OpenWEMI vocabulary
type: Ontology
creator: Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, OpenWEMI Working Group
date: 2024/01/19
description: OpenWEMI is a minimally constrained vocabulary for describing created resources using the concepts of Work, Expression, Manifestation, Item.

Endeavor
type: Class
comment: A creation.

Work
type: Class
comment: An abstract notion of an artistic or intellectual creation.
description: A work is an abstraction that represents the concepts behind an Endeavor. Each metadata community will have a different definition of Work, but it should be the broadest definition of the Endeavors being described.
subclass of: Endeavor

Expression
type: Class
comment: A perceivable form of the creation.
description: Endeavors are made tangible through some kind of expression, such as text, sound, or a visual form. There may be more than one expression of a work of the same type or of different types.
subclass of: Endeavor

Manifestation
type: Class
comment: The physical embodiment of a creation.
description: A manifestation is an Endeavor that has been realized in some physical or digital form. A manifestation may be a single realization or a realization that is produced in multiple copies such as the publication of a music compact disk or the manufacture of a shirt.
subclass of: Endeavor

Item
type: Class
comment: An exemplar of a creation.
description: An Item is a single instance of an Endeavor, something that can have a place on a shelf or a location online.
subclass of: Endeavor

related Work
type: Property
comment: A Work that is related in some way to another Work.
sub property of: relation
domain: Work
description: This provides a non-specific relationship between two Works. The specific relationship type can be defined as a sub-property of relatedWork.
range: Work

related Expression
type: Property
comment: An Expression that is related in some way to another Expression.
sub property of: relation
domain: Expression
description: This provides a non-specific relationship between two Expressions. The specific relationship type can be defined as a sub-property of relatedExpression.
range: Expression

related Manifestation
type: Property
comment: A Manifestation that is related in some way to another Manifestation.
sub property of: relation
domain: Manifestation
description: This provides a non-specific relationship between two Manifestations. The specific relationship type can be defined as a sub-property of relatedManifestation.
range: Manifestation

related Item
type: Property
comment: An Item that is related in some way to another Item.
sub property of: relation
domain: Item
description: This provides a non-specific relationship between two Items. The specific relationship type can be defined as a sub-property of relatedItem.
range: Item

expresses
type: Property
comment: An Endeavor that expresses a Work.
sub property of: relation
domain: Expression
description: A relationship asserted from an Expression to a Work that it expresses.
range: Work

expressed by
type: Property
comment: An Expression of a Work.
inverse of: expresses
sub property of: relation
domain: Work
description: A relationship asserted from a Work to an Expression that expresses the Work.
range: Expression

manifests
type: Property
comment: An Endeavor that manifests an Expression or a Work.
sub property of: relation
domain: Manifestation
description: A relationship asserted from a Manifestation to an Expression or a Work.
range: Class
  union of: Work
  union of: Expression

manifested by
type: Property
comment: A Manifestation of a Work or an Expression.
inverse of: manifests
sub property of: relation
description: A relationship asserted from a Work or an Expression to a Manifestation.
domain: Class
  union of: Work
  union of: Expression
range: Manifestation

instantiates
type: Property
comment: An Endeavor that instantiates a Manifestation, an Expression or a Work.
sub property of: relation
domain: Item
description: A relationship asserted from an Item to a Manifestation, an Expression, or a Work.
range: Class
  union of: Work
  union of: Expression
  union of: Manifestation

instantiated by
type: Property
comment: An instantiation of a Manifestation, an Expression or a Work.
inverse of: instantiates
sub property of: relation
description: A relationship asserted from a Work, an Expression, or a Manifestation to an Item.
domain: Class
  union of: Work
  union of: Expression
  union of: Manifestation
range: Item

common Endeavor
type: Property
comment: Relates any two resources that are or contain the same endeavor.
description: commonEndeavour is intended to define a relationship between two resources that may or may not be modeled as OpenWEMI. This makes it possible to assert that a resource modeled using a vocabulary that does not use the entity model explicitly is describing the same Work, Expression, Manifestation, and/or Item as another resource.
equivalent property: commonEndeavour

common Work
type: Property
comment: Relates any two resources that are or contain the same Work.
description: commonWork is intended to define a relationship between two resources that may or may not be modeled as OpenWEMI. This makes it possible to assert that a resource modeled using a vocabulary that does not use the OpenWEMI entity model explicitly is describing the same Work as another resource.
equivalent property: commonWork

common Expression
type: Property
comment: Relates any two resources that are or contain the same Expression.
description: commonExpression is intended to define a relationship between two resources that may or may not be modeled as OpenWEMI. This makes it possible to assert that a resource modeled using a vocabulary that does not use the OpenWEMI entity model explicitly is describing the Expression as another resource.
equivalent property: commonExpression

common Manifestation
type: Property
comment: Relates any two resources that are or contain the same Manifestation.
description: commonManifestation is intended to define a relationship between two resources that may or may not be modeled as OpenWEMI. This makes it possible to assert that a resource modeled using a vocabulary that does not use the OpenWEMI entity model explicitly is describing the same Manifestation as another resource.
equivalent property: commonManifestation

common Item
type: Property
comment: Relates any two resources that are or contain the same Item.
description: commonItem is intended to define a relationship between two resources that may or may not be modeled as OpenWEMI. This makes it possible to assert that a resource modeled using a vocabulary that does not use the OpenWEMI entity model explicitly is describing the same Item as another resource.
equivalent property: commonItem