pbcoreContributor element issue
Let's say I'm trying to record contributors to a movie and have a list of actors. In PBCore I can list each name, and record contributorRole as "actor." But there's no way to record what role they played as actor. Seems like a big gap! This could easily be solved in one of two ways:
Add an optional third element inside the pbcoreContributor container to record this. What to call it? Part maybe?
Add an optional attribute to contributorRole, so you can say something like:
<pbcoreContributor>
<contributor>Julie Roberts</contributor>
<contributorRole part="Erin Brockovich">Actor</contributorRole>
</pbcoreContributor>
Only problem with this is, PBCore doesn't use attributes. So maybe the first way is better:
<pbcoreContributor>
<contributor>Julie Roberts</contributor>
<contributorRole>Actor</contributorRole>
<contributorPart>Erin Brockovich</contributorPart>
</pbcoreContributor>
Fun new category added to PBCoreresources.org: Change Requests
If things appear quite in pbcoreland, that would be only a surface-level view. A lively discussion is taking place, for example, on the American Archive Pilot Project Basecamp site. People are asking questions about why PBCore elements are as they are, how PBCore matches the requirements of their collections and projects, and poking it with sticks in various ways. The AMIA Conference arrives in St. Louis next week, following a year in which many AMIA folks have submerged PBCore in white fire and subzero liquids. Other open source software projects are leveraging PBCore to exchange data and media files between far-flung systems. Lots of us have been throwing tons of actual content against the PBCore wall, and seeing which pieces stick or bounce back.
PBCore 2.0 will be coming, and it needs our help.
So I'm putting out the call (with the encouragement of Paul Burrows) for something we'll categorize on this site as Change Requests. Many suggestions have already been made on vairous listservs and other online spaces, and we'll be looking through those to compile them here. If you have other suggestions for changes to PBCore, you can add them here yourself. (Anyone who is a Member of this site can post to it, and you can sign up on the home page.) Please make sure to assign your entry to the category Change Request. We can then more easily filter these into a pile, and sort them into subcategories as needed.
I'll be an active curator as needed, so just let me know what "as needed" means to you, and let 'er rip.
PBCore Program Manager RFP issued by CPB
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has clearly re-engaged with the PBCore project, as evidenced by the RFP for a PBCore Program Manager.
This action resulted from a series of conversations and a formal meeting at CPB in July. Rob Bole, CPB Vice President for Digital Media Strategy, and Project Manager for Digital Media Strategy, called in members of the PBCore Resource Group, the Digital Learning Library, NPR, and the redoubtable metadata goddess Grace Agnew among others, to regroup and discuss Next Steps for PBCore.
The issuance of the RFP renews CPB's committment to the development and support of PBCore as the sanctioned AV metadata standard for public media, at least for the next couple of years. Beyond that period, something will have to be in place to maintain and support the standard and the community using it. What that looks like will likely be the biggest challenge for the PBCore Program Manager.
Other work is fairly well defined: bringing PBCore up to a version 2.0 (we all know it needs further development), revising the pbcore.org website, and considerable outreach and training activities that must be quickly resumed.
The RFP has to be considered good news for the PBCore community. But the job will not be easy for whoever takes it on.
PBCore site back up
I don't know the story yet behind its temporary offlineness, but http://www.pbcore.org is back up.
If you're using Firefox and it still doesn't render, remember to clear the cache...