Classification Research

64 Knowl. Org. 43(2016)No.1 Classification Research

Classification & Authority Control: Expanding Resource Discovery

Daniel Martínez-Ávila

São Paulo State University–UNESP, Department of Information Science, Av. Hygino Muzzi Filho, 737, São Paulo Marília Brazil (17525-900),

The fifth International UDC lary and context, and links and context, applied to classifi- Seminar, entitled “Classification & cation, linked data, its relations, and discovery tools. This Authority Control: Expanding paper aimed to complement Otlet’s view and to overcome Resource Discovery,” was held in some of the problems of standardized languages. The National Library of Portugal in Lisbon on 29-30 October 2015. The first session of the conference was “Past and Future This series of seminars is organ- Perspectives on Subject Data Assets,” chaired by Widad ized by the UDC Consortium to Mustafa El Hadi (ISKO France). The first paper of this advance research on bibliographic group was “Complementarity of Perspectives for Re- classifications and enable com- source Descriptions” by Barbara B. Tillett. She reviewed munication between developers and classification users, the some issues and experiences related to bibliographic data Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) in particular. This and the multiple perspectives of authority control (in- fifth edition of the UDC Seminars focused on using au- cluding name authorities and subject authority control). thority control, classification schemes, and linked data for a Tillett outlined the challenges of mapping subjects across better integration of knowledge and resource discovery. languages, mapping terminology across languages and The proceedings were edited by Aida Slavic and Maria Inês systems for concepts or topics, mapping terminologies Cordeiro (2015) and published by Ergon Verlag (also avail- across languages with multilingual thesauri, and even one- able for purchase at the UDDC website http://seminar. to-one mapping of terms within one language (due to re- udcc.org/2015/proceedings.php). This analysis follows the gional variations). The author discussed the possibilities order of the program. The slides and abstracts of those of considering the different perspectives to overcome invited talks that are not included in the proceedings were these problems. This approach was inspired by Marcia made available at the UDC Consortium website. Ascher’s “Ethnomathematics: a Multicultural View of Mathematical Edeas” (1994), where “different cultures The keynote address, “Classifications, Links and Contexts,” have different ways of counting and measuring things was presented by Michael K. Buckland, Professor Emeritus and none are ‘wrong.’” Tillett states that subject termi- at the School of Information, University of California, nology and classification numbers do not need to be Berkeley (USA). Buckland talked about contexts and the mapped across languages or systems as multiple numbers tension between standardized relationships (exemplified by can be assigned reflecting those multiple perspectives Paul Otlet’s modernist universalism, see 1934 and 1935, that, for not being unique, do not necessarily have to be and the Semantic Web), as well as the particular, subjective wrong. Finally, Tillett also discusses these aspects for the situations in which individuals try to make sense (exempli- context of linked data and the future, while calling for li- fied by Ludwik Fleck’s emphasis on the influence of local braries sharing globally what they do locally. The follow- cultural contexts, 1935). In other words, this is another ex- ing invited talk was given by Maria Inês Cordeiro, Direc- ample of tension “between the local and the global.” Buck- tor of the National Library of Portugal, and is entitled land discussed different approaches and key aspects of “Libraries, Classifications and the Network: Bridging Past Fleck’s thesis such as meaning, sense and context, vocabu- and Future.” In her presentation, Cordeiro revisited past

https://doi.org/10.5771/0943-7444-2016-1-64 Generiert durch IP '170.106.35.234', am 27.09.2021, 17:56:40. Das Erstellen und Weitergeben von Kopien dieses PDFs ist nicht zulässig. Knowl. Org. 43(2016)No.1 65 Classification Research milestones related to classification and subject vocabular- traditional library sources. Provided this, Ilik proposes the ies, and related them to present and future challenges of ideal solution of using VIVO, a Semantic Web discovery the Semantic Web, Linked Open Data, and beyond. The tool developed by Cornell University that connects re- last invited talk of this first session was “Linking Library searchers “across disciplines, institutions, geography and Data: Contributions and Role of Subject Data” by Nuno time” and uses a central VIVO Registry. More specifically, Freire, Chief Data Officer at The European Library at the author proposes the enhancement of name authority The Hague, Netherlands. This author outlined some of records by adding VIVO person URIs. the initiatives on Library Linked Data (LLD) and Linked Open Data (LOD) datasets of The European Library, as Closing the first day of the conference, two more papers well as spoke on the challenges of linking bibliographic were presented on the session “Authority Control Design subject data and classification. and Classification,” chaired by Claudio Gnoli (Italy). Da- gobert Soergel, University at Buffalo, and Denisa Popescu, The second session dealt with “Data Models and Seman- World Bank Group, presented a paper entitled “Organiza- tic Structures” and was chaired by Clément Arsenault tion Authority Database Design with Classification Princi- (Canada). The first invited talk for this session was given ples.” The authors provided a paper on the unified treat- by Maja Žumer, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and ment of all authority data (including subject authority con- Marcia Lei Zeng, Kent State University, USA, entitled trol/classification, places, events, persons, organizations, “Application of FRBR and FRSAD to Classification Sys- etc.), using as example the case of the World Bank Group tems.” A starting point for their paper is the possibility of (WBG) information system design. Following this, Ulf extension of the FRSAD conceptual model beyond con- Schöneberg and Wolfram Sperber, Leibniz-Insitut für In- trolled vocabularies (its original focus) to model classifi- formationinfrastruktur, zbMATH (Germany) presented a cation data. The paper uses the Dewey Decimal Classification paper entitled “Machine-Learning Methods for Classifica- and the Universal Decimal Classification as case studies tion and Content Authority Control in mathematics.” This to test the applicability of the FRSAD model for classifi- paper focused on the domain of mathematics, stating that cation data and the applicability of FRBR for modeling “until now publications are the most important resource versions, such as different adaptations and different lan- of mathematical knowledge and they are also the basis for guage editions. These applications are intended to be re- knowledge management in mathematics.” Following the viewed and approved in 2016. Aspects such as the differ- introduction, the paper covers a brief historical remark of ences between classification (e.g. DDC) as a work and mathematics and challenges for content analysis in mathe- edition (e.g. DDC 22) were discussed, as well as the im- matics. Then, the authors proceeded to describe the auto- portance of thema-based mapping (i.e. between classes) matic tools and practices on authority control and classifi- instead of nomen-based mapping (i.e., between notations cation at the bibliographic database of mathematical litera- associated) for semantic interoperability. The second pa- ture zbMATH, including the development of machine- per of this session is entitled “Relational Aspects of Sub- based concepts and tools to create controlled vocabularies ject Authority Control: The Contributions of Classifica- and to improve the Mathematics Subject Classification tory Structure” by Rebecca Green, assistant editor of the (MSC) scheme. DDC at OCLC. The paper begins introducing the differ- ences and similarities between thesauri and classification The second day of the conference began with the presen- systems. Among the latter, the author lists the hierarchical tations of the forth session, entitled “Classifications in relationships, equivalence relationships, and associative as Subject Access Authority Control” chaired by Maria Inês relationships paradigmatic relationships. These relation- Cordeiro. Marie Balíková, (Czech National Library) gave an ships in the DDC (both the tables and the Relative Index) invited talk on “Subject Authority Control Supported by are discussed for the context of FRSAD. Syntagmatic re- Classification: The Case of National Library of the Czech lationships in the DDC are also studied by Green. The Republic.” She reviewed the reasons to use universal tools last paper of this session is “Distributed Person Data: in libraries and discussed some cases related to subject au- Using Semantic Web Compliant Data in Subject Name thority, such as the use of the Czech Subject Authority files Headings” by Violeta Ilik. The starting point of her pa- (CZENAS) in the Conspectus categorization scheme, and per is the importance and need to associate person IDs the Interoperability in Memory Institutions (INTERMI) and URIs with subjects when a named person is the sub- project. The second presentation was “Multilingual Subject ject of the document. However, the author is concerned Access and Classification-Based Browsing Through Au- with the fact that libraries are not always taking advantage thority Control: The Experience of the ETH-Bibliothek” of all the data sources on authority control for names of by Jiri Pika and Milena Pika-Biolzi (Zurich, Switzerland). persons that exist, especially of those that are non- This paper continued other studies on subject searching

https://doi.org/10.5771/0943-7444-2016-1-64 Generiert durch IP '170.106.35.234', am 27.09.2021, 17:56:40. Das Erstellen und Weitergeben von Kopien dieses PDFs ist nicht zulässig. 66 Knowl. Org. 43(2016)No.1 Classification Research and classification browsing in OPAC interfaces (e.g., Cas- Classification. The results of this paper point out some of son, Fabbrizzi and Slavic 2011; Slavic 2006), while intro- the problems and difficulties of alignment vocabularies ducing the use of subject authority control and multilin- and interoperability. In the third paper of the session, gual subject access in NEBIS (Netzwerk von Bibliotheken Claudio Gnoli (Italy), Rodrigo De Santis (Brazil), and und Informationsstellen in der Schweiz). The OPAC inter- Laura Pusterla (Italy) presented a paper entitled “Com- face NEBIS is said to include a classification scheme and a merce, See Also Rhetoric: Cross-Discipline Relationships multilingual subject descriptor system, allowing users to as Authority Data for Enhanced Retrieval.” The starting search in English, German, and French, access to a subject point for the paper is Hugh of Saint Victor’s observation authority record, and a semantic search expansion. Ana on interbranch relationships of subjects within a tree-like Vukadin (National and University Library in Zagreb, Croa- hierarchical classification system, also previously reported tia) provided a paper on the “Development of a Classifica- by Olson (2010). The authors then begin discussing cross- tion-Oriented Authority Control: The Experience of the discipline relationships in library classifications (usually National and University Library in Zagreb.” The author described as “see also” references), stating that in terms presented the experiences and challenges encountered dur- of authority control, cross-discipline relationships can be ing the development of the UDC authority database. Vu- recorded in special fields of the classification reference kadin also discussed the advantages and characteristics of database accounting for relationships of a class with oth- the UDC as an analytico-synthetic scheme also for author- ers in a different hierarchy. This leads to the introduction ity control. In the view of the author, some of the tensions of SciGator, an interface for exploring cross-discipline re- and problems present in these systems can be addressed lationships in the DDC used at the The Science and Tech- with the distinction between syntagmatic and paradigmatic nology Library of the University of Pavia, Italy. The au- combinations of concepts. The papers also concluded that thors also study special kinds of relationships, namely ex- “the possibilities of verbal searching, already improved by istential dependence between classes, in which the exten- linking UDC captions to the bibliographic records in the sion of a class depends on another for its own existence OPAC, can be significantly enhanced by connecting au- (for example building and architecture, as architecture thorized classification data to subject heading authorities.” cannot exist if there are no buildings where it can be applied) and often belong to different hierarchies in a classi- The fifth session of the conference dealt with “Strategies fication scheme. Finally, the authors also discuss the use and Innovation with Classification in Libraries” and was of OWL for representing this existential dependence be- chaired by Rebecca Green (OCLC). Victoria Frâncu and tween classes in the Integrative Levels Classification (ILC). Liviu-Iulian Dediu presented “TinREAD—An Integrative The final paper of the session was “Managing Classifica- Solution for Subject Authority Control.” The authors be- tion in Libraries: A Methodological Outline for Evaluating gan with a historical review of automatic uses of the Automatic Subject Indexing and Classification in Swedish UDC (with projects such as AUDACIOUS (Automatic Library Catalogues” by Koraljka Golub, Joacim Hansson, Direct Access to Information with the Online UDC Sys- Dagobert Soergel, and Douglas Tudhope. The authors re- tem), ETHICS (Eidgenössischen Technischen Hoch- ported on a project that aims to evaluate automatic index- schule Information Control System), BSRS (Basic Seman- ing to Swedish textual resources with the DDC (primarily) tic Reference Structure), DOBIS/LIBIS, and NEBIS) and and the Swedish Subject Headings (SAO). The project followed with the introduction of TinREAD (The Infor- considers the comparison of automatically assigned index mation Navigator for Readers), an integrated library sys- terms with end-user assigned index terms and catalogers’ tem developed by IME Romania that allows the assign- assigned index terms. Domain analysis (Hjørland and ment of verbal index terms mapped to classification Albrechtsen 1995; Hjørland 2002) is used as a theoretical numbers in bibliographic records. This system supports framework and qualitative complement to a post-study subject authority control from two authority files: subject questionnaire. In the words of the authors, “domain headings and UDC. The TinREAD system is said to take analysis is used to take into consideration the social and advantages of both intellectual indexing (from the UDC disciplinary context of the documents used in the study notations assigned to the documents in the past) and the and the catalogers, subject experts, and end-users.” automated indexing resulting from the integration of the UDC-based thesaurus. Olívia Pestana (University of The sixth and final session of the conference was entitled Porto, Portugal) spoke on “Alignment in Medical Sciences: “Issues and Opportunities for Classification Data,” chaired Towards Improvement of UDC.” The author revisited by Dagobert Soergel. A paper by Attila Piros (University some of the arguments on the revision of the UDC Class of Debrecen, Hungary) reported on “Automatic Interpre- “61 Medical sciences,” and conducted a comparative tation of Complex UDC Numbers: Towards Support for analysis with the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Library Systems.” Piros dealt with feasible ways of building

https://doi.org/10.5771/0943-7444-2016-1-64 Generiert durch IP '170.106.35.234', am 27.09.2021, 17:56:40. Das Erstellen und Weitergeben von Kopien dieses PDFs ist nicht zulässig. Knowl. Org. 43(2016)No.1 67 Classification Research a UDC-specific XML schema for describing complex and not aligned with external trustworthy sources” that do UDC numbers. A state-of-the-art method of parsing and not allow sharing, re-use and interoperability of data. An- converting UDC numbers is provided. The XML schema dreas Ledl (University Library of Basel, Switzerland) re- for UDC number descriptions, when finished, is also said viewed the “The Basel Register of Thesauri, Ontologies & to be made available online under a Creative Commons li- Classifications (BARTOC),” a bibliographic database of cense. Andrea Scharnhorst, Richard P. Smiraglia, Christo- knowledge organization systems, developed by the Univer- phe Guéret, and Alkim Almila Akdag Salah presented sity Library of Basel, Switzerland. One of the main fea- “Knowledge Maps for Libraries and Archives—Uses and tures of BARTOC is that it provides a search interface for Use Cases.” This invited talk discusses functions of visual all types of KOS from any discipline. Darija Rozman (The explorations and knowledge maps in libraries and archives. National and University Library, Ljubljana, Slovenia) re- The authors work with the concept of macroscopes ported on “Experience with UDC Updates: the Slovenian (Börner 2010; 2015) as heuristic devices in research on the Perspective.” The author reviewed some practices and the evolution of KOS. They analyze and compare the catalogs cataloging environment in Slovenia. Rozman introduced an Worldcat, the library KU Leuven, PORBASE (the union authority list of UDC notations published in Slovenia catalog of the Portuguese libraries), the catalog of the called “UDC summary,” and related the update of this au- BNP (National Library of Portugal), and BND Domínio thority file and how occasionally UDC codes have been ex- Público (a dataset of the National Digital Library public tended and edited following requests from librarians (usu- domain files). Shenghui Wang and Rob Koopman (OCLC, ally following new releases of the UDC Master Reference Leiden, The Netherlands) gave an invited talk entitled “A File in Slovenian). Finally, Agnieszka Maria Kowalczuk, Second Life for Authority Records.” The starting point for Łukasz Skonieczny, and Małgorzata Wornbard (Poland) their paper is the benefits of authority control although authored a poster on “Visualization of a Library Collection they also point out that authority records are not used in Based on UDC: Research in the Warsaw University of the way they should be used, thus making it difficult to lev- Technology Main Library,” and Alenka Šauperl (Slovenia) erage the benefits of authority files. The authors analyze presented a poster on “UDC as a Standardisation Method some cases of UDC usage in Worldcat and conclude the for Providing Titles of Documents.” Abstracts of all post- importance of context and the need of acknowledging ers as well as all invited talks are included in the proceed- bias. ings.

Finally, the conference also included some posters and References short papers that are also listed in the proceedings. Nuno Freire, Valentine Charles, and Antoine Isaac presented a Ascher, Marcia. 1994. Ethnomathematics: A multicultural view poster on “Subject Information and Multilingualism in of mathematical ideas. Boca Raton: Chapman & Hall. European Bibliographic Datasets” in which they relate the Börner, Katy. 2010. Atlas of Science: Visualizing What We experiences with the integration of knowledge organiza- Know. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. tion systems in cultural heritage data. Suzanne Barbalet Börner, Katy. 2015. Atlas of Knowledge: Anyone Can Map. presented a short paper entitled “Enhancing Subject Au- Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press thority Control at the UK Data Archive: A Pilot Study Us- Casson, Emanuela, Andrea Fabbrizzi, and Aida Slavic. ing UDC.” Barbalet investigated the suitability of the UDC 2011. “Subject Search in Italian OPACS: An Opportu- as a flexible knowledge organization tool to strengthen the nity in Waiting?” In Subject Access: Preparing for the Future, archive’s resources “in preparation for future metadata edited by Patrice Landry, Leda Bultrini, Edward T. challenges,” consequence of “big data.” This paper also O’Neill and Sandra K. Roe. Berlin: De Gruyter, 37-50. examines the adoption by the UK Data Archive of the Fleck, Ludwik. 1935. Entstehung und Entwicklung einer wis- Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) as an international senschaftlichen Tatsache: Einführung in die Lehre vom Denk- metadata standard for social science data and the applica- stil und Denkkollectiv. Basel: Schwabe. English ed.: tion of the UDC. The short paper “Towards the Creation Fleck, Ludwik. 1935. Genesis and Development of a Scien- of Integrated Authority Files in the Domain of Science tific Fact. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. and Technology: an Italian Use Case” by Elena Cardillo, Hjørland, Birger. 2002. “Domain Analysis in Information Iryna Solodovnik, and Maria Taverniti reports on the crea- Science: Eleven Approaches-Traditional as Well as In- tion of a local name authority file that integrates authority novative.” Journal of Documentation 58: 422-62. lists in the domain of science and technology for their ap- Hjørland, Birger and Hanne Albrechtsen. 1995. “Towards plication in the CNR S&TDL project. This paper ad- a New Horizon in Information Science: Domain Analy- dresses the problems of “locally developed authority lists sis.” Journal of the American Society for Information Science 46: mined from the resources managed in local repositories 400-25.

Olson, Hope A. 2010. “Earthly Order and the Oneness Slavic, Aida. 2006. “The Level of Exploitation of Univer- of Mysticism: Hugh of Saint Victor and Medieval sal Decimal Classification in Library OPACS: A Pilot Classification of Wisdom.” Knowledge Organization 37: Study.” Vjesnik bibliotekara Hrvatske 49, nos. 3-4: 155-82. 121-38. Slavic, Aida and Maria Inês Cordeiro, eds. 2015. Classifica- Otlet, Paul. 1934. Traité de documentation. Brussels: Editio- tion & Authority Control Expanding Resource Discovery: nes Mundaneum. Proceedings of the International UDC Seminar 29-30 October Otlet, Paul. 1935. Monde: Essai d’Universalisme. Brussels: 2015 Lisbon, Portugal Organized by UDC Consortium, The Editiones Mundaneum. Hague. Würzburg: Ergon Verlag.

https://doi.org/10.5771/0943-7444-2016-1-64 Generiert durch IP '170.106.35.234', am 27.09.2021, 17:56:40. Das Erstellen und Weitergeben von Kopien dieses PDFs ist nicht zulässig.