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C: Availability

Definition: How the resource can be obtained, or contact information for obtaining the resource.

Obligation: Conditional. This is a mandatory element when describing an agency, service, or offline document and but is optional when adding an online document.

What is this element?

Availability is used to describe contact information showing where searchers can obtain a service or other resource.

Include enough information so the person knows where to go. This may be a URI to a webpage which displays the information. Information provided in this element should support:

  • direct searching by people who want to use a service or offline resource, and
  • mediated searching by people like call centre operators.

Availability is mandatory for online services as this is the element in which the URI to access the service online is entered. [Identifier is not used for the URI because the URI is not uniquely associated with the service or the service channel. A URI specifies a virtual location, not the content of that location.] The web page through which a service 'is made available' is a resource in it own right and may have a separate 'document' metadata record. [Refer also to Section B.5]

Availability and other elements

The Availability element is not used to locate an online document when there is a stable URI, use the Identifier element instead. If there is not a stable URI, then Availability is used for the nearest stable URI from which the user can then navigate to the resource.

Availability explains where to access, which may be different from the area, for example, covered (Coverage).

For seasonal resources use Date to describe the dates of the "season". If it is only possible to apply during a limited period record that in Availability. This covers a situation where you must lodge your application during a particular period (Availability) and the licence is valid for a period (Date).

Repetition

Repeat the Availability element:

  • If a service is available both through an online channel and an offline channel. Repeat the Availability element to provide the details of the different channels. (Provide the URI for the online channel).
  • To show different channels or access points - for example, a service where someone could pay a bill at two separate organisations' branches. Where organisations use agents, there is no need to provide all the details of each agent's branches. Just provide sufficient information that the user can find them. Preferably give a link (URI) to a contacts web page, or a proper name so that the agent can be found in the phone book.

If a document is available both online and offline, then preferably do not repeat Availability, but create two metadata records, one for each Format. [Refer also to Section B.5]

Qualifiers

Encoding schemes

Recommended encoding schemes are listed for particular circumstances:

  • If time in which a user can arrange to access the resource is a limited period, use the appropriate date encoding scheme.
  • If contact details are given (including for example name and address information) use the NZGLS Agent Encoding Scheme to develop consistent entries.
  • If a link to a "contacts" web page is given then best practice is to identify the document using a URI.

Dates

Encode in the formats specified by the W3C-DTF "Date and Time Formats" profile of ISO 8601 : 2000 "Data elements and interchange formats - information interchange - representation of dates and times" [2000], supplemented by DCMI Period which adds methods of describing open-ended periods which ISO 8601 : 2000 lacks.

  • Specify as much of the date and time as is useful - typically year, month and day; but, for example, year might be all that is appropriate.
  • Use small dashes '-' to separate the date components.
  • Use the forward slash "/" as a separator for the two dates defining a period, for example, 2001-01-01/2001-01-31

For example:

  • ISO 8601 : 2000 - a date:
    YYYY-MM-DD (e.g. 1997-07-16)
  • ISO 8601 : 2000 - Periods of Time when start and end dates are known:
    YYYY-MM-DD/YYYY-MM-DD (eg1997-07-16/1997-8-17)
  • DCMI Period - when the start or end date are not known:
    start=YYYY-MM-DD
    end=YYYY-MM-DD

NZGLS Agent Encoding Scheme

The NZGLS Agent Encoding Scheme is a set of components of contact information for the person or organisation making resources available. The component labels, e.g. "corporateName" are formatted according to Dublin Core rules. The words are strung together, the first word is not capitalised, but subsequent words are.

All of these components are optional. Use them only when they give useful information. You may repeat all of the components, but if components vary for different channels, then repeat the Availability element instead, for clarity. For example, a call centre may be available 24x7 and a branch only Monday - Friday, 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. (excluding public holidays). The order of components is not significant.

Component

Definition

corporateName

The name of an organisation.
Use the full proper name of the organisation making the resource available. If it has a relevant common use name append this in brackets, e.g. Ministry of Social Development (WINZ). If you are using both the English and Maori name of an agency enter them with 'space hyphen space' in between them.

personalName

The name of a person.
The name of a person making the resource available. Format is last name, comma, space, first name e.g. Crump, Barry. If you are not sure, then enter the name as it is shown on the resource itself. This component is not recommended because of the maintenance requirement of changing this information as people change jobs.

jurisdiction

The legal jurisdiction.
Use the full proper name of the legal jurisdiction for which the resource applies. Make sure that the jurisdiction chosen is correct for the service or document as it is not necessarily the same as the agency's.

contact

Contact details.
For organisations or persons making the resource available.
Can include an official title or defined organisational role.
The following standard phrase should be used, as appropriate:
Contact your nearest [organisation name] approved agent

phone
mobilePhone
fax

Telephone system numbers through which requests for this resource should be directed.
These components all have the same format. Use the international area code only if the service is likely to be accessed from overseas, otherwise use the local area code. The format is (phone) +64 4 474 3000 or (phone) 04 474 3000.
Do not use dashes, hyphens or brackets within phone numbers.
You can have text after a number to provide information e.g. "(phone) 04 474 3000 - Past hotline" or "(phone) 0800 STOP SMOKING".
If you have a 0800 word number then you should include the actual number in brackets e.g. (phone) 0800 STOP SMOKING (0800 123123).

website

World-Wide-Web page containing the resource or providing an access channel.
Enter the URI in full, i.e. you must include the part before the colon e.g. http://

email

Email address.
This should be a generic e-mail address, e.g. info@... not a personal e-mail address.

addressPhysical
addressPostal

Street or postal.
Can include a post code. Use a comma followed by a space to separate the parts (lines) of the address. Post Office Box should be written as 'PO Box'. Omit address if the channel being described is a website or call centre.

hours

Hours during which service can be accessed at the locations identified in address components.
Information should be written in full e.g. Monday - Friday, 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Do not use abbreviations such as Mon - Fri.
This component would not normally be used for any online resource. For seasonal Availability use Date.
The following standard phrase should be used, as appropriate:
(excluding public holidays)

cost

Cost of obtaining the resource.
Start with "$" and any leading zeros required, e.g. $0.25. Specify currency only when the service is accessed from overseas, e.g. NZ$55.00.
You can also specify whether the price includes or excludes postage, or GST if this is appropriate (e.g. your audience is overseas).
If the pricing schedule is complex - state this and refer to where the information can be obtained.

URI Encoding Scheme

URI stands for "Uniform Resource Identifier" for online or electronic resources. This includes the other schemes "Uniform Resource Locator" (URL) and "Uniform Resource Names" (URN).

Enter a URI in full, i.e. you must include the part before the colon as it identifies the scheme being used, e.g. http://.

See: RFC2396: Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI): Generic Syntax, August 1998 http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2396.txt

Examples

[NZGLSAgent] corporateName = Central Registry, Births Deaths and Marriages

[NZGLSAgent] addressPostal = PO Box 31-115, Lower Hutt, New Zealand

[NZGLSAgent] phone = +64 04 474 8000

[NZGLSAgent] phone = 0800 22 52 22

[NZGLSAgent] email = bdm.nz@dia.govt.nz

[NZGLSAgent] cost = $NZ21.00

[NZGLSAgent] corporateName = Archives New Zealand

[NZGLSAgent] addressPhysical = 10 Mulgrave Street, Wellington, New Zealand

[NZGLSAgent] addressPostal = PO Box 12-050, Wellington, New Zealand

[NZGLSAgent] phone = +64 04 499 5595

[NZGLSAgent] fax = +64 04 495 6210

[NZGLSAgent] hours = Monday to Friday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm (excluding public holidays), Saturday, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm (exhibitions only)

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