Publisher

Definition: An entity responsible for making the resource available. Obligation:Conditional - mandatory for document resources.

What is this element?

This is the name of the agency or person that currently controls or publishes the resource in its current form. The publisher is the person or organisation that makes the resource available to the public, in the traditional sense of publishing a book, or the newer one of putting items on a web site. However, an organisation which provides only the hosting service for a website, without responsibility for the content, is not considered a publisher. The publisher generally handles copyright issues and is the person or organisation that a user needs to contact in order to obtain permission to use or re-publish the resource. Publisher allows a searcher to find published resources currently under the control of a particular agency. The Publisher element is optional when describing services, since there is no concept of "publisher" for physical services as there is for information resources. The closest concept is the service provider, which fits better under the Availability element. Publisheris not used when describing agencies.

Publisher and other elements

For government-produced resources, the Publisher will usually be the same as the Creator, where this is an organisation name, but the Publisher may be the parent department of a sub-unit or office, where these smaller units are the Creator. Publisher and Creator are distinguished by their roles. The Publisher makes the resource available, the Creator is responsible for the content of the resource. You would contact the Creator to find out, for example, why this policy was made or what the process was to contribute to discussion. Resources will generally be available from the Publisher, but use the Availabilityelement to provide the detail of how to obtain copies.

Repetition

When the name of the agency publishing or controlling an online resource changes, this element can be repeated to reflect the name change.

Qualifiers

Encoding schemes

The NZGLS Agent Encoding scheme is recommended, to encourage consistency and as guidance on an appropriate level of detail to give. [See Appendix 3]. Do not attempt to use all components, only enter the detail necessary. Alternatively, enter a link to a directory, authority file or similar set of identity information.

Selected NZGLS Agent Encoding Scheme Components

The NZGLS Agent Encoding Scheme is a set of components of contact information for persons or organisations. Components are optional and should only be used when they give useful information. The components most likely to be appropriate are:

Examples

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