Linking libraries to the real world

Linking libraries to the real world a tragicomedy in two acts Ad Aerts sArte.nl Foundation http ://sarte.nl/ @adaerts Lukas Koster Library Systems Coordinator Library of the University of Amsterdam http://www.uba.uva.nl @lukask ELAG2011 - Prague – May 25, 2011

Act one: Libraries Lukas Koster as The Librarian Ad Aerts as The Theatre Lover

Curtain

Example – Waiting for Godot
Samuel Beckett
En attendant Godot (1949)
Waiting for Godot – a tragicomedy in two acts (1952)
A country road
A tree
Evening
Men in bowler hats

Personal context The Theatre Lover Person Interests Background

Library context The Librarian Copies Publications Shelves Cards Dewey LCC MARC OPAC

Estragon: ‘ One knows what to expect ’

Estragon: ‘ People are bloody ignorant apes ’

Library context – The catalogue
Search
Subject area Theatre Godot Personal context Library context

Catalogue results

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

Catalogue results

Estragon: ‘There’s nothing to show’

Theatre context
PARADOX
Key concept: The Performance
Nothing remains, except ‘residuals’/’waste products’:
Memories
Souvenir brochures
Recordings
Objects
Texts
Reviews
Metadata

Theatre context http://theaterinstituut.adlibsoft.com/

Theatre context

Out of context Theatre Personal context Library context Theatre context

In context Theatre Personal context Library context Theatre context

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

In context Personal context Library context Theatre context

In context Personal context Library 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

Next day
Same time
Same place

Pilot project Linking library catalogue data to theatre performance data Dutch Digital Cultural Heritage Foundation DEN as instigator http://den.nl/

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”

Why?
We are convinced
that Linked Data is
valuable and feasible

Lucky: ‘For reasons unknown’

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

Two sides Publish Use

Publishing linked data URIs for all things Preferably persistent Return data in ‘machine readable format’ Triples/RDF/etc. Vocabulary/ontology

Using linked data 1. Construct URIs based on native metadata 2. Process returned RDF/Triples/etc. 3. Present results

A theatre play data model ‘ Play ’

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 …

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

Matching
Library catalogue results – Theatre production database results

What we made

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 TIN Together with data

How we did it - URIs < base-url >/person/Beckett, Samuel < base-url >/title/Beckett, Samuel/Waiting for Godot JavaScript/JQuery HTML

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

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" ] })

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" } ] })

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

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

Theatre Ontology
http ://lukeblaney.co.uk/semweb/theatre

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

Estragon: ‘ We’ve lost our rights? ’ … Pozzo: ‘ The road is free to all ’

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

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 ”

Solutions
Add links:
Internally: FRBR!
Externally: Authority files
(Smart string matching?)
External broker mechanism

Links: FRBR, and more Waiting for Godot Wachten op Godot (NL) En attendant Godot (FR) Production 2009 Production 2010 Performance 1 Performance 2 Performance 3 Manifestation Item Work Expression 1st Edition 2007 2nd Edition 2010 Copy 1 Copy 2 Copy 3 Theatre Text/Publisher/Library FRBR Video registration Article Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Photo Library Catalogue

Ideally….

Current situation Implicit relations

Legacy systems => Linked Data
Make implicit relations explicit
Use external authority files

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

Curtain

Thank you! You’re too kind!

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

Linking libraries to the real world

by Lukas Koster

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