From FRBR to FRBROO

through CIDOC CRM…A Common Ontology

for Cultural Heritage Information

Patrick Le Bœuf, National Library of France

International Symposium on the Future of Information Organization ResearchOctober 4-5, 2010, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

I. Background

3

1990s: 2 simultaneous processes

• 1991-1997IFLADevelopment of a conceptual model for bibliographic information: FRBR

• 1996ICOM CIDOCDevelopment of a conceptual model for museum information: CIDOC CRM

4

FRBR

• “Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records”• An entity-relationship (ER) model• Primary goals:

– explain the content of library catalogs,– provide a scientific basis for simplified cataloging

• Environment: highly standardized, relatively homogeneous (ISBD, MARC)

• Models products, not processes• Chinese translation: <

http://www.ifla.org/files/cataloguing/frbr/frbr-zh.pdf>

5

CIDOC CRM

• “Conceptual Reference Model”• An object-oriented (OO) model• Primary goal:

– enable information exchange and integration between heterogeneous sources of cultural heritage information

• Environment: relatively heterogeneous• Models processes resulting in products, along with

products• Chinese translation: should be available by the end of

October 2010 (Heritage Conservation Center of the National Heritage Board of Singapore)

6

Cultural heritage information

• Both libraries and museums record, manage and publish cultural heritage information

• Borders can be blurred (art prints…)

• Why not bring both models together?...

7

Semantic Web, Linked Data…

• The Web has evolved:– Express data as RDF statements– Relate data to ontologies

Increases the interest in developing a common ontology for library and museum information

8

A cross-domain effort

• 2003: Working Group on FRBR/CIDOC CRM Harmonization– Members from both communities– Goal: rephrase FRBR as an extension to

CIDOC CRM• using same methodology as CIDOC CRM• reusing basic structures from CIDOC CRM• occasionally modifying CIDOC CRM

– 2009: publication of FRBROO version 1.0

9

Main features of FRBR (1/3)

• Her book was read throughout the world

• Her book is in Chinese

• I ordered that book

• The book is on the bookshelf Item

Manifestation

Expression

Work

is realized through

is embodied in

is exemplified by

10

Main features of FRBR (2/3)

Item

Manifestation

Expression

Work

Person

Corporate Body

crea

ted

realized

produced

owns

is realized through

is embodied in

is exemplified by

11

Object

Event

Place

Concept

Main features of FRBR (3/3)

Item

Manifestation

Expression

Work

Person

Corporate Body

crea

ted

realized

produced

owns

is about

is realized through

is embodied in

is exemplified by

12

Main features of CIDOC CRM

E7 Activity

E39 ActorE28 Conceptual Object

E18 Physical Thing

E52 Time-Span E53 Place

E55 Type

E41

App

ella

tion

took part inaffects

occurred at some time during

occurred in

ide

ntif

ies

an

y o

f

serves to categorize any of

E5 Event

13

Main activities in CIDOC CRM

E7 Activity E39 Actor

E65 Creation

E11 Modification (etc.)

P11 had participant(participated in)

P14 carried out by(performed)

E12 ProductionWorld of

ideasPhysical

World

14

Dates in CIDOC CRM

E7 Activity

E52 Time-Span

P4 has time-span(is time-span of)

E49 TimeAppellation

E50 Date

P78 is identified by(identifies)

e.g.: Ming Dynasty 明朝

e.g.: 1368-1644

II. How to read,understand, and use FRBROO

<http://www.cidoc-crm.org/frbr_drafts.html

>

16

The ingredients of FRBROO

• Classes, identified by:– a code, e.g. F1– a name, e.g. Work

F1 Work

• Properties, identified by:– a code, e.g. R2– a name, e.g. is derivative of (has derivative)

F1 Work R2 is derivative of (has derivative) F1 Work

• Names are not sufficient – read the scope notes!• No “attributes” – only “properties” between and

among classes

17

Sharper definitions than in FRBR

• F1 Work: a sum of concepts

• F2 Expression: a sum of signs

• 3 meanings for “Work”:– all concepts conveyed by

each individual Expression:F14 Individual Work

– all concepts common to various Expressions and serving to identify “bibliographic families”:F15 Complex Work

– the concept of adding something to Expressions (e.g. by aggregating them):F16 Container Work

18

Sharper definitions than in FRBR

• FRBRER:Manifestation = “the physical embodiment of an expression of a work”; a single physical exemplar or a set of multiple copies– ambiguous definition!

physical or abstract?

• FRBROO:Manifestation was split into:– F3 Manifestation Product

Type = an abstract “type” exemplified by “identical” physical copies

– F4 Manifestation Singleton = a unique physical carrier (manuscript, painting, master recording…)

19

From processes to products (1/2)E7 Activity

E65 Creation E12 Production

F27 WorkConception

F28 ExpressionCreation

F32 CarrierProduction Event

(of conceptual things) (of physical things)

= Having the initial idea for a Work

= Simultaneously creating a new Expression and producing a unique carrier for that Expression

= Producing Items (copies of a publication)

20

From processes to products (2/2)F27 Work

ConceptionF28 Expression

Creation

F32 CarrierProduction Event

F30 PublicationEvent

F1 Work F2 Expression

F24 PublicationExpression

F3 ManifestationProduct Type

F5 Item

R16 initiated(was initiated by)

R17 created(was created by)

R24

cre

ated

(was

crea

ted

thro

ugh)

R28 produced(was produced by)

R7 is example of(has example)

R6 carries(is carried by)

R14 incorporates(is incorporated in)

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Example: Calligraphy

F16 ContainerWork

F22 Self-ContainedExpression

F22 Self-ContainedExpression

F22 Self-ContainedExpression

E33 LinguisticObject

E38 Image

F28 ExpressionCreation

F28 ExpressionCreation

E39 Actor

E39 Actor

instance = also an instance of:

instance = also an instance of:

R17 created(was created by)

R14 incorporates(is incorporated in)

R14 incorporates(is incorporated in)

R17 created (wascreated by)

P14 carried out by(performed)

(The author, emperor Qianlong 乾隆 )

(The calligrapher, Wang Youdun 汪由敦 )

R3 is realized in(realizes)

P14 carried out by(performed)

22

How FRBROO can be used

• FRBROO can be used:

– to store bibliographic information in the form of RDF triples available for Semantic Web applications

– to integrate bibliographic information in mediation systems, where it can be used along other information sources

23

Some people who expressed their interest for FRBROO:

• The European project CASPAR (Cultural, Artistic and Scientific knowledge for Preservation, Access and Retrieval): http://www.icsrim.org.uk/caspar

• The Perseus Digital Library, e.g. http://www.fragmentarytexts.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Fragmentary-texts-Ontologies.pdf

• The TEI Ontologies Special Interest Group: http://wiki.tei-c.org/index.php/SIG:Ontologies

• ArcheoInf (Informationzsentrum für die Archäologie): http://www.archeoinf.de/veranstaltungen/beiratstreffen-am-30102008/dokumentenrepositorium

• etc. (e.g. http://www.ifla.org/files/hq/papers/ifla76/93-forster-zh.pdf)

III. By way of conclusion

25

Cultural biasesin conceptual modeling?

• CIDOC CRM and FRBROO are introduced as “universal” conceptual models

• However, they are just another Western product: how do they fit Asian conceptions?– Is the notion of “Work” as defined in FRBROO

satisfying according to Chinese thought?

– Is such a conceptualization as FRBROO acceptable in non-Western environments?