Making%20sense%20of%20hybrid%20union%20catalogues:%20collection%20landscaping%20in%20complex%20information%20environments

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Making sense of hybrid union catalogues
collection landscaping in complex information
environments

• Gordon Dunsire

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Types of union catalogue

• Union catalogues metadata aggregations
• COPAC is an example of a physical union
  catalogue, where records are held in a single,
  central database
• Clumps (CAIRNS, InforM25) are examples of
  distributed union catalogues, where records are
  distributed in local databases
• Late addition! Harvested OAI-PMH catalogues
  (OAISTER, HaIRST) are types of physical union
  catalogue

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Complexity in union catalogues arises when
metadata is duplicated

• Duplication is a feature of physical union
  catalogues (COPAC, HaIRST)
• Duplicate records may be transformed into a
  different structure, or augmented (COPAC) or
  simplified (HaIRST)
• Metadata for the same item may be offered in
  different catalogues within the same information
  environment
• Large-scale environments will offer a mix of
  distributed and physical union catalogues

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Complexity of a hybrid UKNUC
Item-level metadata
Local catalogue
Z39.50 catalogue
Metadata repository
Harvested Union cat. B
Distributed Union cat. B
Physical Union cat.
Harvested Union cat. A
Distributed Union cat. A
UKNUC
Single item metadata can be aggregated repeatedly
in physical and distributed union catalogues,
with potentially confusing and inefficient
results for the enquirer.
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CLD landscaping can specify which catalogues to
search

• JISC functional model of IE advocates use of
  collection-level description (CLD) to provide
  user-oriented landscapes for information
  retrieval
• Tools to identify rich lodes of metadata to
  mine for specific items.
• Scottish Collections Network (SCONE) used as a
  test bed to investigate issues and suggest
  solutions
• Other CC-interop work showed SCONE to be
  compatible with most CLD schemas in UK including
  RSLP and DC.

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Functional model of the (Scottish) information
environment (1)
Entry
Initial landscape Scottish Cultural Portal
SCONE
Survey
Collection descriptions service SCONE
Landscaper
Collection-level descriptions
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Functional model of the (Scottish) information
environment (2)
Discover
Distributed union catalogue CAIRNS
Harvested union catalogue HaIRST
Union catalogue COPAC
Detail
Item metadata
Item metadata
Item metadata
Item metadata
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Landscaping using SCONE

• SCONE CLDs investigated for landscaping an
  environment of hybrid union catalogues
• COPAC, CAIRNS and InforM25, HaIRST
• Concept of functional granularity (from
  Heaneys model) is a key tool
• Allows a collection to be defined on the basis of
  metadata aggregations
• The aggregation (collection) of things which are
  described by this aggregation of metadata

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Relationships between CLDs (1)

• CLD for the functional collection is created.
• e.g. COPAC collection, CAIRNS collection.
• CLD for the associated finding-aid (union
  catalogue) is created (collection of metadata
  records)
• CLDs are linked by the standard Is-Described-By
  relationship
• COPAC collection Is-Described-By COPAC
• CAIRNS collection Is-Described-By CAIRNS

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Relationships between CLDs (2)

• But individual contributors to union catalogues
  have their own local catalogues and collections
• E.g. Edinburgh University Library (COPAC and
  CAIRNS)
• So CLDs also have a hierarchical relationship
• EUL collection Is-Part-Of COPAC collection
• EUL collection Is-Part-Of CAIRNS collection
• Parallel relationships between metadata
  aggregations are NOT used (to keep it simple!)
• Landscape can be simplified by only displaying
  links to nearest, co-extensive metadata
  aggregation

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COPAC CLDs and relationships
Italics functional granularity CLD No italics
existing collection CLD
COPAC collection
COPAC (catalogue)
?
!
EUL collection
EUL catalogue
?
!
X
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Some conclusions (1)

• CLD can provide some ways of simplifying complex
  information retrieval environments by utilising
  functional granularity and using collection
  hierarchies to define nearest or best
  finding-aids where there is known duplication of
  metadata. This requires
• metadata aggregators to contribute to CLD
  services
• CLD services to ensure collection hierarchies are
  maintained

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Some conclusions (2)

• Further research might usefully be undertaken in
  defining metadata aggregation parameters and
  developing tools for more flexible landscaping of
  information environments, taking into account
• Not all finding-aids relate to every item in the
  associated collection (hierarchical/archival
  approach, cataloguing backlogs, long-term
  retrospective conversion )
• Union catalogues may degrade/simplify aggregated
  metadata or augment it for retrievability
• The degree of human mediation in creating
  metadata, ranging from none (automatic
  cataloguing) to full (manual)

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Thank you

• g.dunsire_at_strath.ac.uk