Just a quick heads up about the Simple Knowledge Organization System
(SKOS) Reference was just released as a W3C Public Working Draft [1].
I apologize if you've already seen this announcement elsewhere.

SKOS is aimed at making a range of knowledge organization systems
(classification schemes, thesauri, subject heading lists,
folksonomies) available on the web in a machine readable form--so it's
really quite relevant to libraries, archives and museums.

This is a public working draft so the SKOS folks are looking for
feedback on this document. Details on where to send comments are below
in the official announcement. The SKOS Reference is a normative
reference so it may seem a bit deeply technical. There is also a
Primer in the works that is aiming to be more of an entry point for
people who are new to SKOS.

//Ed

[1] http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-skos-reference-20080125/

---

  W3C Semantic Web Deployment Working Group

We are pleased to announce the publication of the SKOS Reference as a
W3C First Public Working Draft:

  http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-skos-reference-20080125/

This is a substantial update to and replacement for the previous SKOS
Core Vocabulary Specification W3C Working Draft dated 2 November 2005
[1].

We ask at this stage feedback and reviews on this draft specification.
All comments are welcome and may be sent to [log in to unmask]; please
include the text "SKOS comment" in the subject line. Note especially
that there are a number of open issues, which are indicated in the
document. Please forward this announcement to any other groups which may
be interested.

Abstract:

"""
This document defines the Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS), a
common data model for sharing and linking knowledge organization systems
via the Semantic Web.

Many knowledge organization systems, such as thesauri, taxonomies,
classification schemes and subject heading systems, share a similar
structure, and are used in similar applications. SKOS captures much of
this similarity and makes it explicit, to enable data and technology
sharing across diverse applications.

The SKOS data model provides a standard, low-cost migration path for
porting existing knowledge organization systems to the Semantic Web.
SKOS also provides a light weight, intuitive language for developing and
sharing new knowledge organization systems. It may be used on its own,
or in combination with formal knowledge representation languages such as
the Web Ontology language (OWL).

This document is the normative specification of the Simple Knowledge
Organization System. It is intended for readers who are involved in the
design and implementation of information systems, and who already have a
good understanding of Semantic Web technology, especially RDF and OWL.

For an informative guide to using SKOS, see the upcoming SKOS Primer.
"""

For more information on SKOS, the Semantic Web Deployment Working Group,
or the W3C Semantic Web Activity, please see the following links:

 http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos
 http://www.w3.org/2006/07/SWD/
 http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/

Kind regards,

Alistair.

[1] http://www.w3.org/TR/2005/WD-swbp-skos-core-spec-20051102/

--
Alistair Miles
Research Associate
Science and Technology Facilities Council Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Harwell Science and Innovation Campus Didcot Oxfordshire OX11 0QX United
Kingdom
Web: http://purl.org/net/aliman
Email: [log in to unmask]
Tel: +44 (0)1235 445440