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ISBD Vocabularies

The ISBD namespace includes seven concept vocabularies that provide controlled terminologies for content forms, qualifications, and media types.

Overview​

These vocabularies support ISBD Area 0 (Content form and media type area) by providing standardized terms for describing:

  • The fundamental forms in which content is expressed
  • Qualifications that further specify content characteristics
  • The types of carriers used to convey content

Available Vocabularies​

Content Form

25 terms

Content form categories reflect the fundamental form or forms in which the content of a resource is expressed.

Content Form Base

8 terms

Compound terms for qualified ISBD content forms that map to RDA/ONIX Framework for Resource Categorization base content categories.

Media Type

12 terms

Media type categories record the type or types of carrier used to convey the content of the resource.

Content Qualification Vocabularies​

Content qualification vocabularies provide sub-categories that expand the main content form categories with specific characteristics.

Dimensionality

2 terms

Number of spatial dimensions in image content

Motion

2 terms

Presence or absence of movement in images

Sensory Specification

48 terms

Human senses for perceiving content

Type

53 terms

Content qualification sub-categories

Technical Details​

Namespace Pattern​

  • Base URI: http://iflastandards.info/ns/isbd/terms/
  • Vocabulary pattern: {base}{vocabulary}/{term}
  • Example: http://iflastandards.info/ns/isbd/terms/contentform/T1001

Term Identifiers​

All vocabulary terms use the T-prefix numbering system:

  • T1001-T1999: Reserved for vocabulary terms
  • Each vocabulary has its own number range

Using ISBD Vocabularies​

These vocabularies are designed to be used with ISBD elements, particularly:

  • has content form (P1022)
  • has media type (P1023)
  • has content qualification (various sub-properties)

Example:

@prefix isbd: <http://iflastandards.info/ns/isbd/elements/> .
@prefix isbdcf: <http://iflastandards.info/ns/isbd/terms/contentform/> .

<http://example.org/resource/1>
    isbd:P1022 isbdcf:T1003 . # has content form: text