OWG does not seek to replace library science.
OWG seeks to make library science easier to consume, integrate with, and build upon.
Library science has developed sophisticated models for describing intellectual works.
Many software systems, developers, and consumers rarely interact with those models directly.
As a result, the same conceptual work is repeatedly rediscovered, simplified, or reimplemented.
OWG acts as a translation layer between established library science concepts and modern software systems.
OWG provides:
A useful question for evaluating OWG proposals is:
‘Does this make library knowledge easier to consume?’
If the answer is no, the proposal may be outside the scope of OWG.
OWG succeeds when software systems can benefit from decades of cataloging and stewardship work without needing to become experts in library science.