Developing an Eye for Resemblances: FRBR and Relevancy Ranking in WorldCat Local Greg Matthews & Jon Scott WorldCat Discovery Day 30 July 2010

This presentation … Explores the FRBR model as a conceptual foundation for WorldCat Local architecture and functionality. Demonstrates how FRBR concepts and entities facilitate discovery searching by identifying relationships between informational objects in the bibliographic universe.

FRBR background “Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records” Developed and monitored by the IFLA Study Group on FRBR ( , 1997) Intended to be independent of existing cataloging standards, rules, and formats

FRBR basics A conceptual, entity-relationship model New ways to think about cataloging record structure and application “… a more precise vocabulary to help future cataloging rule makers and system designers” meet user needs* Potential for basic level cataloging records to provide optimal usability *Tillett, Barbara, “Terminology,” What is FRBR? A Conceptual Model for the Bibliographic Universe, (accessed 26 July 2010).

FRBR structure Identifies bibliographic entities Distinguishes between three entity groups Entity groups are inter-related

FRBR entities Group 1: WHAT the record describes – Work, Expression, Manifestation, and Item Four levels of information object representation “… represent the products of intellectual or artistic endeavour.”* Group 2 : WHO is responsible for the work – Person, Corporate Body “… responsible for the custodianship of Group 1’s intellectual or artistic endeavour.”* Group 3: WHAT the work is about – Concepts, Objects, Events, Places “… subjects of Group 1 or Group 2’s intellectual endeavour ….”* Wikipedia contributors, “Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Data,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (accessed June 26, 2010).

Manifestation An example of an expression of a work – A paperback copy of a novel “Item in hand” – Scope of traditional cataloging describes a container and its contents FRBRization groups manifestations of a work – Gathers and organizes the contents of a work expressed and manifested in multiple containers, sometimes even providing access to a work’s contents

POW! Super works Evolving FRBR concept – Super record? – Super display? Provides database users with faceted search results – A single work can be sub-grouped and accessed by container, date, creator, language … Serves as a foundation for relevancy ranking – The more complex and nuanced a work’s bibliographic existence, the higher its relevance

FRBR and relevancy Descriptive data—authors, titles, subjects— can be broken apart and reassembled in a FRBRized environment – Relationships between data are more dynamic Relevancy becomes a function of identifying relationships between different pieces of data created when a user utilizes the metadata maintained in a FRBRized system