Parry, Poole and Pratty on Muiseums and the Semantic Web

Do we need (and do we understand) the Semantic Web? Dr. Ross Parry Department of Museum Studies University of Leicester, UK

Philip Adams , Senior Assistant Librarian (systems Development) De Montfort University; Martin Bazley , E-learning consultant; Stephen Brown , Professor, De Montfort University; Robin Boast , deputy director; Museum of Arch. and Anth., Camb.; David Dawson , Digital Futures, MLA; Dylan Edgar , Scottish Museum Council; Jane Finnis, Director, 24 Hour Museum; Michael Freeman , Curator, Ceredigon Museum, Aberystwyth; Areti Galani , Lecturer, CCHS, University of Newcastle; David Gerrard , Web Developer, De Montfort University; Jeremy Keith , Clear Left Design Ltd.; Brian Kelly , UK Web Focus, UKOLN; Suzanne Keene , Lecturer, UCL; Richard Light , XML Consulant; Frances Lloyd-Baynes, Head of Records, V&A; Mike Lowndes , Interactive Media, Manager, Natural History Museum; Lena Maculan , Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Gordon Mckenna , Standards and Systems Manager, MDA; Mayra Ortiz-Williams, Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Jeremy Ottevanger , Web Developer, Museum of London; Ross Parry , Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Nick Poole , Director, MDA; Jon Pratty , Editor, 24 Hour Museum; Phill Purdy , Development Officer, Museums Library Archives Council; Mia Ridge , Database Developer, Museum of London; Seamus Ross , Director of Humanities, Computing, University of Glasgow; Angelina Roussou Researcher Queensland Institute of Technology; Andy Sawyer , Museum Consultant, MWR Ltd.; Paul Shabajee , Research Fellow, University of Bristol/HP-Labs; Jennifer Trant , Partner and Principal Consultant, Archives and Museum Informatics, Canada; Alex Whitfield , Education Prog. Manager, British Library; Alison Wells , Doc. Assistant, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery; Dan Zambonini , Technical Director, Box UK.

Philip Adams , Senior Assistant Librarian (systems Development) De Montfort University; Martin Bazley , E-learning consultant; Stephen Brown , Professor, De Montfort University; Robin Boast , deputy director; Museum of Arch. and Anth., Camb .; David Dawson , Digital Futures, MLA; Dylan Edgar , Scottish Museum Council; Jane Finnis, Director, 24 Hour Museum; Michael Freeman , Curator, Ceredigon Museum, Aberystwyth; Areti Galani , Lecturer, CCHS, University of Newcastle; David Gerrard , Web Developer, De Montfort University; Jeremy Keith , Clear Left Design Ltd.; Brian Kelly , UK Web Focus, UKOLN; Suzanne Keene , Lecturer, UCL; Richard Light , XML Consulant; Frances Lloyd-Baynes, Head of Records, V&A; Mike Lowndes , Interactive Media, Manager, Natural History Museum; Lena Maculan , Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Gordon Mckenna , Standards and Systems Manager, MDA; Mayra Ortiz-Williams, Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Jeremy Ottevanger , Web Developer, Museum of London; Ross Parry , Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Nick Poole , Director, MDA; Jon Pratty , Editor, 24 Hour Museum; Phill Purdy , Development Officer, Museums Library Archives Council; Mia Ridge , Database Developer, Museum of London; Seamus Ross , Director of Humanities, Computing, University of Glasgow; Angelina Roussou Researcher Queensland Institute of Technology; Andy Sawyer , Museum Consultant, MWR Ltd.; Paul Shabajee , Research Fellow, University of Bristol/HP-Labs; Jennifer Trant , Partner and Principal Consultant, Archives and Museum Informatics, Canada; Alex Whitfield , Education Prog. Manager, British Library; Alison Wells , Doc. Assistant, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery; Dan Zambonini , Technical Director, Box UK. museums

Philip Adams , Senior Assistant Librarian (systems Development) De Montfort University; Martin Bazley , E-learning consultant; Stephen Brown , Professor, De Montfort University; Robin Boast , deputy director; Museum of Arch. and Anth., Camb.; David Dawson , Digital Futures, MLA; Dylan Edgar , Scottish Museum Council; Jane Finnis, Director, 24 Hour Museum; Michael Freeman , Curator, Ceredigon Museum, Aberystwyth; Areti Galani , Lecturer, CCHS, University of Newcastle; David Gerrard , Web Developer, De Montfort University; Jeremy Keith , Clear Left Design Ltd.; Brian Kelly , UK Web Focus, UKOLN; Suzanne Keene , Lecturer, UCL; Richard Light , XML Consulant; Frances Lloyd-Baynes, Head of Records, V&A; Mike Lowndes , Interactive Media, Manager, Natural History Museum; Lena Maculan , Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Gordon Mckenna , Standards and Systems Manager, MDA; Mayra Ortiz-Williams, Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Jeremy Ottevanger , Web Developer, Museum of London; Ross Parry , Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Nick Poole , Director, MDA; Jon Pratty , Editor, 24 Hour Museum; Phill Purdy , Development Officer, Museums Library Archives Council; Mia Ridge , Database Developer, Museum of London; Seamus Ross , Director of Humanities, Computing, University of Glasgow; Angelina Roussou Researcher Queensland Institute of Technology; Andy Sawyer , Museum Consultant, MWR Ltd.; Paul Shabajee , Research Fellow, University of Bristol/HP-Labs; Jennifer Trant , Partner and Principal Consultant, Archives and Museum Informatics, Canada; Alex Whitfield , Education Prog. Manager, British Library; Alison Wells , Doc. Assistant, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery; Dan Zambonini , Technical Director, Box UK. strategic bodies

Philip Adams , Senior Assistant Librarian (systems Development) De Montfort University; Martin Bazley , E-learning consultant; Stephen Brown , Professor, De Montfort University; Robin Boast , deputy director; Museum of Arch. and Anth., Camb.; David Dawson , Digital Futures, MLA; Dylan Edgar , Scottish Museum Council; Jane Finnis, Director, 24 Hour Museum; Michael Freeman , Curator, Ceredigon Museum, Aberystwyth; Areti Galani , Lecturer, CCHS, University of Newcastle; David Gerrard , Web Developer, De Montfort University; Jeremy Keith , Clear Left Design Ltd.; Brian Kelly , UK Web Focus, UKOLN; Suzanne Keene , Lecturer, UCL; Richard Light , XML Consulant; Frances Lloyd-Baynes, Head of Records, V&A; Mike Lowndes , Interactive Media, Manager, Natural History Museum; Lena Maculan , Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Gordon Mckenna , Standards and Systems Manager, MDA; Mayra Ortiz-Williams, Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Jeremy Ottevanger , Web Developer, Museum of London; Ross Parry , Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Nick Poole , Director, MDA; Jon Pratty , Editor, 24 Hour Museum; Phill Purdy , Development Officer, Museums Library Archives Council; Mia Ridge , Database Developer, Museum of London; Seamus Ross , Director of Humanities, Computing, University of Glasgow; Angelina Roussou Researcher Queensland Institute of Technology; Andy Sawyer , Museum Consultant, MWR Ltd.; Paul Shabajee , Research Fellow, University of Bristol/HP-Labs; Jennifer Trant , Partner and Principal Consultant, Archives and Museum Informatics, Canada; Alex Whitfield , Education Prog. Manager, British Library; Alison Wells , Doc. Assistant, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery; Dan Zambonini , Technical Director, Box UK. universities

Philip Adams , Senior Assistant Librarian (systems Development) De Montfort University; Martin Bazley , E-learning consultant ; Stephen Brown , Professor, De Montfort University; Robin Boast , deputy director; Museum of Arch. and Anth., Camb.; David Dawson , Digital Futures, MLA; Dylan Edgar , Scottish Museum Council; Jane Finnis, Director, 24 Hour Museum; Michael Freeman , Curator, Ceredigon Museum, Aberystwyth; Areti Galani , Lecturer, CCHS, University of Newcastle; David Gerrard , Web Developer, De Montfort University; Jeremy Keith , Clear Left Design Ltd.; Brian Kelly , UK Web Focus, UKOLN; Suzanne Keene , Lecturer, UCL; Richard Light , XML Consulant ; Frances Lloyd-Baynes, Head of Records, V&A; Mike Lowndes , Interactive Media, Manager, Natural History Museum; Lena Maculan , Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Gordon Mckenna , Standards and Systems Manager, MDA; Mayra Ortiz-Williams, Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Jeremy Ottevanger , Web Developer, Museum of London; Ross Parry , Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Nick Poole , Director, MDA; Jon Pratty , Editor, 24 Hour Museum; Phill Purdy , Development Officer, Museums Library Archives Council; Mia Ridge , Database Developer, Museum of London; Seamus Ross , Director of Humanities, Computing, University of Glasgow; Angelina Roussou Researcher Queensland Institute of Technology; Andy Sawyer , Museum Consultant, MWR Ltd.; Paul Shabajee , Research Fellow, University of Bristol/HP-Labs; Jennifer Trant , Partner and Principal Consultant, Archives and Museum Informatics, Canada ; Alex Whitfield , Education Prog. Manager, British Library; Alison Wells , Doc. Assistant, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery; Dan Zambonini , Technical Director, Box UK. consultants

Philip Adams , Senior Assistant Librarian (systems Development) De Montfort University; Martin Bazley , E-learning consultant; Stephen Brown , Professor, De Montfort University; Robin Boast , deputy director; Museum of Arch. and Anth., Camb.; David Dawson , Digital Futures, MLA; Dylan Edgar , Scottish Museum Council; Jane Finnis, Director, 24 Hour Museum; Michael Freeman , Curator, Ceredigon Museum, Aberystwyth; Areti Galani , Lecturer, CCHS, University of Newcastle; David Gerrard , Web Developer, De Montfort University; Jeremy Keith , Clear Left Design Ltd .; Brian Kelly , UK Web Focus, UKOLN; Suzanne Keene , Lecturer, UCL; Richard Light , XML Consulant; Frances Lloyd-Baynes, Head of Records, V&A; Mike Lowndes , Interactive Media, Manager, Natural History Museum; Lena Maculan , Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Gordon Mckenna , Standards and Systems Manager, MDA; Mayra Ortiz-Williams, Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Jeremy Ottevanger , Web Developer, Museum of London; Ross Parry , Digital Heritage Research Group, University of Leicester; Nick Poole , Director, MDA; Jon Pratty , Editor, 24 Hour Museum; Phill Purdy , Development Officer, Museums Library Archives Council; Mia Ridge , Database Developer, Museum of London; Seamus Ross , Director of Humanities, Computing, University of Glasgow; Angelina Roussou Researcher Queensland Institute of Technology; Andy Sawyer , Museum Consultant, MWR Ltd .; Paul Shabajee , Research Fellow, University of Bristol/HP-Labs; Jennifer Trant , Partner and Principal Consultant, Archives and Museum Informatics, Canada; Alex Whitfield , Education Prog. Manager, British Library; Alison Wells , Doc. Assistant, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery; Dan Zambonini , Technical Director, Box UK. commercial

W3Cspeak …

museumspeak …

Semantic Web

Semantic Web semantic web

Semantic Web semantic web Web 3.0

Semantic Web semantic web Web 3.0 machine-processable Web

Most importantly, it’s about …

‘ Intelligent’ and efficient searching :

- using ‘ontologies’ (‘frameworks’ and ‘maps’ of related words/referents)

- using ‘friend-of-a-friend’ logic

(“You didn’t ask for this by name, but we think it’s very relevant to what you are looking for.”)

Discovering ‘resources’ rather than ‘pages’

- using URIs:

(“We’ve found this picture, this news story, this video, this biographical detail and this museum object that are likely to be relevant to your search.”)

Discovering ‘resources’ rather than ‘pages’

- using URIs:

(“We’ve found this picture, this news story, this video, this biographical detail and this museum object that are likely to be relevant to your search.”)

Machine-to-machine automatic linking and processing of data:

(“This book is relevant to your search, and what’s more the library it is in is only 20 minutes away from your house. As there are no appointments in your diary this afternoon, you could get there on no. 27 bus that leaves at 14:45 ...”)

‘ top down’ ‘ bottom up’

‘ top down’ revolution ‘ bottom up’ evolution

‘ top down’ revolution standards-based ‘ bottom up’ evolution application-oriented

‘ top down’ revolution standards-based inviolate ‘ bottom up’ evolution application-oriented negotiable

‘ top down’ revolution standards-based inviolate universal ‘ bottom up’ evolution application-oriented negotiable localised

‘ top down’ revolution standards-based inviolate universal singular ‘ bottom up’ evolution application-oriented negotiable localised multiple instantiations

‘ top down’ revolution standards-based inviolate universal singular an innate logic ‘ bottom up’ evolution application-oriented negotiable localised multiple instantiations a selective lens

‘ top down’ revolution standards-based inviolate universal singular an innate logic more work ‘ bottom up’ evolution application-oriented negotiable localised multiple instantiations a selective lens less work

‘ top down’ revolution standards-based inviolate universal singular an innate logic more work ‘ hands on Internet’ ‘ bottom up’ evolution application-oriented negotiable localised multiple instantiations a selective lens less work ‘ hands off Internet’

By ‘semantic’, Berners-Lee means nothing more than ‘machine processable’. The choice of nomenclature is a primary cause of confusion on both sides of the debate. It is unfortunate that the effort was not named ‘the machine processable web’ instead. This, along with some optimistic usage scenarios, is a primary cause of extraordinarily high expectations in those who take the term at face value, and hence to fierce criticism of what is seen as an overly ambitious area of research. In summary, the SW is ‘a webby way to link data’. Those evaluating the technology are well advised to look at what it really represents today, rather than what it may one day become. “ ” Emma Tonkin (2008) If it quacks like a duck … Developments in search technologies , Emerging Technologies for Learning, vol. 3, BECTA Research Report.

we do next What should ?

What must should could we do next ?

What must should could we do next ? this room web developers museums MW08 professional bodies …

What must should could we do next ? this room web developers museums MW08 professional bodies … do agree build try

we this room web developers museums MW08 professional bodies … do agree build try now next within 4 months by MW09 within 3 years What must should could ?

MODE 1 Make collections Machine-processable via the Web Pull out resources and tag them Then cross-reference these tags Automatically recognise people and things in time and space (place)

MODE 1 Make collections Machine-processable via the Web Pull out resources and tag them Then cross-reference these tags Automatically recognise people and things in time and space (place) MODE 2 Build ontologies and frameworks around these tags Make f-o-a-f associations Demonstrate degrees of extraction / removed-ness Automatically identify myriad logical associations between resources

MODE 1 Make collections Machine-processable via the Web Pull out resources and tag them Then cross-reference these tags Automatically recognise people and things in time and space (place) MODE 2 Build ontologies and frameworks around these tags Make f-o-a-f associations Demonstrate degrees of extraction / removed-ness Automatically identify myriad logical associations between resources MODE 3 Develop more layered and localised meaning Capture synonyms, variant terms and alternative meanings. Automatically recognise culturally and historically contingent semantics

Thank you Dr. Ross Parry Senior Lecturer Department of Museum Studies University of Leicester, UK [email_address]