Registry of Digital Reproductions of Paper-based Monographs and Serials

Bibliographic Description. Reproductions should be described following bibliographic conventions used in contemporary cataloging "utilities" and integrated library systems. Given that the original materials are very likely already cataloged in traditional library format, this should be an easy and inexpensive process based on copying (without updating for contemporary practice) existing data.

Precise Holdings. For multi-volume and "continuing" works such as journals, a description should be recorded in standard holdings notation of the precise issues and volumes that have been digitized. If forms of "compressed" holding statements are used, they MUST be understood to imply that every volume and issue of the encompassed run has been digitized. If a "compressed" holding is used for an incomplete run, an unambiguous indication of incompleteness must be included.

Information About Use Copy. The following information should be recorded about the use copy (a network-accessible, but not necessarily free, copy of every registered object must be available as a condition for inclusion in the Registry):

• a URL or URN providing a persistent link to the use copy;
• a textual description or a pointer (such as a URL or a standard identifier) to a description of the terms and conditions for access to the use copy;
• the technical format or a pointer (such as a URL or a standard identifier) to the format, if the materials are not simply available through a standard web interface.

Information About Archival Master Copy. The following information should be recorded about the archival master copy (because persistence is an assumed responsibility of the registering agency, a Master Copy must be described):

• a persistent identifier for the master object (this does not need to be an "actionable" link such as an URL or URN -- just an unambiguous identifier that the owner will recognize);
• a textual description of the accessibility of the Master Copy (who can access it and under what terms and conditions);
• a description or a pointer (such as a URL or a standard identifier) to a description of the technical standards used in creating the Master Copy (note that this is a key element - it is expected that materials will be digitized following many differing practices. In order for other institutions to rely on a master, they need to be satisfied that is of sufficient quality. The expectation is that there will be standard best practice guidelines created by the digital library community that libraries can simply "point" to via identifier or URL when appropriate. When community standards or best practices are being followed, it is highly desirable that the name or identifier of such practices be recorded rather than a URL-based link.);
• the technical format of the Master copy (again, this is likely recorded as a pointer to a description of the format used).
• a description or a pointer to a description (such as a URL or a standard identifier) of the repository practices being followed in the storage and maintenance of the Master Copy (as noted efforts are currently underway to define best practices in this area.).

  If URLs are used to point to external descriptions of practice in any of the fields above, the recording institution must assume the responsibility of maintaining the validity of the link.

  (NOTE that if use and archival master copy are the same, the information should be repeated in both areas.)

Statement of intent to digitize. In order to avoid unnecessary duplicate conversions, libraries are encouraged to record their intent to digitize an object as soon as the definite decision to do so is made. The statement should include the projected date of completion. The MARC21 583 field can be used to record this information. A problem with the use of a queuing mechanism of this sort for microfilming activity has been that not everything queued has subsequent updates to indicate that the filming has actually taken place. In order to avoid this difficulty in the digital registry:

• a name and contact information should be recorded for each queued item;
• the registry system should send a tickler message for each item that remains queued more than 90 days after the expected date of digitization;
• the registry should delete any queuing information more than a year past the expected date of digitization.

Interactive searc. Records of registered materials must be interactively searchable through standard information retrieval queries based on normal MARC bibliographic elements. This search facility is primarily intended for use by library staff looking to see if a known item has been digitized If registered materials are integrated into a larger bibliographic file, searching must provide the ability to limit results to registered digital copies. Because searching is only intended to support library staff, a naïve general user interface is not required.

Harvesting. Registered catalog data must be available for harvesting, supporting at a minimum the Open Archives initiative (OAi) protocols. Metadata formats supported should include both MARC21 and Dublin Core. There is no specific requirement that sub-setting of registered data during harvesting via the OAi "set" functions be supported.