user case vision from photographic museum

=== Name ===

" Photo museum -case"

=== Owner ===
Anne Isomursu,  receacher in Finnish Museum of Photography, Herlsinki 
Finland

I would like to respond to your call for use cases of linked data though 
I’m not a technological expert.  Part of my work as a researcher in a 
photographic museum is to develop the data management of big 
photographic collections. We have also been participating in a project 
that has converted the general Finnish thesaurus to ontology structure.
=== Background and Current Practice ===
To preserve and present Finnish photography and photographic art

=== Goal ===
To manage and present data conserning historical and artistic 
photographic collections

=== Target Audience ===
scholars, the general public, publishers

=== Use Case Scenario ===

I’m worried about the fact that big publishing projects in the Internet 
are planned mainly for library uses. My point is that the collection 
management in libraries is simpler than it is in archives or in 
photographic collections. That is because the books are usually copies 
and not unique items like photographs. Also the numbers of single items 
in libraries are far less form the quantities in archival and photo 
collections. The librarians can benefit standard descriptions produced 
for general use that the preservers of unique material like photos can’t 
use.

The managing of the library collections is usually linear and “flat” 
compared to data models used by archives and photographic collections. 
For collections with millions of units, the hierarchical data model that 
for example ISAD(G) standard is providing, are of great importance.  The 
idea is to describe structure of every archive builder’s collection as a 
hierarchy of series, folders, photographing sessions and single items 
that are historically connected and linked together.
The description of collection hierarchy gives the historical background 
and context for images and documents. For example the knowledge about 
original functions of images is extremely important for the later 
analyses of meaning of single images.


=== Application of linked data for the given use case ===

The managing of the library collections is usually linear and “flat” 
compared to data models used by archives and photographic collections. 
For collections with millions of units, the hierarchical data model that 
for example ISAD(G) standard is providing, are of great importance.  The 
idea is to describe structure of every archive builder’s collection as a 
hierarchy of series, folders, photographing sessions and single items 
that are historically connected and linked together.

The description of collection hierarchy gives the historical background 
and context for images and documents. For example the knowledge about 
original functions of images is extremely important for the later 
analyses of meaning of single images.



=== Existing Work (optional) ===

The photo collections are popular material in the Internet.  Institutes 
that are doing long time preservation of photographic collections would 
need new tools and procedures for presenting the images. Often they have 
several more or less linked databases describing the collections from 
different angles (physical descriptions of materials and conservation, 
content, agents, contracts and intellectual property rights etc.).The 
RDF software systems that are based on browser technology seem to give 
best solutions for the technical problems that follow from multiple 
databases. They make it possible to link together different sources of 
information to the parts of the collections.

The software based on for example RDF linking technology also make it 
possible to integrate the information and illustrate the collections 
from various points for publics via Internet. For instance one can start 
browsing from an interesting single photo, then have a look at the 
information about the photographer and maybe listen to an interview 
about the series of works where this photo is part of. If also the 
library catalogue is linked to the collection descriptions, one can 
continue to the books published by the photographer and so on. For 
audience that is interested in technical matters one could also link the 
information about images to information concerning photographic 
equipments trough the history.

I really see the future of managing and presenting the photographic 
collections consisting of linked databases that persons can browse. We 
should work towards the goal that the audience could freely make the 
connections from different databases after their own interests and make 
possible new views and aspects to information.

Received on Monday, 13 September 2010 12:28:42 UTC