Re: What _should_ we be doing with bibliographic data (Was: Slightly OT: MARC)

Patrick Durusau wrote:
> 
> On 7/20/2010 5:47 PM, Murray Altheim wrote:
> 
>> Just put *one* URL into the metadata, one that points to an online
>> record. If you treat that URL as persistent, that record won't grow
>> stale (as would any URLs included in the published eBook), and you
>> can update it as necessary. You can also improve and update the
>> service behind that URL at any time. It's also easier for the user
>> in that their only option is to resolve one URL, which can point
>> to a page with further actions and suitable documentation.
> 
> Not to mention that users who can consume more information can resolve 
> the URL to obtain additional information, including additional identifiers.

There are problems the 'use a pointer to a full record on the web' approach:

1) ePubs can't assume that consuming devices have internet access
2) The ALA's Freedom To Read Statement implies that accessing a third 
party service when reading a work is a bad idea (since it reduces the 
ability to read anonymously). Since our ePubs are redistributable under 
a CC license, a service we ran would be a third party service in many 
scenarios.
3) It is our intention and hope that ePubs will be durable in the long 
term (i.e. have an independent lifetime beyond the issuing institution) 
which implies a lookup service is unlikely to still be working.

cheers
stuart
-- 
Stuart Yeates
http://www.nzetc.org/       New Zealand Electronic Text Centre
http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/     Institutional Repository