Terms and conditions … libraries, subject terminologies and the web Lorcan Dempsey VP Research OCLC Opening keynote, Dewey EPC meeting, March 16, 2004

My qualifications to speak on this topic …

Overview

Focus on the environmental conditions in which terms are used –Prelude … –Collections and … –Digital libraries and … –Finally …

Prelude

Burn the catalog Electronic catalogs, wherever you go in the academic world, have become a horrible crazy-quilt assemblage of incompatible interfaces and vendor-constrained listings. Working through […] a relatively small collection, you still have to navigate at least five completely different interfaces for searching. Historical epochs of data collection and cataloguing lie indigestibly atop one another. Tim Burke, Swarthmore Im to the point where I think wed be better off to just utterly erase our existing academic catalogs and forget about backwards- compatibility, lock all the vendors and librarians and scholars together in a room, and make them hammer out electronic research tools that are Amazon-plus, Amazon without the intent to sell books but with the intent of guiding users of all kinds to the books and articles and materials that they ought to find, a catalog that is a partner rather than an obstacle in the making and tracking of knowledge. Tim Burke, Swarthmore

So … We need to find better ways –of leveraging the accumulated library investment in knowledge organization systems –of demonstrating their value –and of releasing their value in a web environment. (OCLC Research activities)

Collections

Collections grid highlow high stewardship uniqueness Books Journals Newspapers Gov. docs CD, DVD Maps Scores Special collections Rare books Local/Historical newspapers Local history materials Archives & Manuscripts, Theses & dissertations Research and learning materials ePrints/tech reports Learning objects Courseware E-portfolios Research data Freely-accessible web resources Open source software Newsgroup archives

learning materials, courseware Digital assets Learning objects Content packages E-portfolio Courses Increase in number of courses which use course management systems Change Carnegie Mellon University* % Denison University* % [i][i] * Information Technology and Libraries, June 2003 (p. 80). * personal communication, Scott Siddal

oclc taskforce on elearning Diffusion of information skills and use through the learning process Life cycle management of learning materials Systems interaction between library and learning management systems Picture courtesy Dan Rehak, Carnegie Mellon University

What is going on? Many different controlled and local vocabularies Interest in place, time, audience, coverage Many different controlled and local vocabularies Interest in place, time, audience, coverage Small number of established universal schemes. Many well developed disciplinary resources. Small number of established universal schemes. Many well developed disciplinary resources. Many different controlled and vernacular vocabularies Interest in place, time, audience, coverage, … Emerging interest in SW/ontologies, … New development communities … Many different controlled and vernacular vocabularies Interest in place, time, audience, coverage, … Emerging interest in SW/ontologies, … New development communities … A great variety …

Collection directions Books Journals Special collections Freely-accessible web resources Research and learning materials highlow high stewardship uniqueness ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

So.. Questions –Warrant –Functional requirements of a general classification system in new environment? Becoming more important: –Mappings –Local control of display and hierarchy for particular user communities –Data distribution –Machine- processable

Digital libraries and the web

Interconnected library environment More complex library systems environment –ILS, portal, resource sharing, resolver, digital asset management, … More complex institutional systems environment –Learning management system, university portal, local government portal, … Growing use of shared services –Directory, identity management, trust management, …

A library portal example Common services Content services Application services Presentation services The User Im looking for something through my librarys portal.

Common services Content services Application services Presentation services The User authentication Im looking for something through my librarys portal.

Common services Content services Application services Presentation services The User Directory: user profile Im looking for something through my librarys portal.

Common services Content services Application services Presentation services The User Query broker Im looking for something through my librarys portal.

Common services Content services Application services Presentation services The User Directory: service description Im looking for something through my librarys portal.

Wow! I should be able to find what I need in this results list. Common services Content services Application services Presentation services The User Content: results list

Id like to get this book. Common services Content services Application services Presentation services The User Request broker

Id like to get this book. Common services Content services Application services Presentation services The User Directory: ILL policy

Id like to get this book. Common services Content services Application services Presentation services The User Directory: service description

Id like to get this book. Common services Content services Application services Presentation services The User Content: circ/ILL system

I need this article too. Common services Content services Application services Presentation services The User Request broker

I need this article too. Common services Content services Application services Presentation services The User openURL resolver

I need this article too. Common services Content services Application services Presentation services The User Directory: local knowledge base

I need this article too. Common services Content services Application services Presentation services The User Directory: service description

I need this article too. Common services Content services Application services Presentation services The User Content: article

Directory: ILL policy Subject attributes Common services Content services Application services Presentation services The User Authentication Directory: user profile Query broker Directory: service description Catalog Request broker Circ/ILL system OpenURL resolver Directory: local knowledge base Article db Terminology service Subject Digital assets

Some other examples Query routing (e.g. QuestionPoint) Document routing (e.g e-prints UK)

So … Libraries need to manage many types of objects – some of which have subject attributes We will increasingly treat vocabularies and terms as resources in their own right Workflow integration becomes more important – services need to be available where they are needed –Metadata creation –Searching … –Data exchange and terminology services

Manage many objects … Then: –information assets were primary objects of interest. –Subjects, etc, were seen as attributes of assets. –Systems built to reflect this. Now: –We manage multiple objects, their representations and relationships: Assets –Works; manifestations; copies Rights Collections Services Terms –Concepts –Names –Places Users …

Data assets 1.Objects 2.Collections 3.Services 4.Terms 5.Users 6.Institutions 7.Rights 8.Schemes 9.Rules 10.Version Control 11.Queries Web services Digital library objects! Place, person, subject, genre, …

Terms are resources Webulated –URI for concepts, … –Concepts are citable –Build services on top of this –Vocabulary may be manifest through several services E.g. URI for a Dewey number Info:ddc/22/eng// Example services –Mappings –Caption, etc –Navigate hierarchy –Validation –Given a concept, return Authors ISBNs …

Integrate with workflow Multiple editing environments Multiple searching environments … Growing interest in distribution of data –Protocol access –Data exchange

Data assets data services Application services Web services Examples: Discovery environment Editing environment e.g Dspace Name authority service KOS service Object metadata repository Validate Automatic class. Navigation Exchange Mapping

The past is another country.. Need to think differently – using terminologies as resources in a distributed network environment calls forward different way of thinking –Making functionality available within multiple workflows –Available through human and machine interfaces

So.. Questions –Warrant –Functional requirements of a general classification system in new environment? Becoming more important: –Mappings –Local control of display and hierarchy for particular user communities –Machine-processable –Data distribution –Webulated –A suite of terminology services

Thank you,