Audubon Core Multimedia Resources Metadata Schema

The Audubon Core (AC) is a set of vocabularies designed to represent metadata for biodiversity multimedia resources and collections. These vocabularies aim to represent information that will help to determine whether a particular resource or collection will be fit for some particular biodiversity science application before acquiring the media. Among others, the vocabularies address such concerns as the management of the media and collections, descriptions of their content, their taxonomic, geographic, and temporal coverage, and the appropriate ways to retrieve, attribute and reproduce them.

Website GitHub

Image by Mikhail Vasilyev

Header section

Title
Audubon Core Multimedia Resources Metadata Schema
Permanent IRI (for citations and links)
http://www.tdwg.org/standards/638
Publisher
Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG)
Ratified
2013-10-28
Status
Current standard
Category
Technical specification
Abstract
The Audubon Core (AC) is a set of vocabularies designed to represent metadata for biodiversity multimedia resources and collections. These vocabularies aim to represent information that will help to determine whether a particular resource or collection will be fit for some particular biodiversity science application before acquiring the media. Among others, the vocabularies address such concerns as the management of the media and collections, descriptions of their content, their taxonomic, geographic, and temporal coverage, and the appropriate ways to retrieve, attribute and reproduce them.
Citation
GBIF/TDWG Multimedia Resources Task Group. 2013. Audubon Core Multimedia Resources Metadata Schema. Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) http://www.tdwg.org/standards/638

Maintenance group

Audubon Core is maintained by a specialized Interest Group whose charter was approved in January 2018. The functions of the Audubon Core Maintenance Group are described in detail in Section 2 of the TDWG Vocabulary Maintenance Specification. In brief, the Maintenance Group manages vocabulary term additions and changes, and maintains the documentation that helps users to understand and apply the standard. As an Interest Group, it may establish Task Groups to accomplish broader changes to the standard.

The activities of the AC Maintenance Group are documented at the group’s Github repository, https://github.com/tdwg/ac, where a current list of core members and their contact information can be found. Community participation is welcome. If you would like to participate in this group, contact the convener or one of the core members.

To participate in the communications of the group, “watch” the group’s Issues tracker. This issues tracker is the mechanism for suggesting specific changes to the standard as well as to raise issues for discussion by the group.

Parts of the standard

This standard is comprised of 4 vocabularies and 7 documents.

Vocabularies:

Documents:

Audubon Core Term List

Title
Audubon Core Term List
Permanent IRI
http://rs.tdwg.org/ac/doc/termlist/
Created
2013-10-23
Last modified
2021-10-05
Contributors
Robert A. Morris (lead author) - University of Massachusetts at Boston, USA
Gregor Hagedorn (author) - JKI, Federal Research Institute for Cultivated Plants, Berlin, Germany
Annette Olson (author) - American Association for the Advancement of Science
Steve Baskauf (author) - Audubon Core Maintenance Group
Vijay Barve (author)
Mihail Carausu (author) - Danish Biodiversity Information Facility (DanBIF), Copenhagen, Denmark
Vishwas Chavan (author) - Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Copenhagen, Denmark
José Cuadra (author)
Chris Freeland (author) - Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, USA
Patrick Leary (author)
Dimitry Mozzherin (author) - Encyclopedia of Life, Woods Hole, USA
Greg Riccardi (author) - Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA
Ivan Teage (author)
Dan Stowell (author) - Queen Mary University of London
Edward Baker (author) - Natural History Museum, London
Richard Pyle (author) - Bishop Museum, Honolulu, HI, USA
Steve Baskauf (review manager) - Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
Publisher
Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG)
Abstract
The Audubon Core is a set of vocabularies designed to represent metadata for biodiversity multimedia resources and collections. It aims to represent information that will help to determine whether a particular resource or collection will be fit for some particular biodiversity science application before acquiring the media. Among others, the vocabularies address such concerns as the management of the media and collections, descriptions of their content, their taxonomic, geographic, and temporal coverage, and the appropriate ways to retrieve, attribute and reproduce them. This document contains a list of attributes of each Audubon Core term, including a documentation name, a specified URI, a recommended English label for user interfaces, a definition, and some ancillary notes. The version shown here was adopted by Biodiversity Information Standards / TDWG at the general meeting in October 2013 and updated in 2021. This document contains normative content that may not be changed without due process.
Citation
Audubon Core Maintenance Group. 2021. Audubon Core Term List. Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG). http://rs.tdwg.org/ac/doc/termlist/2021-02-01

Audubon Core Structure

Title
Audubon Core Structure
Permanent IRI
http://rs.tdwg.org/ac/doc/structure/
Created
2013-10-23
Last modified
2021-10-05
Contributors
Robert A. Morris (lead author) - University of Massachusetts at Boston, USA
Vijay Barve (author)
Mihail Carausu (author) - Danish Biodiversity Information Facility (DanBIF), Copenhagen, Denmark
Vishwas Chavan (author) - Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Copenhagen, Denmark
José Cuadra (author)
Chris Freeland (author) - Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, USA
Gregor Hagedorn (author) - JKI, Federal Research Institute for Cultivated Plants, Berlin, Germany
Patrick Leary (author)
Dimitry Mozzherin (author) - Encyclopedia of Life, Woods Hole, USA
Annette Olson (author) - American Association for the Advancement of Science
Greg Riccardi (author) - Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA
Ivan Teage (author)
Steve Baskauf (author) - Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
Steve Baskauf (review manager) - Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
Publisher
Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG)
Abstract
The Audubon Core is a set of vocabularies designed to represent metadata for biodiversity multimedia resources and collections. These vocabularies aim to represent information that will help to determine whether a particular resource or collection will be fit for some particular biodiversity science application before acquiring the media. Among others, the vocabularies address such concerns as the management of the media and collections, descriptions of their content, their taxonomic, geographic, and temporal coverage, and the appropriate ways to retrieve, attribute and reproduce them. This document contains material introductory to the Audubon Core Term List.
Citation
Multimedia Resources Task Group. 2013. Audubon Core Structure. Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG). http://rs.tdwg.org/ac/doc/structure/

Audubon Core Introduction

Title
Audubon Core Introduction
Permanent IRI
http://rs.tdwg.org/ac/doc/introduction/
Created
2013-10-23
Last modified
2013-10-23
Contributors
Robert A. Morris (lead author) - University of Massachusetts at Boston, USA
Vijay Barve (author)
Mihail Carausu (author) - Danish Biodiversity Information Facility (DanBIF), Copenhagen, Denmark
Vishwas Chavan (author) - Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Copenhagen, Denmark
José Cuadra (author)
Chris Freeland (author) - Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, USA
Gregor Hagedorn (author) - JKI, Federal Research Institute for Cultivated Plants, Berlin, Germany
Patrick Leary (author)
Dimitry Mozzherin (author) - Encyclopedia of Life, Woods Hole, USA
Annette Olson (author) - American Association for the Advancement of Science
Greg Riccardi (author) - Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA
Ivan Teage (author)
Steve Baskauf (review manager) - Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
Publisher
Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG)
Abstract
The Audubon Core is a set of vocabularies designed to represent metadata for biodiversity multimedia resources and collections. These vocabularies aim to represent information that will help to determine whether a particular resource or collection will be fit for some particular biodiversity science application before acquiring the media. Among others, the vocabularies address such concerns as the management of the media and collections, descriptions of their content, their taxonomic, geographic, and temporal coverage, and the appropriate ways to retrieve, attribute and reproduce them.
Citation
Multimedia Resources Task Group. 2013. Audubon Core Introduction. Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG). http://rs.tdwg.org/ac/doc/introduction/

Audubon Core Guide

Title
Audubon Core Guide
Permanent IRI
http://rs.tdwg.org/ac/doc/guide/
Created
2013-10-15
Last modified
2013-10-15
Contributors
Robert A. Morris (lead author) - University of Massachusetts at Boston, USA
Vijay Barve (author)
Mihail Carausu (author) - Danish Biodiversity Information Facility (DanBIF), Copenhagen, Denmark
Vishwas Chavan (author) - Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Copenhagen, Denmark
José Cuadra (author)
Chris Freeland (author) - Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, USA
Gregor Hagedorn (author) - JKI, Federal Research Institute for Cultivated Plants, Berlin, Germany
Patrick Leary (author)
Dimitry Mozzherin (author) - Encyclopedia of Life, Woods Hole, USA
Annette Olson (author) - American Association for the Advancement of Science
Greg Riccardi (author) - Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA
Ivan Teage (author)
Publisher
Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG)
Abstract
The Audubon Core is a set of vocabularies designed to represent metadata for biodiversity multimedia resources and collections. This non-normative document provides some background to the aims and uses of the standard.
Citation
Multimedia Resources Task Group. 2013. Audubon Core Guide. Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG). http://rs.tdwg.org/ac/doc/guide/

Controlled Vocabulary for Dublin Core format: List of Terms

Title
Controlled Vocabulary for Dublin Core format: List of Terms
Permanent IRI
http://rs.tdwg.org/ac/doc/format/
Created
2020-10-13
Last modified
2020-10-13
Contributors
Steven J Baskauf (lead author) - Vanderbilt University Heard Libraries
Matthew Blissett (contributor) - Global Biodiversity Information Facility
Douglas Boyer (contributor) - Duke University
Publisher
Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG)
Abstract
Audubon Core borrows the Dublin Core terms dc:format and dcterms:format to provide information about the physical or electronic format of a media item. This controlled vocabulary provides values for those two terms.
Citation
Audubon Core Maintenance Group. 2020. Controlled Vocabulary for Dublin Core format: List of Terms. Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG). http://rs.tdwg.org/ac/doc/format/2020-10-13

Controlled Vocabulary for Audubon Core subtype: List of Terms

Title
Controlled Vocabulary for Audubon Core subtype: List of Terms
Permanent IRI
http://rs.tdwg.org/ac/doc/subtype/
Created
2020-10-13
Last modified
2020-10-13
Contributors
Steven J Baskauf (lead author) - Vanderbilt University Heard Libraries
Publisher
Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG)
Abstract
Audubon Core uses the terms ac:subtype and ac:subtypeLiteral to refine the type of a media item to a level more specific than the Dublin Core Type Vocabulary, http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/. This controlled vocabulary provides values for ac:subtype and ac:subtypeLiteral.
Citation
Audubon Core Maintenance Group. 2020. Controlled Vocabulary for Audubon Core subtype: List of Terms. Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG). http://rs.tdwg.org/ac/doc/subtype/2020-10-13

Controlled Vocabulary for Audubon Core variant: List of Terms

Title
Controlled Vocabulary for Audubon Core variant: List of Terms
Permanent IRI
http://rs.tdwg.org/ac/doc/variant/
Created
2020-10-13
Last modified
2020-10-13
Contributors
Steven J Baskauf (lead author) - Vanderbilt University Heard Libraries
Ed Baker (contributor) - Natural History Museum, London
Dan Stowell (contributor) - Queen Mary University of London
Publisher
Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG)
Abstract
Audubon Core uses the terms ac:variant and ac:variantLiteral to provide information about the size, extent, and availability of the Service Access Point of a media item. This controlled vocabulary provides values for those terms.
Citation
Audubon Core Maintenance Group. 2020. Controlled Vocabulary for Audubon Core variant: List of Terms. Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG). http://rs.tdwg.org/ac/doc/variant/2020-10-13