Transcript Document

The Two Worlds of FRBR
And the Best of Both Worlds
October 9, 2008
Dr. Vinod Chachra, President & CEO
VTLS Inc. Blacksburg, VA, USA
VTLS HQ in Blacksburg, VA, USA
About VTLS Inc.
First spin-off corporation from Virginia Tech (VT) - Virginia’s
largest University – home of System X - 3rd fastest
Supercomputer in the world when built from 1100 PCs
purchased off the web. Total cost under $5M.
Vinod Chachra served as VP for Information Tech at VT.
VTLS has offices in 7 countries; does business in 40.
VTLS has three major product lines
 Virtua – Alexandria Egypt; many National Libraries
 VITAL – Fedora based Institutional Repository – developed in
partnership with the Australian ARROW project.
 VTRAX – RFID based tracking & security systems for libraries
VTLS is a Worldwide Company
Partner or Office* Locations
Australia*
Brazil*
Brunei
Egypt
France
Greece
India*
Kuwait
Malaysia*
Philippines
Russia
Slovakia
Spain – European HQ*
Switzerland*
Tunisia
Taiwan
Thailand
UAE
USA*
Select Customers: National Libraries
Europe:
National Library of Switzerland
Europe:
National Library of Wales
Europe:
National Library of Ireland
Europe:
Royal Library of Belgium
Europe:
National Library of Slovakia
Europe:
National Union catalog of Poland
Africa:
Library of Alexandria (Egypt)
Africa:
Notional Library of Morocco
Asia:
National Library of India
Asia:
National Library of Indonesia
Asia:
National Library of Malaysia
Union Catalogs (regional) of Catalan and Switzerland
FRBR Link Types: Group 1
Work
Work
WW
W
E
E
W
Expression
E
M
M
E
Manifestation
M
I
I
M
Item
FRBR Link Types: Group 2
Responsibility Relationships
Work
Expression
C
r
e
a
t
e
d
b
y
Manifestation
R
e
a
l
i
z
e
d
P
r
o
d
u
c
e
d
b
y
Person
b
y
/
Corporate Body
Item
O
w
n
e
d
b
y
A little History – Back in June/July 2003.
Navigating FRBR with Virtua
Vinod Chachra
& John Espley
ALA/CLA, Toronto: Sunday, June 21 2003
AALL, Seattle: Sunday, July 13, 2003
VTLS shared 11 educational Power Points
 All 11 Power Points produced in 2003 were provided freely
on the VTLS web site as an educational tool
 Several Library schools used these power points to teach
students on the details of FRBR with concrete examples
 The examples covered the following topics
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A FRBR demonstration
(FRBR1)
FRBR Cataloging
(FRBR2)
FRBR OPAC
(FRBR3)
FRBR Work to Work Links
(FRBR4)
FRBR Multi Volume Sets
(FRBR5)
FRBR series
(FRBR6)
FRBR Collected and Selected Publications (FRBR7)
FRBR Music Analytics
(FRBR8)
FRBR Journal Indexing
(FRBR9)
FRBR Super Works
(FRBR10)
FRBR Circulation Requests
(FRBR11)
VTLS purchased LC Music Database
 As a demonstration project, VTLS purchased the LC music
database and FRBRized it to show the power and utility of
FRBR. VTLS provided this free to the public for a period of
time.
Present status of VTLS FRBR
 In the last five years VTLS has sold only about 20 contracts
for FRBR.
 The view in the library community seems to be that FRBR is
still an experimental idea (wrong!) with an unknown future
(wrong again!).
Nevertheless, this is preventing rapid deployment of
systems.
Recent Important Additions
VTLS recently developed FRBR SaaS (Software as a Service)
VTLS extended FRBR concept to create an Archival System
Two World Views of FRBR
There are two world views on FRBR
First View: The catalog should contain the “flat”records
(as they are now) and these records should be FRBRized
on the fly for display purposes.
Second View: The catalog should contain separate
record of works, expressions, manifestations and items that
are linked together by appropriate linking fields to form a
“hierarchy” of linked records.
Strengths of First View
First View: The catalog should contain the “flat”records (as they are
now) and these records should be FRBRized on the fly for display
purposes.
 It is simple to implement – does not require any changes to
present cataloging practices and therefore it is easier to sell.
 Requires no change in ILS data base structures as the
record is only collocated on display.
 As FRBR display management algorithms improve, no
change in data is required to improve the display
Weaknesses of First View
 The hierarchical results are built on the fly. Display
algorithms have to be perfect as there is no possibility of
intellectual intervention by humans to improve the displayed
result sets. No advantages are gained in cataloging
 No possibility of making requests (Holds, ILLs)
At the work level (eg: user is willing to accept any
expression of the work in any language) OR
At expression level (eg: user is will accept any edition of
the work in the language of choice). At present Holds and
ILLs are placed at the manifestation level.
 Multiple calculations – each time a FRBR record is displayed
it has to be re-assembled from flat records.
 Reverse tree displays are not easily possible
Strengths of Second View
Second View: The catalog should contain separate record of works,
expressions, manifestations and items that are linked together by
appropriate linking fields to form a “hierarchy” of linked records.
 The record system matches the FRBR model
 Substantial productivity improvements in cataloging
 Fewer errors -- as data related to works and expressions are
not repeated at lower levels
 Since the data at each level can be manually changed if
needed, improvements are possible by human intervention
(eg: handling spelling and language variations)
 Holds/ILLs can be placed at three levels instead of just one.
 Reverse trees can be easily displayed.
 Many other creative things are possible (The example of
Archival Systems being used at National Library of Wales).
Weaknesses of Second View
 Requires change in record structure to support linked
records
 Harder for initial implementation (see new ideas on this)
 Requires catalogers to be retrained
 Task can be reduced by better software
 See VTLS cataloging work-forms for each level
 See VTLS validation routines for each level
 Requires “inertia” of existing implementations to be
overcome
Views expressed by LOC and others

A recent report published by the Library of Congress called
“On the record” states: LC and the library community need
to find ways of “releasing the value” of their rich historic
investment in semantic data onto the Web.
 Tomothy Dickey (OCLC) in the article “FRBRization of a
Library Catalog” states: “VTLS, on the other hand, has
since 2004 offered a complete product that has the
potential of modifying existing MARC records – via local
linking tags in 001 and 004 fields – to create FRBR
relationships… The VTLS solution of adding local linking
tags seems most appropriate…The Virtua module from
VTLS offers a very tempting solution, but may require a
change of vendors”. Not really … see VTLS FRBR SAAS.
The Best of Both Worlds (Short Term)
FRBR SAAS (Software as a Service)
 Allows library to keep their catalogs as they are
 Allows users to see FRBR record from any traditional record
 Allows clean and complete navigation between the
traditional and FRBR record
 Simple, no hassle solution
Recommended Implementation Options
 Best Solution -- Implement a full FRBR solution
 See what UCL has done (next presentation)
 See other FRBR examples
 Second Best Solution – Use FRBR SAAS
 Simple implementation
 Quick results
 Over time move to first solution
 Bad Solution – Ignore the whole issue
FRBR Cataloging Implementation
VTLS FRBR Features
 Single database can have FRBR and non-FRBR
records
 Display of FRBR records are in tree structure
 System is “aware” of record type and changes
displays as needed
 Local level fields have values of W, E, and M to
indicate type of FRBR record
 001 and 004 used as linking tags
FRBR Cataloging
Creating an Original Record
Use FRBR work forms
VTLS provides three default work forms
 Frbrwork.wfm
 Frbrexpr.wfm
 Frbrmanifest.wfm
Users can create their own work forms
In traditional cataloging the focus is on cataloging the
manifestation as material on hand is the manifestation
 VTLS is studying the cataloging practices to see if this
remains true for FRBR
Load Options Method
 Bring record into editor
 Change profile to “split record”
 Save record
 Virtua automatically creates three records – W, E
and M records from the one original record
 The next example (Rowling) shows the process
Duplicate Control
When creating FRBR records from traditional
bibliographic records, you need duplicate control
and merge functions for Works and Expressions
Duplicate Control
The FRBRization
of the French
record resulted
in adding an
expression (for
the French) to
the already
existing Work
record.
Adding Expressions or Manifestations
 Bring up Work record (or Expression record)
 Right Click
 Select “Create Expression Record” (or select
“Create Manifestation Record”)
 Example follows
Rules Based Validation
 Procedure for MARC “content designation”
validation of Work, Expression, and Manifestation
records is same as validating non-FRBR records
 Three new validation files for FRBR with new rules”
 Rules can be modified by users by editing text file
 Examples follow
A FRBR SaaS Implementation
http://poseidon.vtls.com:8000/cgi-bin/gw_xyz/chameleon
FRBR SaaS Example [1 of 10 Search]
FRBR SaaS Example [2 of 10 Display]
FRBR SaaS Example [3 of 10 Select]
FRBR SaaS Catalog [4 of 10 Tree]
FRBR SaaS [5 of 10 Expand Tree]
FRBR SaaS Example [6 of 10 Navigate]
A FRBR Reverse Tree
FRBR Reverse Tree Example
Reverse Tree (M to E to W)
Advanced Navigation
From tree to tree
From tree to tree to tree
… to tree to tree (Monkey Business)
A FRBR Archival System
Archives Management - Background
Archival management functionality in Virtua was a result of
functional enhancement to Virtua for the National Library
of Wales (NLW).
It was designed to allow NLW to preserve the content and
arrangement of their existing archival collection materials
and to maintain these collections in Virtua.
The functionality was first implemented in release 48 of
Virtua and carried over to Release 49. In includes changes
to Virtua server, client and iPortal.
Archives Management - Background
Archival cataloguing differs from bibliographic cataloguing
because archives, unlike most printed material, cannot be
described in isolation.
An archive is, therefore, only fully understood only when
there is knowledge of both its content, and also, its
context. Content is generally understood through
description, but context can only be reflected through
arrangement.
Archival arrangement therefore involves the ordering of
material to reflect its context.
Archival arrangement is reflected in the cataloguing
through the use of a multilevel description system.
Archives Management - Background
Rules for multilevel description are laid down in
“ISAD(G) General International Standard Archival Description”.
It has 7 core levels:
Fonds
Sub-fonds
Sub-sub-fond
Series
Sub-series
Files
Items
Not all seven levels exist at all times.
Archives Management - Background
Archives Management - Background
Although the general rules describe 7 levels at present,
VTLS was interested in providing a more general solution.
The system takes into account the possibility that more
levels could be described in the future, so the
implementation had to be flexible to handle this possibility.
The features were also designed in such a flexible manner
so that other customers, who may wish to use the
functionality, but who did not wish to conform to the
seven level architecture could do so.
Cataloging Archival Material
Core foundation of cataloguing archival material is the
ability to link bibliographic records together in the system:
Cataloging Archival Material
Core foundation of cataloguing archival material is the
ability to link bibliographic records together in the system:
Cataloging Archival Material
Core foundation of cataloguing archival material is the
ability to link bibliographic records together in the system:
Cataloging Archival Material
A new 999 “Ancestry” tag defines the context of this
record in relation to the records above it:
Cataloging Archival Material
The parent id of each record is stored in the 004 tag
Three fields are stored: ParentID, sibling position, # levels
Cataloging Archival Material
004 tag stores the parent id, the position of the record in
relation to its siblings, and the number of levels between it
and its parent record (Ex: vtlsxxxx 2 2) :
Cataloging Archival Material – Functions
Change Order:
Cataloging Archival Material – Functions
Add/Remove
Levels:
Cataloging Archival Material – Functions
Print Record
Tree:
Searching Archival Material - iPortal
Accessing the
record tree:
Searching Archival Material - iPortal
The system
highlights the
title in the tree
that the user
launched the
record tree
from for easy
context:
Searching Archival Material - iPortal
New ability to
expand and/or
collapse the
tree
completely:
Searching Archival Material - iPortal
Expanded tree
highlights:
1. Gaps are
removed for
easier display
2. Tree can be
kept in a
scrollable area
to keep it in
context with
full card info
below
Searching Archival Material - iPortal
Accessing the
record tree
from a title
lower in the
tree:
Searching Archival Material Database
Database that includes archival records
193.61.220.19 -- version 49.1.6 -- port 9985
Access by Bibid
Parent Bib
4180743
4180747
4180747
4180743
4180754
4180747
4180747
4180754
4180740
4180747
4180747
Child Bib
4171275
4171266
4171267
4171276
4171283
4171268
4171269
4171282
4171258
4171271
4171270
Summary -- FRBR Benefits
For Librarians
 Collocation
 Better organization to catalog
 Easier cataloging
 Reduction in cataloging load
 Work only cataloged once for all expressions under it
 Expression only cataloged once for all manifestations under it
 Item cataloging (already simple) remains the same
Summary -- FRBR Benefits
 Easier to find information
 Single search retrieves all related materials even if
cataloged in different languages or different subject
headings
Greater Benefits For Users
 Collocation
 Easier to find information
 Single search retrieves all related materials
 Easier to see the different expressions of a single work
 Gives a better global picture
Summary -- FRBR Preparation
Library Task List
 Read FRBR documentation
 Study FRBR implementations to see benefits for library
 If there is interest, start a FRBR program
 Have VTLS run “Virtua FRBR Analysis Program” to
determine what percentage of database records are
good FRBR candidates
 General results: 5-15 % range
 Use ThingISBN or X-ISBN id appropriate
The future is even brighter
 Think about a discovery tools for FRBR
 Think about an automatic FRBR equivalent display for
 Copy cataloging
 Discovery
 Search expansion
 Collection management
 Think about a FRBR union catalog
 Think about a FRBR global union catalog
A Thought
Poor technology
fosters competition.
Great technology
promotes partnerships
Questions …