Thoughts on the final version of the Rights element

I originally viewed the Rights element purely in the context of basic Dublin Core. However, it turned out that Omeka could handle extended versions of the element.  This meant that the project could make use of the following choices:

• Rights: Simple Dublin Core
• Rights Holder: "A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
• Access Rights: "Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies."

I considered the possible benefits of using the extended elements and checked to see what my own library and others have done in the context of the Online Archive of California. In the end, though, I decided that the rights situation of these images is best expressed through one simple statement, residing in the basic Rights element. This will help to ensure that the rights information comes through cleanly if the images are harvested or migrated to a different system and leaves the details regarding licensing and permission to be worked out by direct communication between the would-be user and the Bryant Museum.  It also allows for use of the Simple Vocab feature in Omeka, so data entry will be quick, easy, and uniform.

This is what I proposed for the Rights element (just approved by Dr. MacCall, hooray!):

1. Use the basic Rights element.
2. Simple vocab:  All rights reserved by the University of Alabama. Permission to reproduce in any format must be requested in writing by contacting the Paul W. Bryant Museum (http://bryantmuseum.com/).

Even though the link doesn't actually link, I thought it would be good to have it in there so users could just copy and paste it (or highlight and click "go to ...").  I chose the base URL rather than the contact page, as that is probably the least likely to change.