PBCore RDF Hackathon

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SIGN UP HERE: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1R4cSuYCrkQWx0IJZzBrWu_vc9_TSK_5Z-SqQY8ZwYqY/edit?usp=sharing
Please also fill out this form: http://goo.gl/forms/nAvL52W9MI

>>> When, Where, What time?
Date: Friday & Saturday, February 7-8, 2015
Time: ~8:30am-5pm (with option of continued work throughout the conference at the same location)
Location: 4104 Northeast 73rd Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97218
hashtag: #PBCoreRDF15

What will be the format of the event?

In advance of the hackathon, participants are asked to fill out this form so that we can get a sense of the experience and skills of those who plan to attend. On the first day of the event, we will begin with welcome and introductions, review the agenda, and then break into groups to work on a variety of tasks. Groups may be identified as those working on intellectual content, intellectual property, technical, etc.
The days themselves will be structured something like this. Coffee/tea will be provided. Lunch is on your own.

Friday, February 7

8:30am – Welcome, introductions
9am - 9:45am - Discuss and determine the domain and scope of the ontology
9:45am - noon - Review of existing ontologies (DC terms, MODS, EBUCore, etc.). Snacks and coffee to be served.
Noon - 1pm – Lunch on your own.
1pm - 2pm - Generate a comprehensive list of terms in the ontology. Snacks and coffee will be served.
2pm - 4:45pm - Begin developing the class hierarchy and defining properties of concepts.
4:45pm - 5pm - Review and wrap up.

Saturday, February 8

8:30am - Review progress to date; introductions of new participants
8:45am - noon - Continue working on class hierarchy and properties
noon - 1pm - Lunch on your own
1pm - 3:00pm -- Define the facets of the properties (value type, allowed values, number of values/cardinality, and other features)
3:00pm - 4:30pm -- As a larger group, review progress and suggestions of smaller groups
4:30pm - 5pm -- Return to smaller groups, make suggested edits, finalize documentation

Summary & Background

The PBCore RDF Ontology Hackathon is occurring out of a growing need for PBCore users to express their metadata in RDF. A number of PBCore users contribute to and are part of the Project Hydra community, a collaborative, open source effort to build digital repository software solutions at archives institutions. Hydra is built on a framework that uses Fedora Commons as the repository for storing metadata. Many users are seeking to update their Fedora repositories to the latest version (Fedora 4), which requires that metadata be stored in RDF. This is where the need for a PBCore RDF ontology comes in.


PBCore is a metadata schema for audiovisual materials. Its original development in 2004 was funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, with a goal of creating a metadata standard for public broadcasters to share information about their video and audio assets within and among public media stations. Since its conception, PBCore has been adopted by a growing number of audiovisual archives and organizations that needed a way to describe their archival audiovisual collections. The schema has been reviewed multiple times and is currently in further development via the American Archive of Public Broadcasting and the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) PBCore Advisory Subcommittee.


The Schema Team is working on an updated version of PBCore (PBCore 2.1), the changes of which will consist of minor tweaks and bug fixes, and is expected to be released in March 2015. Other Teams on the Subcommittee are working on PBCore outreach, education, documentation, and a new website.

Working Groups

Participants should sign up for a working group. On the days of the event, these sections will be filled with suggestions and links to documentation created by the working groups.

Intellectual Content Working Group

Casey E. Davis, WGBH, @caseyedavis1

Intellectual Property Working Group

Instantiation Working Group

Essence Track Working Group

Documentation Working Group

Casey E. Davis, WGBH, @caseyedavis1

Suggested Reading & Preparation

Need more info?

If you have questions or need more information, feel free to contact Casey Davis at casey_davis [at] wgbh [dot] org.