1. RDA: thinking globally, acting
globally
Gordon Dunsire
Presented at International Developments in Library
Linked Data: Think Globally, Act Globally – Part Two: an
ALCTS Program,
ALA Annual, Las Vegas, USA, 28 Jun 2014

2. Overview
Failure of top-down approach
RDA tools
Case: intended audience
Mapping the focus of description
Top-down, bottom-up issues

3. BibO:
Bibliographic
Ontology
Confusing
tongues?
BIBFRAME:
Bibliographic
Framework Say what
we mean
CRM: Conceptual
Reference Model
DC: Dublin Core
FR: Functional
Requirements
ISBD: International Standard
Bibliographic Description
MARC21
RDA: Resource
Description
and Access
schema.org
UNIMARC
KOS++
Universal
Bibliographic
Control
RDF
Thinking globally
Acting locally

4. For unFRBRized
applications
30 million (partial)
examples
Links to other
vocabularies
Element set +
Relationship
designators

5. Globalizing RDA linked data
Language-neutral
URIs
(immutable)
Language-specific
URIs
(for developers)
Language-specific
labels and definitions
(for humans)

6. Unconstrained
versions
Map of
“Audience”
umarc:
m
“adult, general”
“adult, serious”
pbcore:
adult
“adult”
m21:
e
“adult”
MPAA:
NC-17?
BBFC:
18?
Element sets (schema)
Value vocabularies (KOS)
Broader/narrower/same?
m21:
“Target audience of …”
m21:
“Target audience” schema:
“audience”
dct:
“audience”
rdau:
“Intended audience”
isbd:
“has note on use or audience”
isbdu:
“has note on use or audience”
rdfs:subPropertyOf
umarc:
k
bf:
“Intended audience”
frbrer:
“has intended audience”
rdaw:
“Intended audience”

7. isbd:
Resource
bf:
Work
bf:
Instance
rda:
Work
rda:
Expression
rda:
Manifestation
rda:
Item
isbd:P1193 (has work aspect )
isbd:P1190
(has expression aspect )
isbd:P1192
(has manifestation aspect )
isbd:P1191 (has item aspect )
rdae:P20231 (has work expressed)
rdai:P40049 (has manifestation exemplified)
rdam:P30139
(has expression
manifested)
bf:
instanceOf
bf:
expressionOf
marc21:
Resource
?
Mapping
entities

8. Top-down
Examine local schema
Identify the common elements
Create a common/global element set (RDF)
Refine the global element set to connect down (map)
to specific local elements
Issues
Common elements may not cover the same space as local
elements
Refinement not possible
Common elements have to be augmented
Favours the global over the local
Encourages a good-enough approach

9. Bottom-up
Publish the local schema(s) in RDF
Map local elements from different schema to
lowest common (dumber) elements – add new
elements if necessary
Continue until all local schema have been
mapped
Issues
Multiplicity of RDF element sets
Frequent overlap and redundancy
Local management resources

10. Thank you!
jscchair@rdatoolkit.org
rdaregistry.info
Published RDA element sets
rdvocab.info
Published RDA value vocabularies
https://github.com/RDARegistry/RDA-
Vocabularies
Project: versions, issues, feedback