the gnm-dms a document management system for the germanische nationalmuseum

The GNM-DMSThe GNM-DMS a Document Management System a Document Management Systemfor the Germanische Nationalmuseumfor the Germanische Nationalmuseum

Martin Doerr, ICS-Forth

Siegfried Krause, GNM

April 2004

Centre for Cultural Informatics, ICS - FORTH - Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nuremberg 2

GNM-DMS, the IdeaGNM-DMS, the Idea

Breaking up Rigid Structures:(The GNM is a heterogeneous research organization, not an object

administrator, with 15 departments, 1.5 million objects)

– Maintain object documentation as XML documents

– Reduce rigid database structures to minimum

– Increase flexibility for dedicated structures

– Apply a flexible approach to vocabulary control– Consistency enforcement, without imposing workflow, requires very

careful analysis and algorithms

Integrating the Past and the Future:– Retrospective documentation– System migration – Digital preservation are integral part of the concept

Deliberately slow development for extensive field tests


GNM-DMS, current stage:GNM-DMS, current stage:

Object documentation integrated with object entry, in use at client site

– revised version in daily use since one year.

– Registrar’s office, research departments (collections) with multiple XML-DTDs

– Vocabulary control: mandatory, open list of terms and scope notes. Retrospective documentation

Object move, loan in/out, accession,de-accession, photographic documentation

– System migration, digital preservation are integral part of the concept

– Monitoring, rather than imposing work-flow

– Prototype tested at user site


Museum DMS PurposeMuseum DMS Purpose

Capture all facets of the knowledge about the museum objects, providing consistency and integrity control of objects, documents and referred concepts

Administrational tasks (functions)– Accession, Document Initialization– Loan-In, Loan-Out, Movement (Location tracking)

Scientific tasks (functions)– Inventory document management (collective objects, merge, split,

change of inventory number, retrospective documentation)

– Documentation phase • Relations between objects• Semantic linking of objects and other documents• Search - retrieve• Use of Thesaurus (person, place, period, object type)

– Electronic publishing


iFS: DocumentiFS: DocumentRepositoryRepository

Master Catalogue:Master Catalogue:Document IndexDocument Index

OracleOracle

FTP ProtocolFTP Protocol

Document Document InitializationInitialization

AccessionAccession

Document Document SearchSearch

Object RelationsObject Relations

ThesaurusThesaurus

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UploadUploadDownloadDownload

Client sideClient side Server sideServer side

WEB BrowserWEB Browser

XML Document EditorXML Document Editor


ThesaurusThesaurus

Master CatalogueMaster Catalogue

Identification Identification partpart

ScientificScientificpartpart

AdministrationAdministrationpartpart

XML DocumentsXML Documents

Semantic Semantic relationsrelations

Consistency Consistency relationsrelations

Dept.1Dept.1

Dept.2Dept.2

Dept.3Dept.3

<Accession> <Accession> … …..</Accession></Accession><Loan><Loan> … …..</Loan></Loan>

<?xml version=“1.0”><?xml version=“1.0”>


Documentation facetsDocumentation facets Scientific part

– Object type, object title, object history, subject depicted, material and technique, mark and inscription etc.

Administration part– Accession, location, de-accession, loan in, loan out

Identification part– Object related: Inventory number, accession number, department

– Document related: document identifier, version, author

– Registrar’s information: core documentation for administration purposes


Consistency and Integrity controlConsistency and Integrity control Thesaurus: museum knowledge

– Person

– Place

– Period

– Object type

Master catalogue: consistency and integrity control mechanism– Museum object

– XML documents

– Correlations


GNM-DMS, functional modulesGNM-DMS, functional modules Document administration module

– Creation and maintenance of documents stored in the Internet File System (iFS)– Interaction with document repository– Generation of inventory numbers

– File access: document retrieval, store update, lock, unlock.

Correlation and consistency management module– Ensures coherent correlation between identification identifiers of museum objects

(accession number, inventory number)– Maintains the amendment history of information (old inventory numbers)– Ensures consistent update of master-catalogue and the identification information

stored in inventory documents

Search module– Retrieval of inventory documents – Access to both administrational and scientific information– Support of full text search and text retrieval on specified tags of the XML

inventory documents


GNM-DMS, User InterfaceGNM-DMS, User Interface

User Interface design: two level approach – Administrational information handling: Web browser user interface

guides the document management• Registrar’s office interface (provides access to all the necessary

administrational information, exclusively managed by the registrar’s office)

• Department curator interface (provides access to all the necessary scientific information, managed by the dept. curator)

– Object documentation: Customized XML editor guides and simplifies the documentation process

System Administrator Interface


GNM-DMS, Web browser UIGNM-DMS, Web browser UI

Banner Banner

List of List of Work Work areasareas

ToolbarToolbar

List of documentsList of documents


GNM-DMS, XML EditorGNM-DMS, XML Editor Customized Customized menu menu

Edit the selected Edit the selected information unitinformation unit

Automatic insertion of Automatic insertion of inventory document inventory document

information unitsinformation units


GNM-DMS, Critical AlgorithmsGNM-DMS, Critical Algorithms

Inventory number changes for Retro inventory documents

Inventory splitting – merging issues


Inventory number changes for Retro Inventory number changes for Retro inventory documentsinventory documents

During the transcription of paper-based information: two different objects may refer to the same identification number (conflict cases)

GNM-DMS: can recognize all conflict cases and provides means to solve them

Describing the problem: two states, two museum objects

paperpaper

GNM-DMSGNM-DMS

object Aobject A object Bobject B


True conflict caseTrue conflict case

paperpaper

GNM-DMSGNM-DMS


X1

X1

X1

X1

Conflict

Conflict

System response:System response:Save X1 to other-

numbers and assign system generated inv#

to identify object B

paperpaper

GNM-DMSGNM-DMS


X1

X1

X1

Sys-Inv#X1

Querying the Querying the object with old object with old identification identification information is information is

retainedretained


Typing mistake in databaseTyping mistake in database

paperpaper

GNM-DMSGNM-DMS


X1

X2

X2

X2

conflict

conflict

paperpaper

GNM-DMSGNM-DMS


X1

X2

X2

paperpaper

GNM-DMSGNM-DMS


X1 X2

Sys-Inv#X2

paperpaper

GNM-DMSGNM-DMS


X1

X1

X2

X2 X1

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correct s

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correct s

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Sys-Inv#X2

mistake

mistake


Merge – Split IssuesMerge – Split Issues

A lot of time after an object’s acquisition, causes of considering the object as two (or more) different ones, may be raised.

One the other, research can prove that two (or more objects) should have been considered as one.

System keeps track of the objects merge – split history:– providing a rollback channel in case of new research results,

– considering that an extracted object may belong to a new collection,

– considering that a lot of the info of the extracted/merged document, already exists in the system,

– strictly storing all the numbers under which material may have been referred in GNM-DMS.


Split AlgorithmSplit Algorithm

Split of inventory document with Number Glf20001Glf20001

“Parent” inventory document retains its number

XML Ref: “has extracted”XML Ref: “has extracted”XML Ref: “extracted from”XML Ref: “extracted from”

Old Number (due to Split)Glf20001Glf20001

New inventory documentproduced with number Glf20045Glf20045


Merge AlgorithmMerge Algorithm… to inventory document with Number Glf20001 Glf20001 …

Invalid and Read-Only documentwith number Glf20076Glf20076

Invalid and Read-Only documentwith number Glf20076Glf20076

Old Number (due to Merge) Glf20001Glf20001

Merge inventory documentwith Number Glf20076 Glf20076 …


Split – Merge ExampleSplit – Merge Example

Inv. Number Inv. Number Glf20005Glf20005


Pool of InvalidPool of InvalidDocumentsDocuments


Old Numbers Old Numbers Glf20005 (Merge)Glf20005 (Merge)



Old Numbers Old Numbers Glf20005 (Merge)Glf20005 (Merge) Glf20006 (Merge)Glf20006 (Merge)



Old Numbers Old Numbers Glf20005 (Merge)Glf20005 (Merge) Glf20006 (Merge) Glf20006 (Merge) Glf20007 (Merge)Glf20007 (Merge)

Inv. Number Inv. Number Glf20005 Glf20005

Old Numbers Old Numbers Glf20006 (Merge) Glf20006 (Merge) Glf20007 (Merge) Glf20007 (Merge) Glf20032 (Split)Glf20032 (Split)??

??



??

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Pool of InvalidPool of InvalidDocumentsDocuments


From:From:10/10/200010/10/2000

To:To:08/11/200008/11/2000

To:To:02/02/200102/02/2001

From:From:08/11/200008/11/2000

Split – Merge ExampleSplit – Merge ExampleValidation Date:Validation Date:

10/10/200010/10/2000

Merge Date:Merge Date:08/11/200008/11/2000

Split Date:Split Date:02/02/200102/02/2001



… … … … … …

Inv. Number Inv. Number Glf20005 Glf20005

Old Numbers Old Numbers Glf20006 (Merge) Glf20006 (Merge) Glf20007 (Merge) Glf20007 (Merge) Glf20032 (Split)Glf20032 (Split)



????

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Old Numbers Old Numbers Glf20005 (Merge)Glf20005 (Merge)




Critical AlgorithmsCritical Algorithms

…Complete analysis implemented and documented …


ConclusionsConclusions The object documentation as documents satisfies

the curators, helps digital preservation and reduces the development cost

Report writing and precise queries become more complex, whereas information retrieval becomes very simple

The use of leading edge technology, particularly XML WYSIWYG editors, requires flexibility from developers and clients – though technology stabilizes rapidly

Respect of the local organization culture is a key to success