Introduction
ISBD for Manifestation (ISBDM) is a partial implementation of the IFLA Library Reference Model (LRM).
ISBDM covers only the Manifestation entity of the LRM.
ISBDM provides stipulations and guidance for describing a single manifestation and relating it to other manifestations and to other LRM entities.
ISBDM is designed for stand-alone use in an entity-based cataloguing environment.
It may also be used in conjunction with other partial or complete implementations of the LRM to provide fuller descriptions of bibliographic resources.
ISBDM metadata is intended to be interoperable with metadata from other implementations of the LRM and LRM entities.
ISBDM stipulations support two distinct applications of entity-based cataloguing:
- linked open data applications
- relational database applications
ISBDM has similar coverage to the consolidated ISBD which has a primary focus on the Manifestation entity, with secondary coverage of the other LRM resource entities Work, Expression, and Item. Most of the information recorded in a consolidated ISBD description can be recorded in an ISBDM description, albeit in a different structure.
Manifestation entity
Manifestation is one of four entities in the IFLA Library Reference Model (LRM) that represent distinct aspects of an information resource. The other resource entities are Work, Expression, and Item. Manifestation and Item describe the carrier components; Expression and Work describe the content components. An information resource is described fully by at least one instance of each resource entity, and may include more than one instance of a manifestation, expression, or work. An aspect of an information resource is described fully by an instance of a resource entity, and is associated with another instance of an entity by recording a relationship element.
ISBDM provides specific relationship elements that associate an instance of a manifestation with instances of other resource entities that are aspects of the same information resource:
- has item that exemplifies manifestation
- has sub-unit and its inverse has super-unit
- has expression embodied in manifestation
- has work embodied in manifestation
An instance of a manifestation describes characteristics that are common to all of the items that exemplify the manifestation.
The number of instances of resource entities in an information resource is constrained by the LRM to ensure the integrity of a full description of an information resource. A manifestation is associated with:
- at least one item that exemplifies the manifestation
- none, or one or more identifiable sub-units of the manifestation
- none, or only one super-unit of the manifestation that embodies a static work
- none, or one or more super-units of the manifestation that embody diachronic works
- at least one expression that is embodied in the manifestation, and therefore at least one work that is embodied in the manifestation
A manifestation is either published or produced, depending on how the items that exemplify the manifestation are created.
The items that exemplify a published manifestation have the typical characteristics:
- There is more than one instance of item. This does not preclude a published manifestation that is exemplified by only one item
- The items are created by using a mechanical process that results in identical copies
The item that exemplifies a produced manifestation has the typical characteristics:
- There is one and only one instance of item
- The item is created by using an artisanal or hand-made process
Consider a produced manifestation to be exemplified by one and only one item.
Consider a manifestation that is created by using an artisanal or hand-made process that is augmented by a process that creates more than one item to be published.
Manifestation elements
ISBD for Manifestation provides elements for the description of a manifestation and its relationships to other entities.
The elements are grouped in four categories:
- Statements: Manifestation statement elements
- Notes: Note elements
- Attributes: Attribute elements
- Relationships: Relationship elements
Each category is distinguished by the sources of information for values of the element and the utility of values for information retrieval.
Elements are arranged in a semantic hierarchy within a category. The hierarchy reflects the granularity of element definitions and scope notes.
The elements support the general principles of Statement of international cataloguing principles (ICP).
Manifestation statement elements support the ICP principle of "representation".
Other categories of element support the ICP principles of "accuracy", "consistency and standardization", "integration", "interoperability", "openness", "accessibility", and "rationality".
Manifestation elements also support local decisions by a cataloguing agency for compliance with the principles of "convenience of the user", "common usage", "sufficiency and necessity", "significance", and "economy".
Granularity
Element hierarchies
The elements of ISBD for Manifestation are arranged in semantic hierarchies. Each element may have none, one, or two element super-types with a broader meaning, or none, one, or more element sub-types with a finer meaning.
The hierarchical structure is based on the definitions, scope notes, and entity range of the elements.
The definition and scope note of an element super-type are inherited and refined by its sub-types.
A refinement in an element sub-type is not applicable to its super-type.
An element with no element super-type has the broadest level of granularity in its hierarchy. These elements are:
- has manifestation statement
- has note on manifestation
- has category of manifestation
- has physical characteristic
- has use rights
- has agent associated with manifestation
- has expression associated with manifestation
- has item associated with manifestation
- has manifestation associated with manifestation
- has work associated with manifestation
- has place associated with manifestation
- has time-span associated with manifestation
- has nomen associated with manifestation
An element with no element sub-types has the finest level of granularity in its hierarchy.
The only elements with two element super-types are relationship elements with a range of Agent or its entity sub-types Collective Agent and Person. These elements are included in a poly-hierarchy that reflects the entity hierarchy of Agent as well as the basic semantic hierarchy of relationships.
Other elements with only one element super-type are included in a mono-hierarchy that reflects the basic semantic hierarchy of the elements.
Element refinement
The granularity of ISBD for Manifestation element hierarchies accommodates general metadata for a wide range of carriers.
If a finer level of granularity is required for specific kinds of carriers or if it is considered to be useful for users of the metadata, an ISBDM hierarchy can be extended by adding an element sub-type to the finest level ISBDM element in the hierarchy or as a sibling sub-type of an element above the finest level.
An ISBDM element may be refined by an external element if the external element has a definition and scope note that indicate a finer level of granularity in its meaning relative to the ISBDM element.
If the external element is a sibling of an ISBDM element, their semantics must not overlap.
Data granularity
A semantic hierarchy allows data to flow from a finer to a broader level of granularity.
The inheritance of semantics from a broader element to a finer element means that the value of a finer element is also a value of a broader element, within each hierarchy.
Metadata from an external refinement of an ISBDM element is interoperable with ISBDM at the level of granularity of the ISBDM element
Metadata from ISBDM elements at different levels of granularity within a hierarchy is interoperable at the level of granularity of the broadest of the elements. [Full example: Give it up b/w Tired (2002; Output Recordings; audio disc). The values are interoperable at the level of granularity of the broader element "has collective agent associated with manifestation".]Examples
Property Value has publisher collective agent "Output Recordings" has collective agent associated with manifestation "LCD Soundsytem"
See also: Metadata utility and processing
Mandatory elements
A manifestation element is either mandatory or optional. A cataloguing agency must record at least one occurrence of a mandatory element. A cataloguing agency may choose not to record any occurrence for an optional element.
The mandatory requirement of an element is satisfied if a cataloguing agency records an occurrence of one of its element sub-types. This is a consequence of the semantic hierarchy of elements.
See also: Metadata utility and processing
A mandatory element is indicated in ISBDM by the symbol ✽ before the reference information for the element.
The mandatory elements are:
An element may be mandatory if a condition is satisified; for example that there is a value that is applicable and available. A conditional mandatory stipulation is indicated in ISBDM by the symbol ✽ before the condition.
The elements that have a conditional mandatory stipulation are:
Record an element that is applicable and available at the finest level of granularity in a semantic hierarchy, including a sub-type of an element that is marked as mandatory.
All other elements are optional.
Repeatable elements
A manifestation element is either unique or repeatable. A cataloguing agency may record only one occurrence of a unique element. A cataloguing agency may record many occurrences of a repeatable element by recording each value in a separate occurrence of the element.
A unique, non-repeatable element is indicated in ISBDM by the symbol 1 after the element's label.
The unique elements are:
All other elements are repeatable.
ISBDM does not specify a maximum number of occurrences of a repeatable element in the description of a manifestation.
Entities related to manifestation
ISBD for Manifestation provides partial accommodation for information about other IFLA Library Reference Model entities Work, Expression, Item, Agent, Collective Agent, Person, Place, Time-span, and Nomen that are associated within the description of a manifestation.
Specific utilities include:
- The broad relationship elements that associate the other entities with the manifestation; for example the has agent associated with manifestation and has place associated with manifestation elements.
- The has work embodied in manifestation element that allows a work to be related to the manifestation without describing the intermediary expression.
- The has category of embodied content element that allows Expression categories to be attached to the description of the manifestation.
- The has note on entity associated with manifestation element and element sub-types that accommodate brief descriptions of related entities.
- The labels of elements that include "manifestation" when similar elements are likely to be assigned to other entities in the future.
- The stipulations for manifestations that embody diachronic works that allow the manifestation to be described as standalone or as a sub-unit of the "whole", or both, without the complexity of describing diachronic works and their issues.
See also: Manifestation entity
Broad and partial descriptions of related entities may be refined in due course when ISBD stipulations for the other IFLA Library Reference Model entities are developed. This will not make the ISBDM data incorrect or inconsistent.
Terminology
The label of a manifestation element may include the qualifier "manifestation" to distinguish it from similar elements and labels that will be developed for the other IFLA Library Reference Model entities in the future. The label "has identifier for manifestation" distinguishes the element from "has identifier for work", a possible future element for the Work entity. Every entity requires a similar identifier element to support entity-based cataloguing, except for Nomen which accommodates identifiers and other appellations as instances of the entity.Examples
The label of an entity has an initial upper-case letter when it refers to the entity as a whole.
The label of an entity has an initial lower-case letter when it refers to an instance of the entity. The explicit phrase "instance of ..." is used when clarification is required.
The manifestation that is being described is referenced in stipulations as "the manifestation".
Guidance that begins "Consider ..." must be followed for effective application of stipulations.
The phrase "if it is considered to be useful for users of the metadata" indicates that a stipulation is optional; if the phrase is not included, the stipulation is mandatory.
A stipulation that begins "For a manifestation that ..." applies only to a manifestation that meets the condition.
A stipulation that includes "If ..." applies only to an entity or element that meets the condition.
The term "value" refers to the content that is recorded for an ISBDM element.
Values in examples that are strings are enclosed in or delimited by double quote marks ("string"). A local application of ISBDM may use a different method of delimiting a string, or may not require delimiters to be recorded. Values that are linked data internationalised resource identifiers (IRIs) for things are not enclosed in double quote marks.
Diagrams
An oval in an entity-relationship diagram represents an entity or an instance of an entity.
A rectangle in an entity-relationship diagram represents a string value.
A line that connects two ovals represents a relationship between entities or instances of entities.
A line that connects an oval with a rectangle represents a relationship or attribute that has a string value.
An arrow that terminates a line represents the direction of the relationship. An arrow at either end of a line represents a combination of a relationship and its inverse.
Sources of information
Sources of information for the value of a manifestation element are presented in the manifestation, or are embodied in other manifestations.
ISBD for Manifestation provides elements and stipulations that distinguish two categories of source of information for a description of a manifestation:
- The manifestation itself.
- External sources that are found in other manifestations.
Sources of information
The manifestation
The manifestation itself is a unique source of information that requires special consideration.
The manifestation may describe itself and may be a source of information for the value of an element. This conforms with principle 2.3 "Representation" in Statement of international cataloguing principles (ICP).
A manifestation describes itself with spoken word, tactile text, or text content that is embedded in the manifestation, including packaging in the form of wrappers and inserts. This content is "about" the manifestation, not "of" the manifestation, and is not treated as an expression that is embodied in the manifestation. This content includes a title or caption, a statement of responsibility, publication or production information, a table of contents, and a list of illustrations. This content excludes a preface, an afterword, or an index; these are treated as expressions.
Content about the manifestation is presented separately from the expressions that are embodied in the manifestation. It may appear before or after the expressions, between expressions, or in a border such as a header or footer that is included in the layout of the expressions.
Consider a manifestation that is reproduced in the manifestation to be an external source of information. A descriptive statement in the original manifestation pertains to the original irrespective of its presence in the reproduction.
A value taken from a statement that is presented in the manifestation must be recorded as it appears in order to conform with the principle of representation. The value must therefore appear as spoken word, tactile text, or text so that it can be transcribed and recorded. The value is transcribed as it appears even if it is known to be false as a result of error or intention.
The manifestation itself may provide differing values for an element, including multiple statements that are wholly or partially covered by the scope of the element.
The manifestation may provide the same statement in multiple languages.
The manifestation itself may emphasise one or more values over others in multiple statements for the same element. Devices for emphasis include larger font size, different font colour, and text decoration such as bold, italics, or underline. Consider such emphasis and prominence as an indication of preference within the principle of representation.
The general order of preference for selecting from multiple values within the manifestation is:
- The value that is the most prominent.
- The value that is the fullest within the scope of the element.
- The value that is considered to have the most utility for users of the metadata. a. A value that is in a language or script preferred by the cataloguing agency.
- The value that appears first.
The manifestation itself may not provide a value for an element.
ISBDM provides a has manifestation statement element and element sub-types to record a value that appears in the manifestation. The stipulations for these elements focus on the transcription and choice of values to support the user task to identify the manifestation as it identifies itself. ISBDM provides a has note on manifestation statement element and element sub-types to record uncontrolled or controlled values that complement the uncontrolled values of manifestation statements in the description.
Consider the main utility of these elements as supporting the display of the description of the manifestation. The values of these elements may be incomplete or contradictory and are suitable only for uncontrolled keyword indexing.
ISBDM provides other attribute and relationship elements and element sub-types to record appropriate values from any source of information, including statements that appear in the manifestation itself, other aspects of the manifestation that can be observed, and external sources of information. The stipulations for these elements focus on accuracy and completeness in the context of the application of the metadata.
Sources of information
External sources
An external source of information is a manifestation that embodies expressions and works that describe some aspect of the manifestation that is sufficient to indicate a value for the element. Such works include catalogues, encyclopaedias, and other structured metadata as well as non-fiction works that contain unstructured descriptions.
The same information may be found in multiple external sources. Select one of the sources to provide the most accurate and consensual value that is available to the cataloguer.
The general order of preference for selecting from values in multiple external sources is:
- The value that is the most common.
- The value that is the fullest within the scope of the element.
- The value that is considered to have the most utility for users of the metadata a. A value that is in a language or script preferred by the cataloguing agency.
- The value that appears first in the first external source.
Information found in multiple external sources may be contradictory. Select one of the sources. Use the following order of preference:
- Structured metadata a. Created by the publisher or producer of the manifestation b. Created by a cataloguing agency c. Created by a trusted agent
- Unstructured metadata and descriptions
Metadata utility and processing
The value of an ISBDM element is intended for use as metadata in an information retrieval application. ISBDM metadata supports linked open data and relational database applications.
The utility of the value of an ISBDM element is reflected in its source of information and how the value can be processed to support basic methods of retrieval and display.
A value that is a text string or an identifier string can be processed for direct display in the description of the manifestation. A value that is an IRI can be dereferenced, usually, to obtain text strings for display in the description.
ISBDM supports the following basic retrieval methods:
- keyword index
- controlled keyword index
- uncontrolled keyword index
- browse index
- access point index
- identifier index
- contextual link
The categories of Manifestation elements indicate which retrieval methods are applicable to an element value.
A value that is an uncontrolled text string can be processed to extract words and phrases for an uncontrolled keyword index. This is applicable to the value of a manifestation statement element, and to a free-text value of a note or attribute element.
A value that is a controlled text string can be processed to extract words and phrases for a controlled keyword index. This is applicable to a controlled value of a note or attribute element, and to a value of a relationship element that is an authorized access point.
A value that is an access point can be included in an access point browse index. This is applicable to a value of a relationship element that is an authorized access point or an access point that is constructed by applying a string encoding scheme.
A value that is an identifier string can be included in an identifier browse index. This is applicable to a value of a relationship element that is an authorized access point or an access point that is constructed by applying a string encoding scheme.
A value that is an authorized access point or an identifier string can be used to link two entities in a relational database application. This is applicable to a string value of a relationship element.
A value that is an IRI can be used to link two entities in a linked open data application. This is applicable to a value of an element that is an IRI.
| Retrieval method | Statement | Note | Attribute | Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uncontrolled keyword | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Controlled keyword | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Browse value | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Link value | ✓ |
Table 1: Data retrieval processes for categories of ISBDM elements.
Table 1 summarises the applicability of the ISBDM element categories to basic information retrieval methods.
A value of an element is inferred to be a value of all of its element super-types. This is a consequence of the semantic hierarchy of elements.Examples
has person associated with manifestation "Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616" also states has agent associated with manifestation "Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616" [Inferred.] has publisher collective agent "HarperCollinsPublishers" also states has creator collective agent of manifestation "HarperCollinsPublishers" [Inferred.] has collective agent associated with manifestation "HarperCollinsPublishers" [Inferred.] has agent associated with manifestation "HarperCollinsPublishers" [Inferred.]
The interoperability of ISBDM metadata is maximised when the finest element sub-type that is applicable is used to record a value, to allow the greatest number of inferences to be made.
See also: Granularity
ISBDM makes the "Open World Assumption" for linked open data. The absence of an element value in a description of a manifestation implies neither that the element is not applicable to the manifestation nor that the value is unknowable. An element value may be added to the description in due course.
Use a has note on manifestation element or element sub-type to indicate the reason for the absence of an element value, if it is considered to be useful for users of the metadata.
Language and script
The language and script of the value of statement elements should be preserved in the context of the transcription rules as much as possible with the technology that is available to the cataloguing agency.
Language and script of the values of note elements, attribute elements, and relationship elements should be applied according to local needs.
Reproductions
Consider a manifestation that is produced by copying or reproducing another manifestation to be a distinct manifestation. This includes copying by hand, digitisation, photographic reproduction, audio and video copying, and the re-use of components that were used to create an original published manifestation such as printing plates, woodcuts, and dies.
Consider a manifestation that is a "web archive" of a manifestation that is an online resource to be a distinct manifestation.
Consider a distinct state of an older printed volume or sheet to be a distinct manifestation.
A manifestation may reproduce a manifestation that is previously published or produced, or may reproduce an item that is modified after it is created as an exemplar of a manifestation that is previously published.
A manifestation may reproduce only the content as it is embodied in a manifestation or it may also reproduce the carrier.
A manifestation may reproduce a manifestation with or without its manifestation statements, and may add its own manifestation statements.
Consider marks of ownership, item identifiers, local annotations, and visible wear and damage to be modifications of an item.
Record a has manifestation reproduced by manifestation element to relate a manifestation that is a copy to the manifestation that it copies. Use this element if an item that is copied by the manifestation does not include modifications.
Record a has item reproduced by manifestation element to relate a manifestation that is a copy to the item that it copies. Use this element if an item that is copied by the manifestation includes modifications.
Collections
A collection is a set of items that are gathered together for some purpose. A collection includes:
- a library or cultural heritage collection that provides easy and contextual access to exemplars of manifestations with characteristics in common (such as category of carrier) or which embody content with similar characteristics or subjects (such as a common language or theme)
- a bound or boxed set of exemplars of more than one manifestation, manufactured by an agent for preservation or circulation of the items
- an exhibition that associates items for education, promotion, or entertainment
The set of collected items may be fixed or it may change as a result of additions and withdrawals.
The set of collected items may include specified sub-sets of items and may be a sub-set of a larger collection.
Consider a collection to be an information resource that is a manifestation with only one exemplifier that embodies only one expression that realises a collecting work.
Consider the expression that realises a collecting work as having no intrinsic characteristics that are useful to describe. The collecting expression does not inherit the characteristics of the expressions that are embodied in the manifestations that are exemplified by the collected items, and the common characteristics of those expressions are included in the description of the collecting work. There is no utility in describing the collecting expression.
The diagram shows the resource entities and relationships that may be used to describe a collection manifestation.
Use a has holding element to relate a collection manifestation to an item that is collected.
Use a has super-unit element to relate a collection manifestation to a broader collection manifestation of which it is a part.
Record a has location of collection element to relate a collection manifestation to a place where the collection is located.Examples
has location of collection "Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Cartes et plans (Paris; France)" [Full example: Collection (Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Cartes et plans).]
Record a has super-unit element or a has sub-unit element to relate a collection manifestation to the manifestation of a super-collection or a sub-collection, respectively.
Element values
Record only a single value for each element. Do not record multiple values in a single element unless indicated otherwise by a stipulation.
Repeat the element to record more than one value.
If more than one value is applicable to the manifestation, select which values to record. Use the following order of preference, unless indicated otherwise:
- Record the value that is the best to distinguish the manifestation.
- Record the values that are most useful for users of the metadata.
- Record all of the values that are applicable.