Re: Kill the Record! (Was: BIBFRAME and schema.org)

Note that schema.org has http://schema.org/BookFormatType, which has

Ebook
Hardback
Paperback

kc

On 7/5/13 7:43 AM, Young,Jeff (OR) wrote:
> For paperbacks and similar things, I've started using Product Ontology
> to tag the item/manifestation descriptions for example:
>
> @prefix schema: <http://schema.org/> .
> @prefix pto: <http://www.productontology.org/id/> .
>
> :book1
>      a schema:Book, schema:ProductModel, pto:Paperback ;
>      etc.
>
> The coverage isn't perfect, but it has the advantage of being backed up
> by Wikipedia.
>
> Jeff
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Jul 5, 2013, at 10:35 AM, "Ross Singer" <rxs@talis.com
> <mailto:rxs@talis.com>> wrote:
>
>> On Jul 5, 2013, at 10:25 AM, "Young,Jeff (OR)" <jyoung@oclc.org
>> <mailto:jyoung@oclc.org>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Aside, I would argue that the defining characteristic of Item is that
>>> it has "location". For physical items that location can be determined
>>> by geolocation (for example). For Web items (aka Web documents), the
>>> location can be determined by its URL.
>>
>> +1
>>
>> I would say there are arguably more defining characteristics than that
>> (I'm still going to argue that "paperback" isn't actually a part of
>> the manifestation, simply an inference of the sum of the format of the
>> items), but this, I would argue, is definitely the least common
>> denominator and applies well for our entity model in schema.org
>> <http://schema.org>.
>>
>> -Ross.
>>
>>>
>>> Jeff
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>
>>> On Jul 5, 2013, at 9:55 AM, "Ross Singer" <rxs@talis.com
>>> <mailto:rxs@talis.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> But this all really how many angels can fit on the head of a pin,
>>>> isn't it?
>>>>
>>>> We've already established that we're not interested in defining any
>>>> strict interpretation of FRBR in schema.org <http://schema.org/>:
>>>> we're just trying to define a way to describe things in HTML that
>>>> computers can parse.
>>>>
>>>> Yes, I think we need to establish what an item is, no I don't think
>>>> we have to use FRBR as a strict guide.
>>>>
>>>> -Ross.
>>>>
>>>> On Jul 5, 2013, at 8:51 AM, James Weinheimer
>>>> <weinheimer.jim.l@gmail.com <mailto:weinheimer.jim.l@gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 05/07/2013 13:30, Ross Singer wrote:
>>>>> <snip>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I guess I don't understand why offering epub, pdf, and html
>>>>>> versions of the same resource doesn't constitute "items".
>>>>>>
>>>>>> If you look at an article in arxiv.org <http://arxiv.org/>, for
>>>>>> example, where else in WEMI would you put the available file formats?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Basically, format should be tied to the item, although for
>>>>>> physical items, any manifestation's item will generally be the
>>>>>> same format (although I don't see why a scan of a paperback would
>>>>>> become a new endeavor, honestly).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> In the end, I don't see how digital is any different than print in
>>>>>> this regard.
>>>>>>
>>>>> </snip>
>>>>>
>>>>> Because manifestations are defined by their format (among other
>>>>> things). Therefore, a movie of, e.g. Moby Dick that is a
>>>>> videocassette is considered to be a different manifestation from
>>>>> that of a DVD. Each one is described separately. So, if you have
>>>>> multiple copies of the same format for the same content those are
>>>>> called copies. But if you have different formats for the same
>>>>> content, those are different manifestations.
>>>>>
>>>>> The examples in arxiv.org <http://arxiv.org/> are just like I
>>>>> mentioned in archive.org <http://archive.org/> and they follow a
>>>>> different sort of structure. You do not see this in a library
>>>>> catalog, where each format will get a different manifestation, so
>>>>> that each format can be described.
>>>>>
>>>>> As a result, things work quite differently. Look for e.g. Moby Dick
>>>>> in Worldcat, and you will see all kinds of formats available in the
>>>>> left-hand column.
>>>>> https://www.worldcat.org/search?qt=worldcat_org_all&q=moby+dick
>>>>>
>>>>> When you click on an individual record,
>>>>> http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/62208367 you will see where all of the
>>>>> copies of this particular format of this particular expression are
>>>>> located. This is the manifestation. And its purpose is to organize
>>>>> all of the *copies*, as is done here.
>>>>>
>>>>> In the IA, we see something different:
>>>>> http://archive.org/details/mobydickorwhale02melvuoft, where this
>>>>> display brings together the different manifestations: pdf, text,
>>>>> etc. There is no corresponding concept in FRBR for what we see in
>>>>> the Internet Archive, or in arxiv.org <http://arxiv.org/>.
>>>>>
>>>>> I am not complaining or finding fault, but what I am saying is that
>>>>> the primary reason this sort of thing works for digital materials
>>>>> is because there are no real "duplicates". (There are other serious
>>>>> problems that I won't mention here) In my opinion, introducing the
>>>>> Internet Archive-type structure into a library-type catalog based
>>>>> on physical materials with multitudes of copies would result in a
>>>>> completely incoherent hash.
>>>>>
>>>>> This is why I am saying that FRBR does not translate well to
>>>>> digital materials on the internet.
>>>>>
>>>>> Getting rid of the concept of the "record" has been the supposed
>>>>> remedy, but it seems to me that the final result (i.e. what the
>>>>> user will experience) will still be the incoherent mash I mentioned
>>>>> above: where innumerable items and multiple manifestations will be
>>>>> mashed together. Perhaps somebody could come up with a way to make
>>>>> this coherent and useful, but I have never seen anything like it
>>>>> and cannot imagine how it could work.
>>>>> --
>>>>> *James Weinheimer* weinheimer.jim.l@gmail.com
>>>>> *First Thus* http://catalogingmatters.blogspot.com/
>>>>> *First Thus Facebook Page* https://www.facebook.com/FirstThus
>>>>> *Cooperative Cataloging Rules*
>>>>> http://sites.google.com/site/opencatalogingrules/
>>>>> *Cataloging Matters Podcasts*
>>>>> http://blog.jweinheimer.net/p/cataloging-matters-podcasts.html
>>>>
>>

-- 
Karen Coyle
kcoyle@kcoyle.net http://kcoyle.net
ph: 1-510-540-7596
m: 1-510-435-8234
skype: kcoylenet

Received on Friday, 5 July 2013 15:19:45 UTC