The Account/Post Application Profile (APAP) Element Set

By Brendan Honick

Description

The Account/Post Application Profile (APAP) is an element set intended to describe blogs and blog posts. Its elements are derived from Brickley and Miller’s (2014) Friend of a Friend vocabulary and the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative Usage Board’s (2020) DCMI Metadata Terms (DC Terms). APAP is comprised of local elements and elements from the DC Terms. The elements are organized into two groups: elements to describe blogs and elements to describe blog posts. They are divided between the wrapper elements “Account Wrapper” and “Post Wrapper.” This modularized structure was inspired by the J. Paul Getty Trust’s (2006) CDWA Lite schema. Each wrapper has its own set of elements. The “Account Wrapper” is mandatory but not repeatable, following the idea that only one blog should be described per metadata record. Alternatively, the “Post Wrapper” is both optional and repeatable. The justification for this is that a metadata record for a single blog may contain descriptions of multiple posts (or, conversely, none at all).

A key element in APAP is “References,” which is included in both the “Account Wrapper” and “Post Wrapper.” This element is intended to show the relationships between blogs/blog posts and other digital resources, such as other blogs, news articles, videos, online shops, and more. The intention for the “References” element is to support metadata record creators in the drafting of knowledge maps about the blogs/blog posts they describe.

The APAP Element Set

Note: The prefix “tway” in the tags indicates a local element.

Account Elements

  • Element: Account Wrapper
    Element tag: <tway:accountWrapper>
    URI: https://www.3rdway.net/accountpostap/elements/0.1/account/accountWrapper
    Description: A wrapper for terms describing blogs at the site level, rather than at the blog post level. For the latter, use the terms included in the Post Wrapper element, <tway:postWrapper>.
    Attribute: accounttype (use one of the enumerated values below)
    Controlled vocabulary for the Account Wrapper’s accounttype attribute: blog, Twitter_account, Facebook_account, Medium_account, Tumblr_account, LiveJournal_account, other
    Non-repeatable
    Required
    Tagging example: See first tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Account Set
    Element tag: <tway:accountSet>
    URI: https://www.3rdway.net/accountpostap/elements/0.1/account/accountSet
    Description: A wrapper for terms describing one blog by some form of contributor (a person, organization, government, etc.).
    Comment: To describe multiple blogs by the same contributor, the information professional should create multiple records. Thus, this sub-element is non-repeatable.
    Non-repeatable
    Required
    Tagging example: See first tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Contributor
    Element tag: <tway:contributor>
    URI: https://www.3rdway.net/accountpostap/elements/0.1/account/contributor
    Description: An entity who contributed to the creation of the blog.
    Attributes: termsource, termsourceID
    Comment: It is recommended to use a controlled vocabulary such as VIAF, if possible. Person names should be in their natural language order. If the contributor only uses an alias (to protect their privacy), the literal value for that alias may be used.
    Repeatable
    Required
    Tagging example:     See first tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Contributor Parent Organization
    Element tag: <tway:contributorParentOrganization>
    URI: https://www.3rdway.net/accountpostap/elements/0.1/account/contributorParentOrganization
    Description: The parent organization with which the entity who created the blog is affiliated.
    Attributes: termsource, termsourceID
    Comment: It is recommended to use a controlled vocabulary such as VIAF, if possible. The parent organization can be a formal group, such as a government, corporation, or university. It may also be an informal group, such as a club, collective, or commune.
    Repeatable
    Not required
    Tagging example:     See first tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Date of Creation
    Element tag: <tway:dateCreation>
    URI: https://www.3rdway.net/accountpostap/elements/0.1/account/dateCreation
    Description: The date when the blog was created.
    Comment: It is preferable to use the ISO 8601 date/time format (https://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-datetime)
    Non-repeatable
    Not required
    Tagging example:     See first tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Description (source: DC Terms)
    Element tag: <dct:description>
    URI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/description
    Description: An account of the resource.
    Comment: Description may include but is not limited to: an abstract, a table of contents, a graphical representation, or a free-text account of the resource.
    Non-repeatable
    Not required
    Tagging example:     See first tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Identifier (source: DC Terms)
    Element tag: <dct:identifier>
    URI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/identifier
    Description: An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context.
    Comment: Recommended practice is to identify the resource by means of a string conforming to an identification system. Examples include International Standard Book Number (ISBN), Digital Object Identifier (DOI), and Uniform Resource Name (URN). Persistent identifiers should be provided as HTTP URIs.
    Non-repeatable
    Required
    Tagging example:     See first tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Language (source: DC Terms)
    Element tag: <dct:language>
    URI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/language
    Description: A language of the resource.
    Comment: Recommended practice is to use either a non-literal value representing a language from a controlled vocabulary such as ISO 639-2 or ISO 639-3, or a literal value consisting of an IETF Best Current Practice 47 [IETF-BCP47] language tag.
    Repeatable
    Required
    Tagging example:     See first tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: References (source: DC Terms)
    Element tag: <dct:references>
    URI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/references
    Description: A related resource that is referenced, cited, or otherwise pointed to by the described resource.
    Comment: This property is intended to be used with non-literal values.
    Repeatable
    Not required
    Tagging example:     See first tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Rights (source: DC Terms)
    Element tag: <dct:rights>
    URI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/rights
    Description: Information about rights held in and over the resource.
    Comment: Typically, rights information includes a statement about various property rights associated with the resource, including intellectual property rights. Recommended practice is to refer to a rights statement with a URI. If this is not possible or feasible, a literal value (name, label, or short text) may be provided.
    Non-repeatable
    Not required
    Tagging example:     See first tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Site
    Element tag: <tway:site>
    URI: https://www.3rdway.net/accountpostap/elements/0.1/account/site
    Description: The title of the site where the blog is hosted.
    Comment: For a blog hosted on a dedicated platform, such as Tumblr, Medium, or LiveJournal, use the title of that platform as the value for this element. For a website where the main purpose is the blog (e.g., a self-hosted blog), the sub-element “Title” should be used instead.
    Non-repeatable
    Not required
    Tagging example:     See first tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Subject (source: DC Terms)
    Element tag: <dct:subject>
    URI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/subject
    Description: A topic of the resource.
    Attributes: termsource, termsourceID
    Comment: Recommended practice is to refer to the subject with a URI. If this is not possible or feasible, a literal value that identifies the subject may be provided. Both should preferably refer to a subject in a controlled vocabulary.
    Repeatable
    Required
    Tagging example:     See first tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Title (source: DC Terms)
    Element tag: <dct:title>
    URI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/title
    Description: A name given to the resource.
    Local comment: The title of the blog as a literal value (e.g., “Bob’s Pancake Blog”).
    Non-repeatable
    Required
    Tagging example:     See first tagging example below.

First Tagging Example

Post Elements

  • Element: Post Wrapper
    Element tag: <tway:postWrapper>
    URI: https://www.3rdway.net/accountpostap/elements/0.1/post/postWrapper
    Description: A wrapper for terms describing blogs at the post level, rather than at the blog site level.

    Attribute: posttype (use one of the enumerated values below)
    Controlled vocabulary for the Post Wrapper’s posttype attribute: blog_post, tweet, Facebook_post, Medium_post, Tumblr_post, LiveJournal_post, other
    Non-repeatable
    Not required
    Tagging example:     See second tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Post Set
    Element tag: <tway:postSet>
    URI: https://www.3rdway.net/accountpostap/elements/0.1/post/postSet
    Description: A wrapper for terms describing a single post on a blog.
    Comment: This set should be repeated to describe multiple posts on the same blog.
    Repeatable
    Not required
    Tagging example:     See second tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Contributor
    Element tag: <tway:contributor>
    URI: https://www.3rdway.net/accountpostap/elements/0.1/post/contributor
    Description: An entity who contributed to the creation of the blog post.
    Attributes: termsource, termsourceID
    Comment: It is recommended to use a controlled vocabulary such as VIAF, if possible. Person names should be in their natural language order. If the contributor only uses an alias (to protect their privacy), the literal value for that alias may be used.
    Repeatable
    Required
    Tagging example:     See second tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Contributor Parent Organization
    Element tag: <tway:contributorParentOrganization>
    URI: https://www.3rdway.net/accountpostap/elements/0.1/post/contributorParentOrganization
    Description: The parent organization with which the entity who created the blog post is affiliated.
    Comment: It is recommended to use a controlled vocabulary such as VIAF, if possible. The parent organization can be a formal group, such as a government, corporation, or university. It may also be an informal group, such as a club, collective, or commune.
    Repeatable
    Not required
    Tagging example:     See second tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Date of Creation
    Element tag: <tway:dateCreation>
    URI: https://www.3rdway.net/accountpostap/elements/0.1/post/dateCreation
    Description: The date when the blog post was created.
    Comment: It is preferable to use the ISO 8601 date/time format (https://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-datetime)
    Non-repeatable
    Not required
    Tagging example:     See second tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Date of Update
    Element tag: <tway:dateUpdated>
    URI: https://www.3rdway.net/accountpostap/elements/0.1/post/dateUpdated
    Description: The date when the blog post was updated.
    Comment: It is preferable to use the ISO 8601 date/time format (https://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-datetime)
    Repeatable
    Not required
    Tagging example:     See second tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Description (source: DC Terms)
    Element tag: <dct:description>
    URI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/description
    Description: An account of the resource.
    Comment: Description may include but is not limited to: an abstract, a table of contents, a graphical representation, or a free-text account of the resource.
    Non-repeatable
    Not required
    Tagging example:     See second tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Identifier (source: DC Terms)
    Element tag: <dct:identifier>
    URI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/identifier
    Description: An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context.
    Comment: Recommended practice is to identify the resource by means of a string conforming to an identification system. Examples include International Standard Book Number (ISBN), Digital Object Identifier (DOI), and Uniform Resource Name (URN). Persistent identifiers should be provided as HTTP URIs.
    Non-repeatable
    Required
    Tagging example:     See second tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Language (source: DC Terms)
    Element tag: <dct:language>
    URI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/language
    Description: A language of the resource.
    Comment: Recommended practice is to use either a non-literal value representing a language from a controlled vocabulary such as ISO 639-2 or ISO 639-3, or a literal value consisting of an IETF Best Current Practice 47 [IETF-BCP47] language tag.
    Repeatable
    Required
    Tagging example:     See second tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: References (source: DC Terms)
    Element tag: <dct:references>
    URI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/references
    Description: A related resource that is referenced, cited, or otherwise pointed to by the described resource.
    Comment: This property is intended to be used with non-literal values.
    Repeatable
    Not required
    Tagging example:     See second tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Subject (source: DC Terms)
    Element tag: <dct:subject>
    URI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/subject
    Description: A topic of the resource.
    Attributes: termsource, termsourceID
    Comment: Recommended practice is to refer to the subject with a URI. If this is not possible or feasible, a literal value that identifies the subject may be provided. Both should preferably refer to a subject in a controlled vocabulary.
    Repeatable
    Required
    Tagging example:     See second tagging example below.

  • Sub-element: Title (source: DC Terms)
    Element tag: <dct:title>
    URI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/title
    Description: A name given to the resource.
    Local comment: The title of the blog as a literal value (e.g., “Bob’s Favorite Pancake Recipe”).
    Non-repeatable
    Required
    Tagging example:     See second tagging example below.

Second Tagging Example

Schema Documents Download

To create a new XML document from these schema documents, extract all three .xsd files from the .zip and use APAP Schema.xsd as the basis. The root element is “metadata.”

Example XML Records

Example 1

In this first example, a metadata record has been created using APAP to describe librarian Alan Samry’s blog, Stump the Librarian, and two posts from it.

Example 2

In this second example, a metadata record has been created using APAP to describe the Medium blog of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Library and one of the institution’s posts.