Wikidata:WikiProject Archives Linked Data Interest Group/Describing Collections Items
This recommendation includes a set of of properties based on the ISAD(G) (Q1654544) and Describing Archives: A Content Standard (Q5263780) standards.
Fields Edit
| property | DACS element | ISAD(G) element | expected / required value | description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| label | n/a | n/a | textual string. May not exceed 250 characters. | An item should have a label consisting of a word or phrase by which the material being described is known or can be identified. This may or may not be the same as a title and may include an identifier. Must be associated with a language. May repeat for multiple languages. Recommend including a title (P1476) (see below) as well as the label. |
| title (P1476) | 2.3 Title (Required) | 3.1.2 Title (Required) | textual string | Besides having some form of its title as a label, an item may have a formal title (title (P1476)) field. See DACS 2.3 for guidelines on formulating a title. Must be associated with a language. May repeat for multiple languages. |
| description | n/a | n/a | textual string, beginning with lower-case letter unless the first word is a proper noun. | Every item may have a brief textual description (normally a sentence-fragment, may be derived from collection abstract) to allow differentiation between items with the same or similar labels. The combination of label and description should be unique. The descriptive field must be associated with a language and an item may thus have multi-lingual description. |
| instance of (P31) | n/a | n/a | Wikidata entity. Suggested values include: archival collection (Q9388534), collection (Q2668072), cultural heritage (Q210272), fonds (Q3052382), item of collection or exhibition (Q18593264), manuscript collection (Q42939539), public collection (Q2982955), oral history (Q558929) | instance of (P31) is a fundamental Wikidata property used to declare the type of thing the Wikidata entity describes. For archival materials, this is the place to declare the nature of the materials being described. The recommended values below are suggested controlled values for higher-level and aggregate levels of description. When describing individual materials, you should seek out the individual item such as letter (Q133492), photograph (Q125191), etc. |
| inventory number (P217) or catalog code (P528) | 2.1 Reference Code (Required) | 3.1.1 Reference code(s) (Required) | textual string representing the identifier | There are several ways in which one can declare the appropriate reference code for an item. Consider including it in part of the label. The property inventory number (P217) should be used in most cases for the archival identifier. The property catalog code (P528) expects a catalog more in lines with the art and, sometimes, rare book world.
Declarations of inventory number and catalog code both expect a qualifier. When using inventory number, use qualifier collection (P195) to link a Wikidata item representing the collection, organization, or division to which the inventory number belongs. When using catalog code, use catalog (P972) to link to a Wikidata item representing the catalog to which the code belongs. |
| maintained by (P126) | 2.2 Name and Location of Repository (Required) | n/a | Wikidata entity for the repository which maintains the materials | Provide information about the repository which holds and maintains the materials. Declare a statement of maintained by (P126) on the highest-level record for a collection. The value should be the Wikidata item for the organization, person, etc. responsible for the materials’ maintenance. Values of address, contact info, etc., should be in the maintainer's record. For items farther down in the hierarchy, ensure that the highest level has a maintained by statement and designate hierarchical relationships using part of (P361). |
| collection or exhibition size (P1436) | 2.5 Extent (Required) | 3.1.5 Extent and medium of the unit of description (Required) | Quantity, including an optional declaration of unit, e.g. "linear meter." | Record the size or extent of the collection being described collection or exhibition size (P1436). This property can record such values as "30,000 volume," or "2 terabyte" as well as 3 "cubic foot," using the Unit (which displays the label of the wikidata entity for that Thing, which is singular -- foot vs. feet, etc.). You may also record volume as quantity (P2234) with cubic dimensions as qualifiers in order to allow for calculations. |
| collection creator (P6241) | 2.6 Name of creator(s) (Required, If Known) | 3.2.1 Name of creator(s) | Wikidata entity | Designate the entity (person, corporation, family, etc.) responsible for the aggregation or aggregate creation of the archival collection using collection creator (P6241).
When describing an item which is part of a collection and created by a known entity, consider using creator (P170) or author (P50), illustrator (P110), etc. For example, if describing a letter by Adrienne Rich in a collection assembled by Audre Lorde, use creator to attribute the letter to Rich. |
| access restriction status (P7228) | 4.1 Conditions Governing Access (Required) | 3.4.1 Conditions of access | controlled values: not yet determined (Q59496158), unknown (Q24238356), fully restricted access (Q66739729), unrestricted access (Q66739888), partly restricted access (Q66739849), possibly restricted (Q66739875) | Record whether the collection has any known restrictions on access using access restriction status (P7228). This property uses a controlled value lists which allows one to record that the access restriction status is not yet determined or unknown. Note that there is not yet a way to specify details about the kinds of restrictions on use. This might be achieved through a reference url citing the finding aid, which should contain appropriate details. |
| use restriction status (P7261) | Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use (Added Value) | n/a | controlled values: not yet determined (Q59496158), unknown (Q24238356), fully restricted access (Q66739729), unrestricted access (Q66739888), partly restricted access (Q66739849), possibly restricted (Q66739875) | Record whether the collection has any known restrictions on use using use restriction status (P7261). This property uses a controlled value lists which allows one to record that the access restriction status is not yet determined or unknown. Note that there is not yet a way to specify details about the kinds of restrictions on use. This might be achieved through a reference url citing the finding aid, which should contain appropriate details. |
| language of work or name (P407) and writing system (P282) | 4.5 Languages and Scripts of the Material (Required) | 3.4.3 Language/scripts of material | Wikidata entity for the language or languages and scripts used in the creation of the work or collection. Entity should be an instance of language (Q34770) or writing system (Q8192) as appropriate. | Record the language of the work of materials using language of work or name (P407). Use with qualifier writing system (P282) to record the script. Example values for script scripts are Latin script (Q8229), Hangul (Q8222), Arabic alphabet (Q8196), and Cyrillic script (Q8209). |
| donated by (P1028) | 5.2 Immediate Source of Acquisition (Added Value) | 3.2.4 Immediate source of acquisition or transfer | Wikidata entity representing a person, family, corporate entity, or other kind of entity which can donate materials. | Record the immediate source of acquisition. If that acquisition is a donation (not a purchase, etc.), use donated by (P1028). Use point in time (P585) as a qualifier when known, particularly to distinguish between multiple contributions to the same collection. If a wikidata entity for the donor does not yet exist, evaluate the utility of creating a new record for this person before doing so. Note: as of 2020-05-20, donated by (P1028) has a single value constraint. Ignore this if there is more than one donor (and consider pitching in on the property's Talk page). |
| copyright status (P6216) | n/a | n/a | controlled value: public domain (Q19652), copyrighted (Q50423863), not yet determined (Q59496158), unknown (Q24238356) | Use copyright status (P6216) to specify the copyright status of the materials being described. Even when unsure of status, you may use controlled values "unknown" or "not yet determined." If a determination has been made, use qualifier determination method (P459). A common value for the qualifier would be: as determined by GLAM institution and stated at its website determined by GLAM institution and stated at its website (Q61848113). Consider citing with Reference URL. If copyright holder is known, use copyright holder (P3931) (see below). |
| copyright holder (P3931) | n/a | n/a | Wikidata entity representing a person, family, corporate entity, or other kind of entity which can hold copyright | If the entity who holds the copyright is known and has a wikidata entity, specify using copyright holder (P3931). While not a part of DACS and ISAD(G), this field provides information which users may find helpful in contacting the copyright holder for use of materials. If a wikidata entity for the copyright holder does not yet exist, evaluate the utility of creating a new record for this person before doing so. |
| RightsStatements.org statement according to source website (P6426) | n/a | n/a | an instance of RightsStatements.org statement (Q47530706), see values at this Wikidata query: [1] | If the collection or item has an associated RightsStatement, specify using RightsStatement status according to source website (P6426). Use the source website as a reference. It expects the value to be an instance of RightsStatements.org statement (Q47530706). |
| owned by (P127) | 5.1 Custodial History (Added Value) | 3.2.3 Archival history | Wikidata entity representing a person, family, corporate entity, or other kind of entity which can own materials | Record history of ownership by using owned by (P127) with qualifiers start time (P580) and end time (P582). Consider specifying current ownership of the materials if it may assist users in accessing and using material. Do not confuse maintained by (P126) and owned by (P127), as a repository may maintain materials it does not own.
Note that this is not necessarily the same as copyright holder (P3931) or collection creator collection creator (P6241). For example, Adrienne Rich may write a letter to Audre Lorde whose estate may transfer ownership of her letters to a repository. The repository would own the letter (or might maintain it), Rich would hold any copyright unless she transferred it, and Lorde would be the collection's creator. Lorde's ownership of the letter from receipt until donation might also be recorded. |
| main subject (P921) | n/a | n/a | Wikidata entity representing the subject as a concept/topic | Use main subject (P921) to specify the primary topics or themes of an item or collection. These may range from specific events to concepts. Note, Wikidata properties do not map directly to Library of Congress or other controlled subjects. |