Re: Open Library and RDF

Tom and all,
On 8/15/10 6:47 PM, "Thomas Baker" <tbaker@tbaker.de> wrote:

On Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 10:21:51PM +0100, gordon@gordondunsire.com wrote:
> As it is, both the FR and RDA committees are actively considering developing
> unbounded super-class/property versions of their models, resources permitting.
> Expect some announcements soon.

That sounds promising!  Actually, I have no quarrel with
highly constrained models for use by trained professionals
in libraries.  Within the library walls, production of data
can be tightly defined and usage guidelines enforced by
detailed application profiles.  But this can perhaps be done
while exposing data that is not so strongly specified as to
continually raise fatal ontological exceptions when linked
into mash-ups.

Will you be on Thursday's call?  I'd like to put a slot on the
agenda for a report from you and others (Marcia, Emmanuelle,
Bernard...?) about the IFLA conference.  It would be great if
you, Karen, and Marcia could briefly report on the status of
the FR and RDA efforts.  I'd be interested to hear your views
on whether the LLD XG could or should try to reach out to
those communities or, for example, suggest follow-on actions
for a wider review of these vocabularies from a Semantic
Web perspective.

Tom

I have been following the discussions of the last two days.
Using the library community's terminology, I think what the recent discussions have been around 'descriptive cataloging' which FRBR has taken as the focus.  It is also the 'bibliographic universe'.

The FRSAD (Functional Requirements for Subject Authority Data) model is a FR* family member who is not focusing on the 'descriptive' site.  It is for the entities that are relate to the 'aboutness' of works.  In spite its title seemed to be limited on 'subject authority data', the model is applicable to all kinds of KOS and other controlled vocabularies (which may or may not be for the 'aboutness' purposes).  No matter it is a library subject headings system,  a thesaurus used in a collection or for geographic places, a navigational taxonomy, or a simply controlled pick list, the FRSAD entities, relationships, and attributes built in the model are applicable.
FRSAD has already had a clear goal for international sharing and use of subject authority data both within the library sector and beyond.  Therefore FRSAD has ensured to be compatible with SKOS in its development (at the beginning the SKOS 2008 version and then SKOS 2009 reference).  The model put the functions of subject authority data at a higher level that is independent of any implementation, system, or specific context.

On the other hand, due to its high level super-class/property nature, there are still practitioners in the library community who were/are/will be reluctant to accept this model (specifically because frsad did not model for pre-framed frbr Group 3 entities (i.e., concept, object, event, and place)).  Our approach is to allow who would like to keep such differentiating to develop application profiles, for example, under frsad:Thema they could differentiate thema 'type' according to Group 3 or other ways.  We believe other communities and subject domains (e.g., art, medical, business, etc.) would have very different 'type' of themas from Group 3.

The FRSAD model and approach have received strong support from IFLA (a long story...).  My point is that, in the FR* family, this commitment to the sharing and reuse within and beyond library sectors is very determined.  I hope that Gordon will lead a good reconciled solution very soon.

Marcia

Received on Monday, 16 August 2010 17:09:03 UTC