Concept Mapping and Semantic Richness in LIS

through

BIBFRAME Initiative

When a true researcher gets a problem, his primary aim will be to analyze it by gathering the available resources in various ways. Instead of quickly applying the tried and tested methods to solve the problem, he will surely map the ideas around it and analyze various relationships/scopes between those areas or reasons around the problem (by taking into consideration the current situation) and apply the appropriate technology to solve the problem effectively. SR Ranganathan utilized and explored the unknown features of Concept Mapping through his classification research. Concepts like semantic web, BIBFRAME, choice engines …etc all are beneficiaries of this technique. When we analyze any problem in that way we can always explore new, at least we can think before anyone else. Apples had always fallen down before Newton, even coconuts killed few people in its way down, but only Newton asked ‘why? ‘and it changed the world.

We need constant changes even if it is minute, it should inspire the world (Android is preferred over windows). Our syllabus (Indian) is not empowering us at full, to innovate practically in the information world, but in a scientific environment concept formation and its tabling is more important than its development. In that front I think we can be the best with the added advantage of a basic degree in particular subject.

So let us hope for the best.I have tried some mapping on the below topics with a better scope for furtherance. It is attached with this post. (Editing is always welcome)

MARC is a metadata transmission standard. MARC 21 formats are communication formats, primarily designed to represent and exchange bibliographic information between systems. So they are independent from the display and storage formats utilized by the individual participating systems. The institution responsible for MARC 21 record content, content designation and transcription accuracy related with bibliographic and authority data are identified at the record level in the fields

008/39 (Fixed length data Elements – Cataloguing source)

040 (Cataloguing source) with some exceptions.

MARC 21established by harmonizing US and Canadian MARC Formats, and UNIMARC. The actual content a cataloguer will place in each MARC field is usually governed and defined by AACR, LCSH,…etc. MARC 21 can use either of the two character sets , UNICODE encoded UTF-8 or MARC-8. MARC XML was developed by LC asa means of facilitating the sharing of, and networked access to bibliographic information.

BIBFRAME

BIBFRAME-Bibliographic Framework Initiative is an initiative by LC to integrate the wider information community data (ie web 2.0) to bibliographic description by maintaining the traditional and networked needs of Libraries. It is intended to expose and explore the new dimensions/relations among various information entities and thus replace MARC format which is considered much in depth to handle easily for the expected objectives. In addition it includes, accommodating different content models and cataloguing rules, exploring new methods of data entry and evaluating current exchange protocols. Apart from MARC, BIBFRAME tries to keep a balanced model in scope.

As you can clearly see in the concept map which I attached below, the information entity – annotation is a clear difference from the MARC format. BIBFRAME utilizes this entity’s scope to step into the larger web of data or we library professionals own web 3.0 or we can say an attempt to enrich the bibliographic data semantically. Instead of using the rigid frame for the record structure and the eventual ‘duplicating contents’ (which has wider scope outside the record), as both you can see in MARC; BIBFRAME utilizes the duplicating contents to establish various bridge relationships between records using technologies like Linked data and others. BIBFRAME’s controlled vocabulary, added with Resource Description and Access (RDA) is enabling it for this purpose. Persistent identifiers, namespaces are also in consideration by seeing the dynamic nature of web. Tools are already in development for the conversion from MARC to BIBFRAME format.

The technologies we elaborately written through our articles are coming for our everyday consumption. Hope we can also contribute. What do you think guys?

Google Effect

Semantic web or semantic search is all about meeting the needs of users by means of understanding his intent and what made him search at the current time. Google has already implemented semantic search through their Hummingbird algorithm. It provides users, their results based on the keyphrase search intent, interrelation between words in different contexts, geolocation, earlier search behavior…etc. So as to stay atop at search results the cataloguer/Librarian has to inculcate life into their traditional keywords. For that they have to frame phrases instead of keywords to give access or correct linking to the content which is widely spread in their Libraries. Since the content in our Libraries are not made primarily  by considering its web consumption; it is less tight or cunning on the subject, So it is going to be tough for the library researchers to establish an algorithm as easy as google.

BIBFRAME in this regard is a welcome step forward in another direction. But let us not forget that we are empowered with the open source or we can say the web 2.0 tools to make out for a Library 3.0. I think we can leverage our potential through crowd sourcing, collaborative filtering and tagging like features and facilities provided by our great minds.  For the web professionals content is going to be their target, with core quality and by gaining more authority they can unleash their power in future. But for Library professionals we are already at the forefront in content credibility and trustworthiness, what we need is technology and an outreach strategy to make our content-service more social.

I think semantic richness will help enable that, for a better future.

Subeesh A C

Pune.

Concept Mapping and Semantic Richness in LIS through BIBFRAME Initiative