Context and Prosopography: Putting the 'Archives' Into LOD-LAM Corey A Harper SAA 2012 - MDOR 2012-08-08

Context and Prosopography: Putting the 'Archives' Into LOD-LAM

Corey A Harper

SAA 2012 - MDOR

2012-08-08

2012-08-08 Harper - SAA - Metadata and Digital Object Roundtable 2

Publish Publish Publish!

http://www.ted.com/talks/tim_berners_lee_on_the_next_web.html









Linked Open Data

• Use URIs as names for things

• Use HTTP URIs so that people can look up those names.

• When someone looks up a URI, provide useful information.

• Include links to other URIs. so that they can discover more things.

http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/LinkedData.html


Linked Data

• Metadata as a Graph

• Typed “things”, named by URIs

• The relationships between those things, also built on URIs

• Ease of integration *across* data sources – “merging graphs”


Examples


Remodel to link


And Link to Other Descriptions


Semantic Web Terminology

• Resource: Any “thing”• Class: Abstraction of a type of thing• Individual: An instance of a class• Property: An attribute of an individual• Statement/Triple:

A Resource (subject) A Property (predicate / verb) A Value (object) - Nodes

• Graph: Visual Representation of statements• Ontology: A domain specific collection of

classes and properties


Semantic Web Terminology

• Nodes: The Subjects and Objects in a Graph• Arcs: The Predicates in a Graph• Domains and Ranges: Constraints on Nodes

Domain: What things can be subjects Range: What things (or strings) can be objects

• Literals: Values as strings rather than things• Named Graphs: Graphs with URIs treated as

nodes.


Open & Closed World Assumptions

• Closed World - Metadata patterns known, semantics implicit

• Open World - Continual integration of heterogeneous metadata Requires Self-Describing Data Linked Data Principles come in big here

http://www.w3.org/2001/tag/doc/selfDescribingDocuments




Library Systems are *Closed* World!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomgehrke/6950344619/







Most Metadata *systems* are closed world

• Libraries, Archives, Museums• Publisher provided data• Other scholarly systems:

Even Open Access ones (OA != OW)

• Search Interfaces (even Google!)

• You manage what you have, and generally manage a closed set of metadata


Social Networks of Archival Context

Image From: http://inkdroid.org/journal/2010/08/12/archival-context-on-the-web/

http://inkdroid.org/journal/2010/08/12/archival-context-on-the-web/




Linking Lives – Screenshots from P. Johnston


Linking Lives – Screenshots from P. Johnston


So back to my title…

Prosopography

The study of an aggregate group based on systematic biographical study of

individuals

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopography

http://prosopography.modhist.ox.ac.uk/course_syllabuses.htm
















Context

Narrative

Story telling

The archive’s story, but also…


Users’ stories

Adding context through recombinant metadata


• Distributed information ecosystem Linking Data Focus on identification over description

• Create navigable, browsable information landscapes

• Relationships between resources weave context & enrich user experiences


Thanks!

[email protected]

212.998.2479

@chrpr

Questions?

mailto:[email protected]