vannavailability

vannAvailability is a term used in the Vocabulary for Annotating Networked Resources (VANN) to express the current availability status of a resource described in metadata. VANN is a metadata vocabulary associated with the management and annotation of web resources, and vann:availability (often surfaced in data models as vannAvailability) provides a simple mechanism to indicate whether a resource is reachable or usable at a given time.

The property is intended to be informational and can be applied to various kinds of resources, including datasets, APIs, documents, or web services. Typical values are literal strings such as "online," "offline," "restricted," or "unknown." In some contexts, it may also reference a dereferenceable URI to a status document that describes the availability in more detail. The exact interpretation of values can vary between publishers, so it is common to provide accompanying notes or other related metadata to clarify conditions of access.

Usage examples (in RDF-style notation, simplified):

- <https://example.org/dataset> vann:availability "online" .

- <https://example.org/dataset> vann:availability "offline"@en .

- <https://example.org/dataset> vann:availability <https://status.example.org/dataset/1234> .

Relationships and considerations: vann:availability is typically used alongside other metadata about access and provenance, such as links to access URLs or terms describing usage restrictions. Availability can change over time, so metadata may be complemented with timestamps or notes indicating the time frame or reason for current status. It serves to enhance resource discoverability and contextual understanding in metadata records.

See also: Vocabulary for Annotating Networked Resources (VANN), DCAT, Dublin Core Terms.