LISTSERV mailing list manager LISTSERV 16.5

Help for CODE4LIB Archives


CODE4LIB Archives

CODE4LIB Archives


CODE4LIB@LISTS.CLIR.ORG


View:

Message:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Topic:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Author:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

Font:

Proportional Font

LISTSERV Archives

LISTSERV Archives

CODE4LIB Home

CODE4LIB Home

CODE4LIB  January 2014

CODE4LIB January 2014

Subject:

Re: rdf ontologies for archival descriptions

From:

Robert Sanderson <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

Code for Libraries <[log in to unmask]>

Date:

Mon, 20 Jan 2014 08:12:15 -0800

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (297 lines)

Have you considered the LOCAH work in mapping EAD into Linked Data?

http://archiveshub.ac.uk/locah/
and
http://data.archiveshub.ac.uk/

Rob




On Sun, Jan 19, 2014 at 5:10 PM, Ben Companjen
<[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> Hi Eric,
>
> While I'm no archivist by training (information systems engineer I am),
> I've learned a thing or two from having to work with EAD and its basis for
> use, ISAD(G) (all citations below are from ISAD(G), 2nd edition). As with
> all information modelling, either inside or outside the Linked Data
> domain, you should take a step back to look at the goal of the
> description. When you have a list of what you want to describe, you can
> start looking for ontologies.
>
> You probably know this, but I was triggered by "Because many archival
> descriptions are rooted in MARC
>     records, and MODS is easily mapped from MARC." to respond. IMO
> archival descriptions are rooted in rules for description, not a specific
> file format.
>
> So, when I of (some of) the essences of archival description, I think of:
>
> - "The purpose of archival description is to identify and explain the
> context and content of archival material in order to promote its
> accessibility. This is achieved by creating accurate and appropriate
> representations and by organizing them in accordance with predetermined
> models." (§I.2)
> - "… seven areas of descriptive information:
>   1. Identity Statement Area
>      (where essential information is conveyed to identify the unit of
> description)
>   2. Context Area
>      (where information is conveyed about the origin and custody of the
> unit of description)
>   3. Content and Structure Area
>      (where information is conveyed about the subject matter and
> arrangement of the unit of description)
>   4. Condition of Access and Use Area
>      (where information is conveyed about the availability of the unit of
> description)
>   5. Allied Materials Area
>      (where information is conveyed about materials having an important
> relationship to the unit of description)
>   6. Note Area
>      (where specialized information and information that cannot be
> accommodated in any of the other areas may be conveyed).
>   7. Description Control Area
>      (where information is conveyed on how, when and by whom the archival
> description was prepared)." (§I.11)
>
>
>
> There is a distinction between the thing being described, and the
> description itself, and both have an important role within the archival
> description. (If anything so far causes confusion with anyone here, I
> misunderstood and accept to be corrected :))
> NB: this is one way of thinking of descriptions. Incorporating the
> PROV-ontology would make sense for expressing more/other aspects of the
> provenance of archival entities, but I haven't got round to becoming an
> expert of PROV yet ;)
>
>
> ISAD(G) lists 26 "elements that may be combined to constitute the
> description of an archival entity".
>
> Trying to translate these 'elements', I'd end up with possible a lot more
> than 26 RDFS/OWL properties.
> *Depending on the type of archival entity you can/should of course use
> more specific ontologies.*
>
>
>
> Let me list some properties and related ontologies.
>
>
>
>
>
> # Identity statement area
>
> ## Identifiers
> The URI, naturally, and other IDs. Could be linked using
> dc(terms):identifier, or mods:identifier, or other ontologies. Ideally
> there is some way of linking the domain of the ID to the ID itself,
> because "box 101" is likely not unique in the universe. Perhaps you want
> to publish a URI strategy separately to explain how the URI was
> assembled/derived.
>
> ## Title
> Again DC(terms), MODS, RDA
>
> ## Date(s)
> You want properties that have a clear meaning. For example,
> dcterms:created and mods:dateCreated assume it is clear what "when the
> resource was created" means. DC terms are vague, I mean general, on
> purpose. You could create some properties `owl:subPropertyOf` dcterms date
> properties for this.
> I'd look into EDTF for encoding uncertain dates and ranges and BCE dates
> (MODS doesn't support BCE dates).
>
> ## Level of description
> What kind of 'documentary unit' does the description describe? A whole
> building's content or one piece of paper? I don't know of any ontology
> with terms "fonds", …, "file", "item", but you could say `<http URI>
> rdf:type <fonds class URI>`.
>
> ## Extent and medium
> Saying anything about extent and medium should possible only happen on the
> lowest level of description. Any higher level extent and medium should be
> calculated by aggregating lower level descriptions.
> On the lowest level, refer to class URIs. A combination of dimensions and
> material {c|sh}ould be a class, e.g. A4 paper 80 grams/square meter.
>
> # Context area
>
> ## Creator(s) and administrative/biographical history
> As ISAD(G) refers to ISAAR(CPF) for description of corporate bodies,
> people, and families, this is a perfect example of using existing people-
> and organisation-describing ontologies like FOAF, BIO, ORG, and others are
> useful for separate descriptions of the people and organisations involved.
> You want specific properties to describe the roles of these 'agents' in
> the history of the archival entity…
>
> ## Archival history and Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
> … and you would want them 'here' (of course there is no particular order
> in which these properties are used). PREMIS and PROV come to mind first
> for recording who did what to what, (where and?) when and with what
> result. There are probably some ontologies describing possible "events" as
> RDFS/OWL classes, so you could link to those.
> The immediate source of acquisition or transfer may be just another event.
>
> # Content and structure area
>
> ## Scope and content
> Descriptions, keywords, terms from authority files about "scope (such as,
> time periods, geography) and content, (such as documentary forms, subject
> matter, administrative processes) … appropriate to the level of
> description.": pretty natural fit for links to SKOS thesauri and other
> ontologies of real-world 'things'.
> One might think of dcterms:subject, dcterms:description,
> dcterms:temporalCoverage etc., but describing *how* exactly such terms
> relate to the archival entity needs more specific properties than
> "subject" et al.
>
> ## Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
> Reasons for including things and (possibly) removal of archival entities
> should go very well in rules, and some types of rules go very well in
> ontologies. Making this up as I type: <class of letters written by the
> head of state> rdfs:subClassOf <class of 'things to be kept'>. The actual
> selection and destruction actions could be modelled in the same way as
> other actions are described for provenance.
>
> ## Accruals
> Whether more content can be expected probably depends on other properties
> of the archival entity, like its type(s) and creator(s). I don't know
> about specific properties to record this, but <class of living heads of
> state archival entities> rdfs:subClassOf <class of 'living' archival
> entities>? There are ways of modelling rules for this, like the Rules
> Interchange Format, but the rules may be defined by the archives and
> archivists.
>
> ## System of arrangement
> Thinking about this, I tend to think of a collection of keywords to
> describe the arrangement of a low-level archival entity like a folder or
> box: alphabetical, as found on deceased's desk. But there is more, of
> course. Perhaps using the Collection Ontology for low levels could help
> generate higher level 'systems of arrangement'.
>
> # Conditions of access and use area
>
> ## Conditions governing access and Conditions governing reproduction
> You can describe rights with the Creative Commons Rights Expression
> Language.
>
> ## Language of material
> mods:language maybe? Preferably used on sub-document level and generated
> for higher-level descriptions.
>
> ## Physical characteristics / technical requirements
> Conditions should follow from their respective properties: <class of
> PDF/A-1b files> ..:requiresForReading <class of PDF/A-1b readers> and
> rules that say documents in <class A> are embargoed for 20 years after
> creation + a creation date can present enough information to the agent to
> determine dcterms:dateAvailable.
>
>
> ## Finding aids
> As a non-archivist I had some trouble understanding the difference between
> descriptions and finding aids and what the exact use of a finding aid was.
> Also, having grown up with search engines, indexes, I think the concept
> may eventually become extinct. I guess you could use foaf:page to link a
> document-like finding aid to the archival entity and rdfs:seeAlso to point
> to machine-actionable related things.
>
> # Allied materials area
>
> ## Existence and location of originals/copies
> PROV can be used to link a copy to an original (and how the copy was
> created etc.). `<X> prov:wasDerivedFrom <Y>. <Y> :isAt <AnotherArchive>.`
>
> ## Related units of description / Publication note
> Use properties that describe the specific relations among archival
> entities. DC Terms has some useful ones, like for citations. Related items
> can be derived from all or selected properties automatically too.
>
> # Notes area
> ## Notes
> dcterms:description? Unlike a document containing rules that needs to be
> finished at some time, Linked Data has no such rule. You can always create
> a property with a well-defined meaning to use for specific information.
>
> # Description control area
>
> ## Archivist's note / dates of description
> Who did what when, where, why and how to the description itself. Same as
> for the unit of description itself.
> This may be a good time to draw a bit more attention to the question:
> *what is a description?*
> I don't have a (/ there is no) final answer, but as The One True Written
> Paper Description from long ago is becoming a set of triples, you want to
> think about it. You could link versions of RDF documents using PROV to
> record this information.
>
> ## Rules and conventions
> A link to the rules and conventions for description. Could also fit with
> the PROV provenance.
>
>
>
> No, this is not a list of ontologies to use/explore right away, but I hope
> you (and others) find it helpful, or perhaps even food for discussion.
> Also, have a look at CIDOC-CRM. It has lots of properties.
>
> Regards,
>
> Ben
>
> On 19-01-14 03:39, "Eric Lease Morgan" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> >If you were to select a set of RDF ontologies intended to be used in the
> >linked data of archival descriptions, then what ontologies would you
> >select?
> >
> >
> >  * Dublin Core Terms - This ontology is rather bibliographic in
> >    nature, and provides a decent framework for describing much of
> >    the content of archival descriptions.
> >
> >  * FOAF - Archival collections often originate from individual
> >    people. Such is the scope of FOAF, and FOAF is used by a number
> >    of other sets of linked data.
> >
> >  * MODS - Because many archival descriptions are rooted in MARC
> >    records, and MODS is easily mapped from MARC.
> >
> >  * Schema.org - This is an up-and-coming ontology heralded by the
> >    600-pound gorillas in the room -- Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, etc.
> >    While the ontology has not been put into practice for very long,
> >    it is growing and wide ranging.
> >
> >  * RDF - This ontology is necessary because linked data is
> >    manifested as... RDF
> >
> >  * RDFS - This ontology may be necessary because the archival
> >    community may be creating some of its own ontologies.
> >
> >  * OWL and SKOS - Both of these ontologies seem to be used to
> >    denote relationships between terms in other ontologies. In this
> >    way they are used to create classification schemes and thesauri.
> >    For example, they allow the implementor to denote "creator" in one
> >    ontology is the same as "author" in another ontology. Or they
> >    allow "country" in one ontology to be denoted as a parent
> >    geographic term for "city" in another ontology.
> >
> >While some or all of these ontologies may be useful for linked data of
> >archival descriptions, what might some other ontologies include?
> >(Remember, it is often "better" to select existing ontologies rather than
> >inventing, unless there is something distinctly unique about a particular
> >domain.) For example, how about an ontology denoting times? Or how about
> >one for places? FOAF is good for people, but what about organizations or
> >institutions?
> >
> >Inquiring minds would like to know.
> >
> >—
> >Eric Morgan
>

Top of Message | Previous Page | Permalink

Advanced Options


Options

Log In

Log In

Get Password

Get Password


Search Archives

Search Archives


Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Subscribe or Unsubscribe


Archives

March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003

ATOM RSS1 RSS2



LISTS.CLIR.ORG

CataList Email List Search Powered by the LISTSERV Email List Manager