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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Guidance from user’s query to remote system’s vocabulary

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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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Prototype “4W” search interface

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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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Potentially related period?

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Mostly in India 16th-18th century

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Find out more about this area.

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Different Browsing Options!

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Zooming in to South Asia

Restricting time frame

Select

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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

buckland@ischool.berkeley.edu

Understanding means knowing context.