1. Time Period Directories
Vivien Petras, Matt Meiske, Kim Carl,
& Michael Buckland
Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative
University of California, Berkeley
PNC / ECAI Joint Meeting, Hawaii, Nov. 2005

2. Time Period Directories. ASIST.
Background and Introduction
ECAI project: “Supporting the Learner: What, Where, When and Who” – ecai.org/imls2004
For WHAT we can use subject headings, classifications, etc.
WHERE was addressed on a prior project “Going Places in the Catalog: Improved Geographical Search” – ecai.org.imls2002
Recent work addressed WHEN, searching by time.
Future work will seek to improve access to biographies WHO.
Also how university teachers find resources for teaching.
12/8/2018
Time Period Directories. ASIST.

3. Time Period Directories. ASIST.
Geographical search
Ordinarily place names are used.
Place names are ambiguous, multiple, and unstable.
Solution: Use a gazetteer of place names in which each record is:
Place name – Type – Spatial references (lat. & long) – Time (When).
These data allow:
Control of ambiguity, multiplicity, and instability;
Map visualization
Interoperability with other tools, e.g. online library catalog.
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Time Period Directories. ASIST.

4. Time Period Directories. ASIST.
Search by time is also weakly supported.
Calendar systems are the standard for time but in speech and writing people use the names of events to refer to time periods.
Named time periods resemble place names in being:
Unstable: European War, Great War, First World War.
Multiple: Second World War, World War II, Great Patriotic War.
Ambiguous: “Civil war” in different centuries in England, USA, Spain.
As places have temporal aspects, periods have a geographical aspect: When the Stone Age was, varies by region.
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Time Period Directories. ASIST.

5. Time Period Directories. ASIST.
Similarity between place names and period names
Suggests similar solution: A gazetteer-like Time Period Directory.
Gazetteer:
Place name – Type – Spatial markers (Lat & long) -- When
Time Period Directory
Period name – Type – Chronological markers (Calendar) – Where
Note the symmetry.
Note the connections: Where and When.
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Time Period Directories. ASIST.

6. Time Period Directories. ASIST.
Time Period Directory – Major Components
Period ID
Period name
Descriptive notes
Dates
Period classification
Location
Related periods
Entry metadata
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Time Period Directories. ASIST.

7. Time Period Directories. ASIST.
Time Period Directory – Sample record (abridged)
<periodID>1811</periodID>
<periodName>
<name>War of Independence, </name>
<source>LCSH Authority ID: sh </source>
<dates>
<beginDate dateQualifier="exact"> 1285</beginDate>
<endDate dateQualifier="exact">1371</endDate>
<periodClassification>
<classificationTerm>Groups of People -- Period of Conflict </classificationTerm>
<location>
<locationName>Scotland</locationName>
<locationSchemeId>adlgaz </locationSchemeId>
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Time Period Directories. ASIST.

8. Time Period Directories. ASIST.
Web Interface - Access by country / US state / world city
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Time Period Directories. ASIST.

9. Time Period Directories. ASIST.
Web Interface - Access by map
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Time Period Directories. ASIST.

10. Time Period Directories. ASIST.
Web Interface - Access by timeline
Link initiates search of
Library of Congress catalog
for all records relating to this
time period.
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Time Period Directories. ASIST.

11. Time Period Directories. ASIST.
Connections – 1: WHAT.
These named time periods are derived from Library of Congress catalog subject headings and so can be used for catalog searching which finds books on topics relevant to that time period.
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Time Period Directories. ASIST.

12. Time Period Directories. ASIST.
Connections – 2: WHERE.
Time period directory records have a geographical field that can contain a place name or a reference to a gazetteer entry.
Example:
War of Independence,
<location>
<locationName>Scotland</locationName>
<locationSchemeId>adlgaz </locationSchemeId>
<locationScheme>
<schemeName>ADL Gazetteer</schemeName>
<schemeVersion>3.2</schemeVersion>
<source>
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Time Period Directories. ASIST.

13. Time Period Directories. ASIST.
Connections – 3: WHO.
Catalog records found from a time period search commonly include names of persons important at that time. Their names can be forwarded to, e.g., biographies in the Wikipedia encyclopedia.
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Time Period Directories. ASIST.

14. Time Period Directories. ASIST.
Issues, challenges and further agenda
Some periods, like some places, have uncertain boundaries.
Cultural terms, e.g. Baroque, Renaissance, are ambiguous referring to a period and/or to a style.
Need more standards (e.g. for personal names), protocols (for time period directory servers), and best practices.
More content: Additional time period directories.
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Time Period Directories. ASIST.

15. Time Period Directories. ASIST.
Acknowledgment:
This work was partially supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through a National Leadership Grant for Libraries, award number LG , Oct Sept 2006.
For more information
Contact Michael Buckland
Ray Larson
12/8/2018
Time Period Directories. ASIST.