Page History

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, see v.71 . For Release 3.0.0, see v.86. For Release 3.1, see v.88. For Release 3.2, see v.108 . For Release 3.3, see v.129. For Release 4.0, see v.159. For Release 5.x, see v.168. For Release 6.x, see v.176.

Introduction

Avalon's batch ingest feature provides a method of building one or more media items at a time from uploaded content and metadata outside the user interface. A batch ingest is started by uploading an ingest package consisting of one manifest file and zero or more content files to the Avalon dropbox. For your convenience there is a demo ingest package available to download and import into test systems. Follow the instructions below to ensure a successful batch upload.

Ingest Packages

An ingest package is the combination of content and metadata that make up a single batch. Structural metadata documents in the form of XML may also be uploaded - one per a/v content file.

Package Layout

When a new collection is created, Avalon creates a subdirectory with the name of that collection (substituting underscores for any blanks), beneath the Avalon dropbox directory. The package (manifest file and associated content files) must be uploaded to that collection-named subdirectory or in a subdirectory beneath it. All items included in a single ingest package will be uploaded to the same collection. The following is a very simple package that has been uploaded:

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Manifest File Format

The manifest file is a spreadsheet (xls, xlsx, csv, or ods) containing the metadata for the items to be created, as well as the names of the content files that make up each item. In this case, the manifest file is named batch_manifest.xlsx.

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Row 1, Column A contains a reference name for the batch. This is mostly for your reference so we recommend naming the batch file according to what will help you remember the contents.

Row 1, Column B contains the submitter's email address (or username, depending on how your system is set up) to be used for notifications and exceptions. The submitter's email or user name must be listed as a manager, editor, or depositor for the collection in which this batch is deposited in the Avalon dropbox.

Row 2 specifies the names of the metadata fields supplied in the following rows.

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Date Issued, and File are required. These fields are shown in bold in the Excel example file. Each subsequent row represents a single media item to be created. Metadata values are specified first, followed by a list of content files to be attached to each item. Note: Make sure none of the field names in row 2 have leading or trailing blanks, or the field names will not be recognized by Avalon and will report an error.

Content files listed in the manifest file must have the correct path noted for where those files are located in the Avalon dropbox, relative to the manifest file. Additionally, all content files must include a file extension. If necessary, include any directories or subdirectories (note the paths listed in columns

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Bibliographic ID
- MODS mapping: identifier
- Not repeatable
- Used to identify the original catalog record from which metadata was generated.
Bibliographic ID Label
- MODS mapping: identifier@type
- Not repeatable
- Identifies the type bibliographic ID supplied in the Bibliographic ID column. Valid types include "local", "oclc", lccn", and "other". If no bibliographic ID type is included, the type “Other” will be used as default. The value of "local" maps to "Catalog Key" in the Resources Description Form.
Main Title
- MODS mapping: titleInfo/title
- Not repeatable
- Required field. Title is used for display in search results and single item views. Only the first 32 characters of a title are included in search results listings. Recommended use is to reflect the content captured in digitized media files (such as the title of the piece performed or a short description of the content of a home movie).
- Editable after ingest in "Title" field of Resource Description form.
- If title is not available or missing, create a title that describes something about the content of the item. This is necessary for identifying items in search results.
Creator
- MODS mapping: name@usage="primary"/namePart (role/roleTerm set to "Creator")
- Repeatable
- No ability to specify Corporate Body in batch at this time
- Required field. Main contributors are the primary persons or bodies associated with the creation of the content. Main contributors will be included in search results display and aggregated for browsing access. At this time there is no ability to specify a main contributor as a corporate body. When possible, use the Library of Congress Name Authority File.
- Editable after ingest in "Main contributor(s)" field of Resource Description form.
- If creator is not available or missing, use the value "Unknown".
Contributor
- MODS mapping: name/namePart (role/roleTerm set to "Contributor")
- Repeatable
- Contributors are persons or bodies associated with the item but not considered primary to the creation of its content. Examples of this would be performers in a band or opera, conductor, arranger, cinematographer, and choreographer. At this time this is no ability to specify a contributor as a corporate body. When possible, use the Library of Congress Name Authority File.
- Editable after ingest in "Contributor(s)" field of Resource Description form.
Genre
- MODS mapping: genre
- Repeatable
- Genre can be used to categorize an item by form, style, or subject matter. For consistency and to allow for sorting and aggregating, use terms from the Open Metadata Registry labels for PBCore: pbcoreGenre.
- Editable after ingest in "Genre(s)" field of Resource Description form.
Publisher
- MODS mapping: originInfo/publisher
- Repeatable
- Publisher of the content of the item.
- Editable after ingest in "Publisher(s)" field of Resource Description form.
Date Created
- MODS mapping: originInfo/dateCreated@encoding=”edtf”
- Not repeatable
- Creation date should only be used if Date Issued is a re-issue date. Then Creation date would contain the original publication date. Enter date information in a format consistent with the options shown in Extended Date/Time Format (EDTF) 1.0.
- Editable after ingest in "Creation date" field of Resource Description form.
Date Issued
- MODS mapping: originInfo/dateIssued@encoding=”edtf”
- Not repeatable
- Required field. Date should be the main publication date associated with the item to be used for sorting browse and search results. Enter date information in a format consistent with the options shown in Extended Date/Time Format (EDTF) 1.0.
- Editable after ingest in "Publication date" field of Resource Description form.
- If date issued is not available or missing, enter a date that is narrowed down as much as possible (by range of years) or enter a date for century (18uu, 19uu, 20uu), in accordance with EDTF specifications.
Abstract
- MODS mapping: abstract
- Not repeatable
- Abstract provides a space for describing the contents of the item. Examples include liner notes, contents list, or an opera scene abstract. This field is not meant for cataloger's descriptions but for descriptions that accompany the item. The first 15-20 words are included in search result listings.
- Editable after ingest in "Summary" field of Resource Description form.
Topical Subject
- MODS mapping: subject/topic
- Repeatable
- Subject should be used for the topical subject of the content. For consistency and to allow for sorting and aggregating, use terms from the Library of Congress Subject Headings. For temporal subjects (time periods), use Temporal Subject and for geographic subjects (locations), use Geographic Subject. See below.
- Editable after ingest in "Subject(s)" field of Resource Description form.
Geographic Subject
- MODS mapping: subject/geographic
- Repeatable
- Geographic Subject should be used for the location associated with the content. For consistency and to allow for sorting and aggregating, use terms from the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names.
- Editable after ingest in "Location(s)" field of Resource Description form.
Temporal Subject
- MODS mapping: subject/temporal
- Repeatable
- Temporal Subject should be used for the time period of the content (for example, years or year ranges). Enter date information in a format consistent with the options shown in Extended Date/Time Format (EDTF) 1.0.
- Editable after ingest in "Time period(s)" field of Resource Description form.

In addition to the descriptive fields, there are five supported operational fields:

Publish
- Whether the item should be automatically published after ingest.
- Default is "No".
- To auto-publish, enter value of "Yes".
Hidden
- Whether the item will appear in search/browse results for end users. Use this field to prevent users from discovering extra-restricted items.
- Default is "No".
- To trigger hiding, enter value of "Yes".
- Hidden items will still appear in search/browse results for those with ingest privileges.

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Required field. Content files listed in the manifest file must have the correct path noted for where those files are located in the Avalon dropbox, relative to the manifest file. Additionally, all content files must include a file extension. If necessary, include any directories or subdirectories (note the paths listed in columns D and F in the above example).
Repeatable
Label, Offset, and Skip Transcoding can be listed in any order following the file they are describing. Absolute Location can only be used following Skip Transcoding if Skip Transcoding is included and its value is set to "yes".

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Label is used for display in single item views. Recommended use is to reflect the content captured in digitized media files (such as the Part 1 and Part 2 of the piece performed or titles of songs).
Only repeatable following a file entry.
Editable after ingest in "Label" field of Manage Files page

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Offset is used to set the thumbnail and poster image for the display in search/browse results and single item views. Must be entered between 00:00:00.000 and length of file.
Excel will automatically format hh:mm:ss into time. To circumvent this, begin time offset with a single quote, for example: '0:10 for 00:00:10 and '1:06 for 00:01:06.
Only repeatable following an additional file.
Default is 2 seconds into playback.
Only applicable to video files. Audio files have a default thumbnail, offset will be ignored.
If a record contains multiple files, the first offset listed will set the thumbnail and poster image for the Avalon record.
Editable after ingest in "Poster Offset" field of Manage Files page or on the item preview page.

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Skip Transcoding is used if a pre-encoded derivative of the file is what is being uploaded to Avalon instead of the master version of the file. This presumes that the derivative(s) match the requirements explained in Avalon Derivatives. Master file location information should be included for complete object ingest. See Absolute Location (below) for further information.
Only repeatable following a file entry.
Valid values: “yes” or “no”

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Please see Supported Field Names for information about fields available and supported in the batch spreadsheet.

Multiple File Ingest of Different Quality Files For a Single Avalon Item

Avalon supports ingest of multiple derivatives that may be selected with the High/Medium/Low gear-buttons of the video player during playback (or High/Medium for audio). The “File” field in the manifest and the naming convention of the files in the Avalon dropbox directory must be formatted correctly for the batch ingest to be successful. Avalon will know what filename to look for from the manifest file, find the quality levels specified in the dropbox directory, and ingest the formatted files accordingly. It is not required to have all three quality tiers for multiple file ingest.

For a single Avalon item, input a filename in the “File” field and input “Yes” in the “Skip Transcoding” field of the manifest file. Add multiple files for this Avalon item to the dropbox directory. The “File” field as well as the file names of your different quality files in the Avalon dropbox directory must be formatted with the following convention:

File Name in Manifest File	filename.mp4
Files in Dropbox Directory	filename.high.mp4; filename.medium.mp4; filename.low.mp4

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Please note that files must match this convention strictly; extra periods are not allowed. filename.test.high.mp4 is invalid; filename.high.mp4 is valid.

Example manifest file for multiple file ingest of different quality files for a single avalon item:

	A	B	C	D	E
1	Michael's Third Test Batch	michael.klein@northwestern.edu
2	Title	Creator	Date Issued	File	Skip Transcoding
3	Multiple Quality Ingest	Klein, Michael B.	2015	content/filename.mp4	Yes

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Adding structure files via batch

The Batch Ingest Package can include XML structure files. One structure XML file can be attached per media file. See the demo ingest package at the top of this page for an example structural XML file included in a batch.

If the manifest lists a file named test.mp4, it will look for a structure file named test.mp4.structure.xml - you can edit the xml later via the user interface "Structure" tab in Avalon.

For more information about structure files (schema expectations and examples), see Adding Structure to Files Using the Graphical XML Editor.

Adding caption files via batch

The Batch Ingest Package can include WebVTT or WebSRT captions files. One captions file per media file. If the manifest lists a file named test.mp4, it will look for a captions file named test.mp4.vtt. If one is found, it will be attached to the media file as captions. This captions file can be updated or removed later via the user interface "Structure" tab in Avalon.

Batch Processing Notes

Each batch will generate 2 emails to the user listed at the top of the manifest.

Once Avalon detects the presence of an unprocessed manifest file, it will first verify that the necessary metadata

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includes errors, such as invalid metadata values, only items that are valid (metadata which is valid, media file paths which are valid) will be created. An email will be sent to the email address specified in the manifest detailing the outcome, whether successful or not, listed in the manifest.

If a Bibliographic ID is provided for a resource but fails to process, the error email will only indicate that required fields are missing and will not indicate that the Bibliographic ID failed or was invalid.

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