Incorporating Historical and Geographical Dimensions into a Search Interface Michael Buckland Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative University of California, Berkeley Association of American geographers San Francisco, CA 17 April 2007
Dec 22, 2015
Incorporating Historical and Geographical Dimensions into
a Search Interface
Michael Buckland Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative
University of California, Berkeley
Association of American geographers
San Francisco, CA 17 April 2007
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Acknowledgements
Summarizes work done by and with Kim Carl, Fredric Gey, Ray Larson, Vivien Petras, Jeanette Zerneke and others.
Supported by the [Federal] Institute of Museum and Library Services.
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Support the Learner: What, Where, When and WhoSupported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services
Five ideas . . .
1. Understanding requires knowing context.
2. Using internet resources should be as easy as using a library reference collection.
3. Find context of any museum object, document, or performance: What is related to it: what it is, where it came from, when it originated, and who associated with it?
4. WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and WHO as a useful structure.
5. Make better use of existing descriptive metadata.
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Any document, object, performance or query
Any resource:Audio, Images, Texts, Numeric data, Objects, Virtual reality, Webpages
Any catalog: Archives, Libraries, Museums, TV, Publishers
Connect it with its context – and other resources.
Facet Vocabulary Displays
WHAT Thesaurus Cross- e.g. LCSH references
WHERE Gazetteer Map
WHEN Period directory Timeline
WHO Biograph. dict. Interpersonal
e.g. Who’s Who relationships
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Linking portal with resources
Local: Relational database - - Generates pages dynamically - - Search term recommender system - - Vocabulary mapping tables - - Library of maps
Remote: - - “Federated” search e.g. Z39.50 - - Structured URLs
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WHAT Subject headings Cross-references within and between indexes
LCSH: Kung fu films see Martial Arts filmsPreviously Hand-to-hand fighting, oriental, in motion pictures
Automobile: - PASS MOT VEH, SPARK IGN ENG (U.S. Import/Export statistics) - TL 205 (Library of Congress Classification) - 180/280 (US Patent classification) - 3711 (Standard Industrial Classification)
Computer: HS 847120 Digital auto data proc mach contng in the same housing a CPU and input & output device.”(International Harmonized Commodity Classification System).
NEED TO MAP TO & BETWEEN UNFAMILIAR VOCABULARIES
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But language evolves differently in different social groups.
Different words for the same thing
… or the same word for different things . . .
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“Cardiac arrest” A single topic, but different specialists don’t want same literature! So how to select differently?
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Linking vocabularies WHAT, WHERE, WHEN
Library subject headingsTopic – Geographic subdivision – Chronological subdivision
Place name gazetteer:Place name – Type – Spatial markers (Lat & long) – When
Time Period DirectoryPeriod name – Type – Time markers (Calendar) – Where
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Mapping diverse vocabularies“Feature types” to “Subject Headings”
National Geospatial Intelligence Agency Geographic Description Codes: -- 600+ types of physical object, e.g. School, Plateau, Dike
Library of Congress Subject Headings: >100,000 topics and combinations to form complex topics
Most GDC have comparable LCSH, ordinarily in plural. - GDC School = LCSH School buildings. LCSH School means an institution. - Ambiguity of Farm, Plantation, &c. physical / institution. - 38% LCSH same, usually plural; 61% match incl variant spellings & synonyms; 22% boader; 4% narrower; 12% problematic. - GDC weak on historic features, e.g. Ancient site. - Object / topic issues: North Dakota – Antiquities.
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Linking vocabularies WHAT, WHERE, WHEN
Library subject headingsTopic – Geographic subdivision – Chronological subdivision
Place name gazetteer:Place name – Type – Spatial markers (Lat & long) – When
Time Period DirectoryPeriod name – Type – Time markers (Calendar) – Where
Now re-align the WHAT, WHERE, and WHEN . . .
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Well-developed facet indexes include other facets.What Where When Who
WHAT (LCSH) A A A A
WHERE (Place Gazet.) M M M -
WHEN (Period dir.) M M M -
WHO (Biogr dict.) M M M MM = Mandatory; A = If Applicable
Need vertical interoperability between vocabularies, e.g. for “What” topical mapping from NGA Gazetteer Geographic Description Code “Lthse” (Lighthouse) to LCSH “Lighthouses.” and place name interoperability for “Where.” Horizontal associations occur within records.
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Linking portal with resources
Local: Relational database - - Generates pages dynamically - - Search term recommender system - - Vocabulary mapping tables - - Library of maps
Remote: - - “Federated” search e.g. Z39.50 - - Structured URLs
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Use external search engine to forward query to remote resource
Interface: Herzl, Theodor, founder of Israel, lived most of his life in Austria, 1860 to 1904
CHESHIRE Z39.50 query to Library of Congress template:
https://sherlock.sims.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/CheshireZSearch.tcl?search=subject+______+______&target=lc&numwanted=20&format=html&recsyntax=marc
Insert namehttps://sherlock.sims.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/CheshireZSearch.tcl?search=subject+Herzl+Theodor&target=lc&numwanted=20&format=html&recsyntax=marc
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https://sherlock.sims.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/CheshireZSearch.tcl?search=subject+Herzl+Theodor&target=lc&numwanted=20&format=html&recsyntax=marc
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Structured URLs: templates for searching remote sitesWikipedia Template: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/_________
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor_Herzl
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Structured URLs: templates and cross-vocabulary mappings e.g. Metropolitan Museum of Art Time line Of Art History (TOAH)
11 time periods, 01-10, e.g.04 = 1,000 B.C. – 1 A.D.11 = 1900 A.D. – present
Geographical hierarchy (some variation by time period), e.g.ss = South & southeast Asia
ssa = South Asia (India, Himalayas,…)eu = Europe
euwcm = Austria, Germany, Switzerland
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/__/___/ht_____.htme.g. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/ssa/ht04ssa.htmhttp://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/11/euwcm/ht11euwcm.htm
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http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/__/___/ht_____.htm Insert s04 and ssa
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/ssa/ht04ssa.htm
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http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/__/___/ht_____.htm Insert 11 and euwcm http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/11/euwcm/ht11euwcm.htm
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Entry Vocabulary Index suggests correct LCSH with different spelling
Buttons for searchable resources & local catalogs
Search term recommender service for LC Subject Headings
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Potentially related people
Recommender service lists statistically associated Subject Headings
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Interface generates menu page General information about the country of India…
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General information about the country of India…
WikipediaCIA Factbook
BBC Ethnologue
Berkeley Natural History Museums
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Historical events – linked to Library catalog & Wikipedia : none avail. for this time period
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ECAI Cultural Atlases: presenting history in its geographical & chronological contexts
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The Electronic Cultural Atlas InitiativeAdvancing scholarship through increased
attention to place and time.http://ecai.org
Join us at our next ECAI conferences!Moscow, Russia, May 28-June 1
Berkeley, CA, Oct 17-20.Project website: ecai.org/imls2004The “4W” portal at: ecai.org/imls4WThe “4W California” portal at: ecai.org/imls4W
Understanding means knowing context.