PART 2 Module 7.1.1: Conceptual Models [FRBR, FRAD, FRSAD]

LIS 5043: Organization of Information

Dr. Manika Lamba

Introduction

In Part 1 of this lecture we covered what FRBR is in terms of its conceptual model. Now, let’s move on to why we need it, why it’s necessary. I’ve already mentioned some reasons, like it reminds us of the importance of being able to group related things together, or that collocation function we see in catalogs, and it gives us a clear way of identifying those things and describing them with specific elements that can then be reused or repackaged to best suit the needs for displaying information back to our users.

FRBR vs. RDA vs. MARC

• FRBR is a conceptual model
• RDA is a cataloging standard that is based on the FRBR conceptual model
• MARC is an encoding scheme by which computers exchange, use, and interpret bibliographic information

I also want us to take a little step back here for a minute and just clarify some of these concepts for you before we move forward.

FRBR, as we’ve been discussing here, is a conceptual model, which has three groups of entities and the relationships within each of those groups.

RDA is a cataloging standard that is based on the FRBR conceptual model, but it also has elements of our legacy system, AACR2.

MARC, or MARC records structure, is an encoding scheme by which computers exchange, use, and interpret bibliographic information. MARC is the structure in which we create bibliographic records that we create authority data records.

Why Do Libraries Need FRBR

• To avoid becoming marginalized by other information delivery services
• To cut costs for the description and access to resources in our libraries
• To encourage redesign of our systems to move us into linked data information discovery and navigation systems in the Internet environment
• To make our bibliographic descriptions and access data more internationally acceptable

Let’s talk about why libraries need FRBR. Part of this discussion is from Barbara Tillet’s “Keeping libraries relevant in the semantic Web with RDA.” It was in Serials November 2011 issue if you want to read further about some of the reasons why libraries need FRBR, and I’ve added some additional information here as well.

Libraries need to implement FRBR within our systems to avoid becoming marginalized by other information delivery services, like the web, like linked data environments.

We can repackage our shared metadata into more interesting visual information, and by using FRBR we, as you can see, are adding additional elements to our catalogs that we do not presently include, such as timelines for publication histories, or a map showing places of publication. We can build links between works and expressions and we can create some of those entity relationships that are not present in our library catalogs.

We can also make our data more accessible on the web through linked data systems, through allowing other systems to harvest our metadata. What’s a roadblock right now is that systems that want to harvest our metadata cannot decipher, the system itself cannot decipher some of the metadata in our records because of the structure but also some of our encoding rules.

FRBR can also potentially help cut costs for the subscription and access to resources in our libraries. We can take advantage of metadata, as I said, from publishers and other sources. We can share metadata as well as harvest other metadata. We’ve shared metadata in the past, but we’ve done so in somewhat limited capacity because we’re only sharing from library to libraries around the world. Not to undercut the importance of that, but using a FRBRized type of system allows us to share metadata beyond the library borders.

It also will reduce costs. It will stop the redundant creation of bibliographic and authority data. So, that again, is going to cut costs for our libraries.

We also want to encourage redesign of our systems to move us into linked data information discovery and navigation systems in the internet environment. It will be more useful to our users and more effective retrieval.

So, it would make our bibliographic descriptions and access data more internationally acceptable and usable to individuals and to libraries in general.

Why do we need FRBR?

• Improve the user experience in locating information
  • Guide systems designs for the future
  • Guide rule makers
• Cut costs for the description and access to resources in our libraries
• Position information providers to better operate in the Internet environment and beyond

Again, why do we need FRBR? We need FRBR to improve the user experience in locating information. It will help us guide systems’ designs for the future. Our integrated library systems can implement the FRBR conceptual models in very unique, hyperlinked, multi-relational ways rather than in a flat file system that we’ve had previously. And that can bring together all of the works of a particular author, all of the derivations or different manifestations of that work whenever we do a search. And we’ll look at some examples of that in a few minutes.

It can also guide our rule makers, those that are creating our standards and that will continue to create our standards in the future.

As I said, it will also cut costs to the description and access to resources in our libraries.

Cataloging rules that are based on FRBR also will identify the works and expressions in our resources and help us gather those together in our search systems.

When FRBR is applied to future library systems, to future cataloging systems, it will make it easier to link expressions or related works and to link new manifestations to existing works and expressions that we have in our collections and to save time and effort, for example, by reusing the subject analysis that we’ve done once for a work as we get new manifestations. We can simply link to that work in our collections.

FRBR also positions us to operate better in the internet environment by clearly identifying the elements and relationships necessary for navigating our bibliographic universe and making those elements available on the web for more versatile displays that fit our users’ needs. So, we’ll be able to be more competitive within the internet environment. We’ll be able to use linked data systems. These, again, are some of the ideas of why we need to think about implementing FRBR and its conceptual models.

A look under the hood

Now that we understand a bit more about the conceptual models let’s ‘take a look under the hood’ at what it might look like if we implement FRBR within our library systems. And as I mentioned, there are very few systems out there now that are currently implementing FRBR, but there are a couple and I do want to bring them to your attention. We’ll look at a few screen shots of some, but I also want you to take a look at them yourselves. And there’s some links at the end of this slideshow to some of those working systems, and I’m sure there are some other experimental systems you might find as well.

Bib records before RDA/FRBR

Okay, bibliographic records before FRBR and RDA were basically a one to one relationship. We have one object that is represented in our systems with one catalog record. So, regardless of whether it’s a movie or it’s a book, we have one record that’s going to represent that object.

Collocation

We hope future systems will be developed to take full advantage of mining the metadata that catalogers provide and have been providing for many years. When we’re cataloging with FRBR- based rules, it should be easier to fulfill the objects of the catalog to display all of the works associated with the person, all of the expressions of the same work, all the manifestations of the same expression, and all of the items and their special characteristics.

Pathways to Related Works

Plus, all related works to movies or plays based on Hamlet. All of this to guide a user through our rich collections and beyond.

We can also make collections to related information on the internet, like the Wikipedia article about Hamlet or any other related resource out on the web. This was not possible with book or card catalogs.

There is an amazing network of related information, and in the past we’ve only been able to deliver it to our users in a very small view. But once we’re able to share this linked data on the internet, we can offer resource discovery systems that will show pathways to all sorts of related resources, and this is really exciting when you take a look at this pathways diagram.

This diagram is from Barbara Tillet, and I appreciate the way that she characterizes, not just those items in the WEMI model, but some of the ways in which they can be connected, or collocated together.

Internet “Cloud”

The information systems and content in the future hopefully will be freely accessible on the web. We can imagine it as something like the internet cloud computing that we have today with Amazon, Google, and other systems, where the elements that describe our resources are available to libraries and users everywhere in the world throughout the web front end that connects the users to services and data.

The data may come from multiple different sources, such as publishers, from the creators of the resources themselves, from libraries and other institutions around the world or anywhere. And it’s accessible by any user anywhere in the world at any time, of course, provided they have some type of access to the web.

Bibliographic data and digital resources are on the web now, and we’ve started adding the controlled vocabularies to help identify these resources. And we’ve even added web resources to our existing library catalogs and created links to them.

And then we have such controlled values for naming the types of content, types of carriers, and other elements that are already being registered on the web and can be used to present displays and show pathways to these related resources.

FRBR prepares us to identify all of those elements that are present in different environments online, the identifying characteristics of all the things we have in our collections in a way that machines and the internet can manipulate and understand our data for more useful displays for our users.

FRBRized systems

• WorldCat.org Online Computer Library Center (OCLC): The WorldCat database is the largest and most comprehensive union catalog, utilizing a FRBRlike approach via the OCLC Work-Set Algorithm.

• Libraries Australia with its FRBR prototype demonstration system available at http://ll01.nla.gov.au/

• Nevada Digital Newspaper Project

This slide shows links to some of these FRBRized systems.