Entity types

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An entity is an object about which an information system collects data. The DCB's architecture includes a number of entity types, but from a user's point of view there are five main types with which they will interact:


 * Resource descriptions
 * Authority records
 * Organizations
 * Rights record
 * Terms

Resources
Resource records provide contextual information about library materials and are arranged into hierarchical levels (collections, series, files, items). The default resource description edit template is unqualified Dublin Core. MODS and Canadian Rules for Archival Description edit templates are also included.

Authority records
Authority records provide descriptions of the actors (corporate bodies, persons, and families) that interact with library materials as creators, custodians, subject access points, etc. The edit template is based on the ICA's International Standard Archival Authority Records (Corporate bodies, Persons, Families) (ISAAR).

Authority records are linked to resources in the DCB by events delimited by start/end dates. Through events, one actor can have zero, one, or many relationships to zero, one, or many resources, and one resource can have zero, one, or many relationships to zero, one, or many actors. Event relationships link ISAAR authority files (descriptions of actors) and Dublin Core records (descriptions of resources)

Organizations
Organization records provide descriptions of repositories that preserve and provide access to library holdings. The edit template is based on the ICA's International Standard for Describing Institutions with Archival Holdings (ISDIAH).

Organizations are actors that hold library materials. Like all actors, an organization has its own ISAAR authority record, but its characteristics as a repository (e.g. its opening hours, research services, contact information) are described separately in an ISDIAH institution record. The ISDIAH elements that are inherited from its ISAAR authority record are: authorized form of name, other forms of name, parallel forms of name, history, mandates/sources of authority, and administrative structure

Rights records
Rights records provide rights related restrictions that can be linked to resource descriptions and digital objects. DCB Rights metadata elements use PREMIS rights elements. In DCB restrictions can be based on Copyright(s), License, Statute(s) and Policy. If you add rights to a resource at the collections level, all lower levels, such as the item-level will inherit those rights.
 * Dublin Core includes a rights element, and it may be sufficient to use this alone.

Terms
Terms provide controlled vocabularies used throughout the system (e.g. as access points or in drop down value lists). They are organized into separate taxonomies.