Overview
ISO/IEC 23000-7:2008 - Open Access Application Format specifies a content-agnostic container format and packaging mechanism for carrying any type of content together with enriched metadata. Part 7 of the ISO/IEC 23000 (MPEG-A) family defines how content can be packaged and transported with both human- and machine-readable metadata. Unlike other MPEG-A application formats, the Open Access Application Format is explicitly not multimedia-based and focuses on open, interoperable content packaging rather than media-specific encodings.
Key Topics
- Container format: A generic packaging model able to contain arbitrary content types (documents, data, creative works) without being tied to a specific media type.
- Metadata support: Mechanisms to include and transport additional metadata that is both human-readable and machine-processable to enable discovery, rights handling, and automated workflows.
- Content-agnostic design: The format is deliberately flexible-usable for text, data sets, images, and other non-multimedia objects.
- XML schemas included: The standard package provides XML schemas relevant to the Open Access Application Format to guide implementers on metadata structure and validation.
- Interoperability and distribution: Specifications aim to facilitate content exchange, archiving, and distribution across platforms and organizations.
- Document delivery: The official publication is delivered as PDF and supporting XML schema files (as indicated in the standard distribution).
Applications
ISO/IEC 23000-7:2008 is applicable wherever standardized, metadata-rich packaging of non-multimedia content is required:
- Digital libraries & archives: Packaging collections with descriptive and administrative metadata for long-term preservation and discoverability.
- Open access publishing: Bundling scholarly articles, datasets, and associated metadata for dissemination under open access workflows.
- Data exchange & repositories: Standardized transfer of datasets or compound documents between institutions, repositories, and platforms.
- Content distribution platforms: Enabling interoperable bundles for ingestion, indexing, and processing by downstream systems.
- Metadata-driven workflows: Automating processing, rights management, and discovery through machine-readable metadata included in the package.
Who uses it: standards implementers, software developers, digital librarians, archivists, publishers, repository managers and platform architects concerned with content packaging, preservation, and interoperability.
Related Standards
- Part of the ISO/IEC 23000 (MPEG-A) family - other parts address multimedia-specific application formats.
- Uses XML schemas included with the standard to ensure metadata consistency and validation.
Keywords: ISO/IEC 23000-7:2008, Open Access Application Format, container format, metadata, MPEG-A, content packaging, XML schemas, interoperability, digital archives, open access.
Open preview (PDF)Information technology — Multimedia application format (MPEG-A) — Part 7: Open access application format
