Zeng Salaba

Toward an International Sharing and Use of Subject Authority Data : 

Toward an International Sharing and Use of Subject Authority Data Marcia Lei Zeng Athena Salaba Kent State University

Outline: 

Outline Background information Current State Authority Data Sharing Authority Data

1. Background1.1 Subject access : 

1. Background 1.1 Subject access Seeking information on a topic is still the predominant user task Subject access includes: Subject searching Keyword searching Subject browsing It is still very problematic for the majority of searchers

1.2 Functions of a catalog regarding subject access (1): 

1.2 Functions of a catalog regarding subject access (1) Cutter (1897) To find a book if the subject is known To show what a library has on a given subject (collocate) To assist in the choice as to its character (identify)

1.2 Functions of a catalog regarding subject access (2): 

1.2 Functions of a catalog regarding subject access (2) FRBR (1998) To find entities of Group 1 that have entities from Group 1, 2, 3 as their subject To identify To select To obtain

1.3 What is a subject? : 

1.3 What is a subject? Group 1 Work Expression Manifestation Item Group 2 Persons Families Corporate bodies Group 3 Concepts Objects Place Event FRBR – Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records

Revisiting Group 3?: 

Revisiting Group 3? Time Process Event is a combination of place and time Concrete vs. abstract concept Ranganathan Personality Matter Energy Space Time

2. Current StateSubject Authority Data: 

2. Current State Subject Authority Data 2.1 Structure (heterogeneous) 2.2 Existing Knowledge Organization Systems/Structures/Schemas (KOS) 2.3 Rules and guidelines 2.4 Communication/Encoding

2.1 Structures: 

2.1 Structures Term Lists: Synonym Rings Authority Files Glossaries/Dictionaries Gazetteers Natural language Controlled language Weakly-structured Strongly-structured Classification & Categorization: Subject Headings Classification schemes Taxonomies Categorization schemes Relationship Groups: Ontologies Semantic networks Thesauri Pick lists

Structures: Coordination : 

Structures: Coordination Pre-coordination ……….. Post-coordination e.g. subject headings e.g. thesauri - LCSH - AAT, INSPEC MeSH FAST UMLS

2.2 Existing KOS (1): 

2.2 Existing KOS (1) Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) ERIC Thesaurus (ERIC) Inspec Thesaurus Inspec Classification Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) Library of Congress Classification (LCC) Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) HEREIN Thesaurus Alexandria Digital Library (ADL) Gazetteer and Thesaurus Schlagwortnormdatei (SWD) Regenburger Verbund Klassifikation (RVK) RAMEAU: repertoire d'authorite de matieres encyclopedique unifie Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) National Agriculture Library Subject Headings … …

2.2 Existing KOS (2): 

2.2 Existing KOS (2) Verbal based AAT LCSH RAMEU INSPEC Thesaurus MeSH Code based UDC RVK DDC LCC Integrated INSPEC MeSH Hierarchy

2.3 Rules of KOS Construction: 

2.3 Rules of KOS Construction Different rules and guidelines AACR2, Z39.19, RAK (Regeln für die alphabetische Katalogisierung), ISO5964, ISO2788, IFLA Principles Underlying Subject Heading Languages (SHLs) … No rules Indirect/Inherent use of rules (by example)

2.4 Communication/Encoding for authority data: 

2.4 Communication/Encoding for authority data MARC MARC21 (1xx, 2xx, etc.) UNIMARC (1xx, 2xx, etc. different definition) etc. Guidelines for Authority Records and References (GARR) (>, <, >>, <<) NISO Z39.19 (BT, NT, RT, etc.) XML-based: OWL Web Ontology Language, RDF Schema, Voc-ML, etc.

3. Authority Data3.1 Use of authority data: 

3. Authority Data 3.1 Use of authority data Direct use of authority data Index Identify/Verify Search & Browse the authority data Indirect use of authority data Searching bibliographic file Browsing bibliographic file Users Information professionals Searcher/end-user

3.2 Common Authority Data: 

3.2 Common Authority Data Authorized/established term Variations Related terms Notes Linked/Parallel terms Numbering, International numbering? Other: language, rules, links to external resources, roles, etc.

Do we need one authorized term?: 

Do we need one authorized term? Keep USER in mind! Preference, language, script Trends: all are preferred Synonym rings (included in NISO Z39.19 now)

3.3 Common Semantic Relationships in Authority Data: 

3.3 Common Semantic Relationships in Authority Data Semantic relationships Broad categories Equivalence (Use, Used For, UF, See) Hierarchical (BT, NT, see also) Associative (RT, see also) More specific relationships, such as: Is part of Is instance of Agent/process Process/product Need for other types of relationships? ADL, such as: Overlap; administrativePartOf; SubFeatureOf UMLS, such as: Like; Parent; Child; Sibling WordNet, such as: Familiarity; derivationally related

Unanswered Question: 

Unanswered Question What authority data currently exist in an authority record? or What authority data should be included in an authority record?

4. Sharing Authority Data in a Global Environment: 

4. Sharing Authority Data in a Global Environment 4.1. Challenges Structures Languages and scripts Rules Encoding

4.2. Projects Specifically for Subject Authority Data Sharing: 

4.2. Projects Specifically for Subject Authority Data Sharing Construction (not to be discussed here) Implementation Projects based on different types of structures Projects involving multiple languages

Slide23: 

KOS Vocabularies Authority files Bibliographic files

Slide24: 

KOS Vocabularies Authority files Bibliographic files KOS Vocabularies Authority files Bibliographic files

Slide25: 

Sharing at Vocabulary Level adaptation, extension, extraction, translation, etc. KOS Vocabularies KOS Vocabularies

Slide26: 

Sharing at Vocabulary Level 1.Direct mapping National database "Merimee" about the French Heritage The Thesaurus of Architecture (Le thésaurus de l'architecture) was created and mapped to the Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) and the English Heritage Thesaurus (NMR) KOS Vocabularies KOS Vocabularies

Slide27: 

Sharing at Vocabulary Level 2.Using a switching system KOS Vocabularies KOS Vocabularies KOS Vocabularies

Slide28: 

Sharing at Vocabulary Level KOS Vocabularies KOS Vocabularies KOS Vocabularies 3.Creating a superstructure UMLS® Metathesaurus ® Over 1,000,000 concepts and 4.3 million concept names from more than 100 controlled vocabularies, some in multiple languages

Slide29: 

Sharing at Vocabulary Level KOS Vocabularies KOS Vocabularies KOS Vocabularies 4.Creating a superstructure (an index) UCB Unfamiliar Metadata Vocabularies Accepts query vocabularies and responds with a ranked list of the system’s entry vocabularies– which is an index to five controlled vocabularies.

Slide30: 

Sharing at Vocabulary Level KOS Vocabularies KOS Vocabularies KOS Vocabularies 5.Creating a superstructure (a virtual index)

Slide31: 

Sharing at Vocabulary Level KOS Vocabularies KOS Vocabularies KOS Vocabularies 6. Linking through a thesaurus server protocol UCSB Alexandria Digital Library The Thesaurus Protocol is based on the ANSI/NISO (1993, R2003) Z39.19 thesaurus model and supports downloading, querying, and navigating thesauri.

Slide32: 

KOS Vocabularies Bibliographic files KOS Vocabularies Bibliographic files Sharing at Subject Authority File Level Authority files Authority files Direct Mapping

Slide33: 

Direct Mapping -- MACS (Multilingual Access to Subjects)

Slide34: 

LCSH AND MeSH MAPPING PROJECT SAMPLE AUTHORITY RECORDS, Northwestern University Library

Slide35: 

KOS Vocabularies Authority files Bibliographic files

So far, : 

So far, Functional Requirements for Authority Records (FRAR) Covers: Names for persons, families, corporate bodies (Group 2) Titles (Group 1) Projects for Authority Data Sharing focus mainly on Names: ONE Shared Authority Control (ONESAC, ppt) Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) Linking and Exploring Authority Files (LEAF) Hong Kong Chinese Authority (Name) (HKCAN)

FRSAR: Functional Requirements for Subject Authority Data: 

FRSAR: Functional Requirements for Subject Authority Data Scope: focus on FRBR’s Group 3 entities FRSAR Working Group contact: Marcia Zeng mzeng@kent.edu Maja Zumer Athena Salaba asalaba@kent.edu

FRSAR terms of reference: 

FRSAR terms of reference build a conceptual model of Group 3 entities within the FRBR framework (Entities in Group 1 and Group 2 can be used as the subjects of works; but further inclusion of them will depend on the outcomes of the work of the FRANAR Working Group); provide a clearly defined, structured frame of reference for relating the data that are recorded in subject authority records to the needs of the users of those records; and assist in an assessment of the potential for international sharing and use of subject authority data both within the library sector and beyond.