1. RDA and the semantic Web
Lectio magistralis in Library Science
by Gordon Dunsire
Florence University, Florence, Italy
4th March, 2014

2. In the beginning …

3. In the beginning …

4. 3?
Toronto, 1997
In the beginning …

5. General Material Designator (US)
General Material Designator (UK)
ISBD(G)
Content vs Carrier / Haworth
Structure
of AACR3
Logical analysis / Delsey
Type of publication
Chief source of
information
Class of
materials
ItemSeries Subseries
?
$£$£$£!!!

6. Functional Requirements for
Bibliographic Records
Work Expression
Manifestation Item
User
tasks
AACR3
Item
Carrier attributes
Content attributes

7. Functional Requirements for
Bibliographic Records
Work Expression
Manifestation Item
User
tasks
Carrier attributes
Content attributes
JSC, 2005

8. Semantic Web (Berners-Lee)
Structured
collections
of information
Sets of inference rules
Automated reasoning
Web of linked data
Web of linked documents
Web of linked computing devices

9. “This work has author Gordon Dunsire”
Resource Description Framework (RDF)
Subject – Predicate - Object
Subject
Predicate
Object
“This work”
“has author”
“Gordon Dunsire”
?
?
?
Uniform Resource Identifier (URI)
ex:1Bd38
ex:ZX3G5
“literal”
For machines For humans
Triple!

10. ex:
“This work”
“Gordon Dunsire”
ex:“has author”

11. “Gordon Dunsire”
ex:
Gordon
Dunsireex:“has author”
ex:
“This work”
ex:“is author of”
ex:“has name”

12. “Gordon Dunsire”
ex:
Gordon
Dunsireex:“has author”
ex:
“This work”
ex:“is author of”
ex:“has name”
“G. J. Dunsire”
ex:“has alternate
name”
ex:
Scotlandex:“has
country of birth”
“RDA and the
Semantic Web”
ex:“has title”
ex:
“That work”
ex:“has derivative work”
ex:“is derivative
work of”

13. “Gordon Dunsire”
ex:
Gordon
Dunsireex:“has author”
ex:
“This work”
ex:“is author of”
ex:“has name”
“G. J. Dunsire”
ex:“has alternate
name”
ex:
Scotlandex:“has
country of birth”
“RDA and the
Semantic Web”
ex:“has title”
ex:
“That work”
ex:“has derivative work”
ex:“is derivative
work of”

14. One
giant
global
graph

15. ex:
Gordon
Dunsireex:“has author”
ex:
“This work”
Data vs Ontology
Data triple
URI
ex:“has label”
ex:
hasAuthor
“has author” Ontology
triple
“Property”
ex:“has type”

16. RDA vocabulary example
ex:“has label”
rdact:
1010
“notated music”@en
“schriftlich fixierte Musik”@de
ex:“has label”
rdact:
1016
ex:
“is related to”
“tactile notated music”@en
ex:“has label”

17. ex:“has label”
ex:
Property1
“has author”@en
ex:
Property2
ex:
“is sub-
property
of”
“has creator”@en
ex:“has label”
Inference rules: sub-property
ex:
“This work”
“Gordon Dunsire”
ex:“has author”
ex:
“This work”
“Gordon Dunsire”
ex:“has creator”

18. RDF vocabularies: DCT + RDFS
Dublin Core Terms + RDF Schema
rdfs:label
dcterms:
creator
“Creator”
dcterms:
Agent
“Agent”
rdfs:label
rdfs:range
“A resource that
acts or has the
power to act.”rdfs:comment
Source of URIs

19. Inference rules: range
dcterms:
creator
dcterms:
agentrdfs:range
ex:
Gordon
Dunsiredcterms:creator
ex:
“This work”
ex:
Gordon
Dunsire
rdfs:type
dcterms:
Agent

20. Data model meeting Panizzi

21. Data model meeting
Members of RDA and Semantic Web communities
British Library, London, 30 April – 1 May 2007
“… agreed that RDA and DCMI should work
together …”
(Dublin Core Metadata Initiative)

22. Benefits expected
The library community gets a metadata standard that
is compatible with the Web Architecture and that is
fully interoperable with other Semantic Web
initiatives
The DCMI community gets a libraries application
profile firmly based on the DCAM and FRBR (which
will be a high profile exemplar for others to follow)
The Semantic Web community get a significant pool
of well thought-out metadata terms to re-use
There is wider uptake of RDA

23. Activities
Development of an RDA Element Vocabulary
Development of an RDA DC Application Profile
based on FRBR and FRAD
Disclosure of RDA Value Vocabularies using
RDF/RDFS/SKOS

24. Opaque URI
(only for machines)
Compact URI = rdact:1010

26. …

27. DCAM and RDA Dublin Core Abstract Model
<indecs>
Basic RDA metadata structures
ex:
ExpressionURI
rdae:
“has content
type”
rdfs:label
rdact:
1010
“notated music”@en
skos:inScheme rdaterms:
RDAContentType

28. rdac:
“Manifestation”
rdfs:
“domain”
High-level metadata structures
rdam:
“has title”
rdau:
“has title”
rdam:
“has title proper”
rdau:
“has title proper”
rdfs:
“domain”
sP
sP
sP
sP = rdfs:”sub-property of”
Constrained by FRBR (domain)
Unconstrained

29. rdac:
“Work”
rdfs:
“domain”
Relationship designators
rdaw:
“has creator”
rdau:
“has creator”
rdaw:
“has designer”
rdau:
“has designer”
sP
sP
sP
sP = rdfs:”sub-property of”
rdac:
“Agent”
rdfs:
“range”

30. Entity Properties Range No Range
Work 235 200 35
Expression 235 190 45
Manifestation 210 50 160
Item 50 40 10
Agent 225 175 50
Link-ability
Triple clusters Triple chains Literals
Relationships AttributesDomains
Covering all media

31. rdaw:
“is video screenplay (work)”
rdaw:
“is screenplay (work)”
rdaw:
“is complemented by (work)”
rdaw:
“has accompanying work relationship with”
rdaw:
“has related work”Rich detail
sub-property ladder

32. rdau:
“has voice actor”
rdau:
“has actor”
rdau:
“has performer”
rdau:
“has creator”
rdaw:
“has creator”
Interoperability
dcterms:
“creator”
dc:
“creator”
???

33. To do
Publish more RDA value vocabularies
Develop cross-entity elements
E.g. Work-Expression relationship designators
Develop Application Profile for RDA “core”
Develop RDF elements for aggregated
statements (RDA, ISBD, MARC, …)
E.g. Place of publication -> Publication statement

34. Achievements: 5+ years on
Rich set of elements and value vocabularies for
“bibliographic control”
At global, “universal” level
“a metadata standard that is compatible with the
Web Architecture and that is fully interoperable
with other Semantic Web initiatives”
“a significant pool of well thought-out metadata
terms to re-use”
Wider uptake of RDA? …

35. Thank you!
gordon@gordondunsire.com
Text of lecture
http://digital.casalini.it/9788876560132