercise

This assignment has two parts. First, you will convert your case study (DL review in HW1) into an XML document based on the given example, and then try to convert it based on the MODS schema. For both parts, you do not need to put the lengthy content of your case study report into the metadata scheme (XML Schema, or MODS); in other words, the metadata scheme is supposed to describe your case study report, not to markup your entire report.

1. Apply the example XML Schema and CSS to your own case study

The following three example files define the document structure, content, and display of a DL case study, separately.

DLXSD.xsd: XML Schema which defines a document structure (Browsers do not render this file)
DLXML.xml: XML document content (Browsers either render this file or report an error)
DLCSS.css: CSS for the XML document (Browsers may not render this file)

DLXSD.xsd defines the following XML schema:

     TITLE (the title of the DL)
     SITE (the url of the DL)
     METADATA
         DLNAME (the name of the DL)
         SPONSOR
         CONTENTTYPE (the type of the content in the DL, e.g., images, books)  
         KEYWORD
         FEATURE
             METASCHEME (the metadata scheme used by the DL)
             FUNCTION (the function of the DL system)
             STRENGTH (the strength of the DL compared with other DLs)
             WEAKNESS (the weakness of the DL compared with other DLs)
         REVIEW (your evaluation comments of the DLs)
         REVIEWER
             NAME (the name of the reviewer)
             SEMESTER (the semester when the DL is reviewed)

Download the three files to your local computer and use WordPad to open them. In the first part of the assignment, try NOT to revise the XML schema and the style sheet, but revise the content of the XML document(in DLXML.xml) only. In other words, you are allowed but not encouraged to change the XML tags, but do change everything between the tags. Submit the three files, including DLXSD.xsd, DLCSS.css, and your new DLXML.xml file.

2. Standard-based XML document

The XML schema (DLXSD.xsd) is defined based on the specific structure of your DL case studie (see HW1). It would be more useful, however, if the schema was based on a metadata standard. In the second part of the assignment, you will try to create an XML document for your HW1 DL case study report using MODS (caveat: not using DLXSD.xsd).

First, study MODS (e.g., the elements of MODS and some examples). Then compare the elements of DLXSD.xsd to the MODS elements. What elements can be directly mapped from one to the other(s)? What cannot? Some mapping may need creative thinking. Finally, create an XML document for your case study as best as you can (note that some information might be missing if an element can not be mapped to one of the MODS elements). Revising the style sheet is not required. Since you are using a metadata schema to describe your case study, please do not markup the entire report. Submit your mapping and the raw XML document; your mapping can be either an html/txt or rtf/doc/pdf document. You do not need to submit any style sheet (css file).

Submit all of your work (the three files for part 1 and the two files for part 2) by posting them on your course Website (which you have already created for Homework 1) under Homework 3. You do not need to email your URL to the instructor again.

You can use WordPad, NotePad, or XML editors (such as XMLSPY, oXygen) to write XML documents. oXygen is installed on the PCs in the SLIS Lab.

Acknowledgement to Xia Lin (revised by Yejun Wu).

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Yejun Wu