Penn Library Handle / URS namespace

As part of the Library's Uniform Resolution system (URS), the Penn Library now assigns Handles to many of its resources. These Handles are persistent identifiers, which can be embedded in URLs pointing to our URS resolver (hdl.library.upenn.edu). Our URS resolver redirects browsers to the actual URL of the resource, proxies remote users if necessary, and logs user accesses.

In order to avoid conflict between Handles assigned by different people or groups, Handles are placed in distinct namespaces. Namespaces are explained in this document from CNRI.

The namespace for the Penn Library is 1017. That means that all Handles that we assign will start with "1017".

An example of a Handle in our namespace is "1017/8512". Web browsers can resolve this in one of a few ways:

If the browser has native Handle resolution built in to it, the URL hdl:1017/8512 will work.
Otherwise, the Handle can be embedded into a normal HTTP-based URL, and resolved through our local URS Gateway as URL http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/8512. (It can also be resolved through any other general Handle gateway; e.g. http://hdl.handle.net/1017/8512.)

The main 1017 namespace-- which includes all Handles starting with "1017/"-- is populated from our URS database. These Handles are for electronic resources that are cataloged in Franklin. The URS system is responsible for making sure that this database is kept up to date, and that Handles are not accidentally reused.

Under our main namespace, we have a few sub-namespaces:

1017.1 is used for Handles referring to objects in our Fine Arts digital image collection.
- These Handles are assigned by an automatic script, based on the accession numbers of the images. (For example, if an image has an accession number of 22336033, the Handle for a page that displays the image will be "1017.1/22336033".) Addding "-record" to the accession number (as in "1017.1/22336033-record"), will resolve to a page that contains both the image and its metadata. Alternatively, adding "-thumb" to the accession number (as in "1017.1/22336033-thumb"), will resolve to a thumbnail image.
1017.2 is used for Handles referring to objects in our South Asia digital image collection.
- These Handles are assigned by an automatic script, based on the negative numbers of the images, (For example, if an image has an negative number of 72-72, the Handle for a page that display the image will be "1017.2/72-72".) Adding "-record" to the negative number will resolve to a page that contains both the image and its metadata. Alternatively, adding "-thumb" to the negative number will resolve to a thumbnail image.
1017.3 is used for Handles referring to objects in our eBooks collection.
- These Handles are assigned by an automatic script, based on the ISBNs of the original books. (For example, if a ebook has been created from a print edition with an ISBN of 0195109503, the Handle for the ebook will be "1017.3/0195109503".)
1017.4 is used for Handles referring to objects in the Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text and Image.
- These Handles are assigned by an automatic script, based on the SCETI collection in which they appear (DETAILS NEEDED). After this, one can optionally add either "-record" or "-thumb" to view, respectively, both the item and its metadata, or just a thumbnail image, if available. At the very end, one can add one of the following optional suffixes:
  - "/0" to view the item in the Library's preferred interface.
  - "/1" to view the item in the Library's standard interface for digital images (currently DLXS).
  - "/2" to view the item in the preferred interface for SCETI items (if available).
1017.5 is used for Handles referring to objects in Early English Books Online.
- These Handles are assigned by an automatic script, based on the image number assigned to the book by ProQuest, the providers of the EEBO collection. Most of these image numbers are 5 digits long. (For example, ProQuest has assigned an image ID of 96416 for a particular scanned edition of Paradise Lost. Its Handle in our system is "1017.5/96416".)
1017.6 is used for Handles referring to objects managed by the Penn Archives.
- These Handles are assigned by an automatic script, based on ID numbers assigned by the digitizers using a pre-arranged scheme. (For example, if an image has an ID number of 20011214025, the Handle for a page that displays the image will be "1017.6/20011214025".) Addding "-record" to the accession number (as in "1017.6/20011214025-record"), will resolve to a page that contains both the image and its metadata. Alternatively, adding "-thumb" to the accession number (as in "1017.6/20011214025-thumb"), will resolve to a thumbnail image.
1017.7 is used for Handles referring to objects in our Corporate Annual Reports digital collection.
- These Handles are assigned by an automatic script, based on the ID numbers assigned by the digitizers using a pre-arranged scheme. (For example, if a document has an accession number of prail1855, the Handle for the document will be "1017.7/prail1855".)
1017.8 is currently reserved for testing. Please consult Mike Winkler before using it.
1017.9 is currently reserved for testing. Please consult John Mark Ockerbloom before using it.
1017.10 is reserved by Delphine Khanna for further image collections. There are some test namespaces underneath it that are not yet certified as permanent. These include:
- 1017.10/1 is being tested for a museum-based image collection.
1017.10 is a virtual namespace, not yet supported via native Handle protocols.
1017.11 is for medium-term persistent references (those we expect to be stable for a semester or more, and find useful to service through our URS system, but are not committing to keeping valid over the long term.) This is a virtual namespace, not yet supported via native Handle protocols. It has the following sub-namespaces defined:
- 1017.11/1/ is for references to art history portfolios in Delphine Khanna's portfolio manager program.
1017.12 is being used by IPC to create handles for e-book sets. Katherine Schultz is the contact.

Currently, Handles in namespace 1017 and 1017.1 through 1017.9 are fully functional; that is, they will resolve both through our local URS gateway, and through any other Handle client or gateway. Handles assigned in some test namespaces (currently 1017.10 and 1017.11) are "virtual", and might not yet be resolvable by most programs.

New Handles should only be assigned by the programs that control these particular namespaces, or particular portions of a namespace.

If you wish to create Handles in other namespaces, or parts of namespaces, under the Library's control, please contact John Mark Ockerbloom at ockerblo@pobox.upenn.edu to make arrangements.