Linking libraries to the real world

Linking libraries to the real worlda tragicomedy in two acts

Ad AertssArte.nl Foundationhttp://sarte.nl/@adaerts

Lukas KosterLibrary Systems CoordinatorLibrary of the University of Amsterdamhttp://www.uba.uva.nl@lukask

ELAG2011 - Prague – May 25, 2011

Act one: Libraries

Lukas Koster as The Librarian

Ad Aerts as The Theatre Lover

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Curtain

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Example – Waiting for GodotSamuel Beckett

En attendant Godot (1949)

Waiting for Godot – a tragicomedy in two acts (1952)

A country road

A tree

Evening

Men in bowler hats

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Personal context

The Theatre Lover

Person

Interests

Background

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Library context

The Librarian

Copies

Publications

Shelves

Cards

Dewey

LCC

MARC

OPAC

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Estragon: ‘One knows what to expect’

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Estragon: ‘People are bloody ignorant apes’

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Library context – The catalogueSearch Subject area

Theatre

Godot

Personal context

Library context

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Catalogue results

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Vladimir: ‘Perhaps it’s not the right word’

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Catalogue results

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Estragon: ‘There’s nothing to show’

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Theatre contextPARADOX

Key concept: The PerformanceNothing remains, except ‘residuals’/’waste products’:

MemoriesSouvenir brochures

RecordingsObjectsTexts

ReviewsMetadata

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Theatre context

http://theaterinstituut.adlibsoft.com/

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Theatre context

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Out of context

Theatre

Personal context

Library context

Theatre context

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

In context

Theatre

Personal context

Library context

Theatre context

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Estragon: ‘Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it's awful’

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

In context

Personal context Library context

Theatre context

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

In context

Personal context Library context

Theatre context

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

In context

Personal contextLibrary context

Theatre context

Set context before search:•Harvesting and Indexing•Merging•Search scopes•Personalisation

Set context after search:•Extending•Linking

= Metadata index + discovery tool = Linked data

Act two: The Real World

Lukas Koster as The Linker

Ad Aerts as The Nerd

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Next day

Same time

Same place

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Pilot project

Linking library catalogue data to theatre performance data

Dutch Digital Cultural Heritage Foundation DEN as instigator

http://den.nl/

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Vladimir: “We could start all over again perhaps”Estragon: “That should be easy”Vladimir: “It’s the start that’s difficult”Estragon: “You can start from anything”Vladimir: “Yes, but you have to decide”Estragon: “True”

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Why?

We are convinced

that Linked Data is

valuable and feasible

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Lucky: ‘For reasons unknown’

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Pilot Objectives Proof of concept Gather experience Added value for customers Set an example Convince cultural heritage institutions Convince TIN, UBA management

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Two sides

PublishUse

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Publishing linked data

URIs for all things

Preferably persistent

Return data in ‘machine readable format’

Triples/RDF/etc.

Vocabulary/ontology

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Using linked data

1. Construct URIs based on native metadata

2. Process returned RDF/Triples/etc.

3. Present results

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

A theatre play data model

‘Play’

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Theatre Things (Entities) Authors, actors, producers, etc. (persons) Plays (shows)

Productions Performances

Digital objects Photos, posters, sound, video

Physical objects Costumes, scenery, models, posters, photos, sound, video

…

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Library Things (Entities) Authors (persons) Books/holdings/items

(plays)

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

MatchingLibrary catalogue results – Theatre production database results

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

What we made

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

How we did it URIs

<base-url>/person/<personname> <base-url>/title/<personname>/<title> <base-url>/production/<personname>/<title>/<opening date>

Requested by OPAC

Returned by TINTogether with data

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

How we did it - URIs

<base-url>/person/Beckett, Samuel

<base-url>/title/Beckett, Samuel/Waiting for Godot

JavaScript/JQuery

HTML

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

How we did it - JSON

jsonTIN({ "name":"Beckett, Samuel", "birth.country":"Ierland", "birth.date":" 1906*", "birth.place":"Foxrock", "death.date":"1989-12-22", "death.place":"Parijs", "titles":"/gettitles/Beckett, Samuel"})

<base-url>/person/Beckett, Samuel

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

How we did it - JSON

<base-url>/title/Beckett, Samuel/Waiting for Godot

jsonTIN({ "production":[ "/production/Beckett, Samuel/Waiting for Godot/1988-07-28/5777", "/production/Beckett, Samuel/Waiting for Godot/1988-11-22/6750", "/production/Beckett, Samuel/Waiting for Godot/1992-04-16/10728", "/production/Beckett, Samuel/Waiting for Godot/1981-02-18/43032" ]})

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

How we did it - JSON<base-url>/production/Beckett, Samuel/Waiting for Godot/1988-11-22/6750

jsonTIN({ "name":"Beckett, Samuel", "title":"Waiting for Godot", "opening":"1988-11-22", "people":[ { "description":"Beckett, Samuel (auteur)", "uri":"/person/Beckett, Samuel"}, { "description":"Theedom, Peter (uitvoerende)", "uri":"/person/Theedom, Peter" }, { "description":"Stewart, Reginald (uitvoerende)", "uri":"/person/Stewart, Reginald" } ]})

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

How we did it – JavaScript/JQuery<base-url>/person/Beckett, Samuel

<base-url>/title/Beckett, Samuel/Waiting for Godot

<base-url>/production/Beckett, Samuel/Waiting for Godot/1988-11-22/6750

JavaScript/JQuery

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

What we did not do (yet)Implement a vocabulary/ontology/RDF! http://ckan.net/package/theatricalia http://lukeblaney.co.uk/semweb/theatre

Content negotiation

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Theatre Ontologyhttp://lukeblaney.co.uk/semweb/theatre

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Problems No common identifiers

Aleph key ≠ key No internal links to common entity

No central “Work” String matching

Author: ‘Samuel Beckett’- ‘Beckett, Samuel’ Title: ‘Waiting for Godot’ –’En attendant Godot’

Copyright Photos, videos, audio, artwork

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Estragon: ‘We’ve lost our rights?’ …

Pozzo: ‘The road is free to all’

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Identifiers/URIs/String matching

/title/Beckett, Samuel/Waiting for Godot

/title/Beckett, Samuel/Waiting for Godot : a tragicomedy in two acts

/title/Beckett, Samuel/En attendant Godot : pièce en deux actes

/title/Beckett, Samuel/Wachten op Godot

/title/Beckett, Samuel/Waiting for Godot

/title/Beckett, Samuel/Waiting For Godot

/title/Beckett, Samuel/Wachten op Godot

/title/Beckett, Samuel/Wachtend op Godot

/title/Beckett, Samuel/Wachten op Godot (De favorieten)

/title/Beckett, Samuel/Wachten op Godot (eerste bedrijf)

/title/Beckett, Samuel/En attendant Godot

/title/Beckett, Samuel/Warten auf Godot

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Pozzo: “I am Pozzo!....Pozzo! … Does that name mean nothing to you?... I say does that name mean nothing to you?”Estragon: “Bozzo...Bozzo...”Vladimir: “Pozzo...Pozzo...”Pozzo: “PPPOZZZO!”Estragon: “Ah! Pozzo...let me see...Pozzo...”Vladimir: “Is it Pozzo or Bozzo?”Estragon: “Pozzo...no...I’m afraid I...no...I don’t seem to...”Vladimir: “I once knew a family called Gozzo. The mother had the clap”

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Solutions Add links:

Internally: FRBR! Externally: Authority files

(Smart string matching?) External broker mechanism

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Links: FRBR, and moreWaiting

for Godot

Wachtenop Godot (NL)

En attendantGodot (FR)

Production2009

Production2010

Performance 1

Performance 2

Performance 3

Manifestation

Item

Work

Expression

1st Edition2007

2nd Edition2010

Copy 1

Copy 2

Copy 3

Theatre Text/Publisher/Library

FRBR

Videoregistration

Article

Scene 1

Scene 2

Scene 3

Photo

LibraryCatalogue

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Ideally….

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Current situation

Implicit relations

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Legacy systems => Linked Data

Make implicit relations explicit

Use external authority files

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Estragon: ‘That’s the idea, let’s contradict each other’

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Curtain

Thank you!

You’re too kind!

May 25, 2011 Linking libraries to the real world - ELAG2011

Estragon: “Let’s go”Vladimir: “We can’t”Estragon: “Why not?”Vladimir: “We’re waiting for Godot”