Printed Resources and Digital Information

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Printed Resources and Digital Information
The Digital Difference in Reference Collections
Michael Buckland, School of Information
Management Systems, Electronic Cultural Atlas I
nitiative, University of California, Berkeley
University of Oklahoma Libraries March 3, 2006
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Purpose of the Reference collection
Look up / verify factual data Ready Reference
Establish context for any topic.
esp. WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and WHO
Understanding means knowing context.
Reference Genre Vocabulary Displays
Facet Dictionary, encyclopedia Topics Cross
-refs WHAT Atlas, gazetteer Places
Maps WHERE Almanac, chronology Tim
e Timelines WHEN
Biogr. Dict., Whos Who Persons Personal
relationships WHO
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The Internet Public Library replicates the
technology of the codex - Hierarchical structur
e - Drill down for detail, climb back out, drill
down again,...
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But digital technology does not need to copy the
hierarchical structure and constraints of codex
technology . . . Digital techniques can link dir
ectly and horizontally if there is
-- Procedural interoperability (e.g. Z3950)
and -- Vocabulary interoperability (e.g. Dewey
s Relativ Index to the Decimal Classification).
Suppose we designed directly to provide the
functionality of a reference collection on those
two assumptions. Suppose that we started with the
users need for know about WHAT, WHERE, WHEN and
WHO.
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• WHAT Thesaurus Cross-references in
• between thesauri

Query Martial arts movies?
None. Should have used
Hand-to-hand fighting, oriental, in motion
pictures. (LCSH).
Classification may be simpler, e.g.
HS 847120 Digital auto data proc mach contng in
the same housing a CPU and input output
device.(International Harmonized Commodity
Classification System)
Computer
To search for Automobiles in a network use
NEED TO MAP BETWEEN UNFAMILIAR VOCABULARIES
- PASS MOT VEH, SPARK IGN ENG (U.S. Import/Export
statistics) - TL 205 (Library of Congress Class
ification) - 180/280 (US Patent classification)
- 3711 (Standard Industrial Classification)
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Text
Numeric datasets
It is difficult to move between differ
ent media forms.
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Text TOPIC LIST
Maps GAZETTEER Captions Numeric
datasets Different media can be li
nked indirectly via metadata, but sometimes (e.g.
for socio-economic numeric data series) you also
need to specify WHERE.
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• WHERE Gazetteer Map

Dots link to portal
Ctesiphon (Ancient site)
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Page of links relating to Ctesiphon
Links to library catalogs
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Z39.50 search of Library of Congress catalog
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Link to image
Details of record
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(No Transcript)
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Text TOPIC LIST
Maps GAZETTEER Captions Numeric
datasets Proper place name control
requires a gazetteer -- and latitude and longit
ude allow points on maps.
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WHERE -- PLACE Some problems with place
names - Different forms St. Petersburg, ?????
?????????, Saint-Pétersbourg, . . .
- Multiple names Cluj, in Romania / Roumania /
Rumania, is also called Klausenburg and
Kolozsvar. - Names change Bombay became Mumbai.
- Same names 18 different places have been ca
lled Beijing. - Anachronisms No country called
Germany before 1870. - Vague, e.g. Midwest, Sil
icon Valley, Far East - Boundaries change 19th
century Poland Balkans USSR.
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WHERE -- Space Spaces have coordinates latitude
and longitude. . . . and a GAZETTEER links place
s and spaces! A gazetteer is a list of place nam
es and also . . . says what kinds of place (Feat
ure type) city, lake, . . . gives latitude and
longitude . . . shows when similar place names
are for different places . . . brings together d
ifferent names for the same place and
. . . allows places to be displayed on maps.
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Going places in the catalog! Linked to a
gazetteer and map display. Geographic sort of boo
ks on Folklore.
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Using a map and a gazetteer as a geographic
search aid, e.g. lists capital cities (PPLC) in
box around South America.
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• WHEN Time period directory Timeline

Prototype time period directory at
ecai.org/imls2004
Generates catalog search
Sample entry
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Relationship between place names period names
So a similar solution A gazetteer-like Time
Period Directory. Gazetteer Place name Type
Spatial markers (Lat long) -- When
Time Period Directory Period name Type Time m
arkers (Calendar) Where Note the symmetry. Not
e the connections between Where and When.
A directory of 2,000 named time periods derived
from LCSH Chronological subdivisions is at
ecai.org/imls2004
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• WHO Biographical dict. Text images

Lives involve events WHAT Actions Arab invasi
on WHERE Places - Ctesiphon WHEN Times 632CE
WHO People Khosrau II Need links to other s
ources also!
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WHEN, WHERE and WHO. Search in LC catalog for
yields 65 records showing who was doing what
No standard form for personal names!
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BIOG. DICT. Text
TOPIC LIST Maps GAZETTEER Captions Social
datasets TIME PERIOD DIRECTO
RY Timeline Chronology
Metadata forms infrastructure
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BIOG. DICT. 2 BIOG. DICT. TOPIC LIS
T 3 Text 2 TOPIC LIST 2 Text TOPIC
LIST Maps GAZETTEER Captions Social G
AZETTEER 2 etc datasets GAZETTEER 3 T
IME PERIOD DIRECTORY Time line
TIME PERIOD DIRECTORY 2 Chronology
TIME PERIOD DIRECTORY 3
WHAT
WHO
WHERE
WHEN
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Paper-based reference collection Codex
determines structure and use.
Reference Genre Vocabulary
Displays Facet
Dictionary, encyclopedia Topics Cross-refs
WHAT Atlas, gazetteer Places Ma
ps WHERE Almanac, chronology
Time Timelines WHEN
Biogr. Dict., Whos Who Persons Personal
relationships WHO
Reversed in a digital environment Metadata forms
infrastructure.
Facet Vocabulary Displays
Reference Genre WHAT Topics Cro
ss-references Dictionary,
Encyclopedia WHERE Places Maps
Atlas, gazetteer WHEN Periods Timeline
Almanac, Chronology
WHO Persons Personal relationships
Biogr.dictionary, Whos Who
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The Electronic Cultural Atlas InitiativeAdvancing
scholarship through increased attention to place
and time.http//ecai.org
Understanding means knowing context.

We thank IMLS and NSF for support.
Next ECAI conference, Fargo, April 18-19. Join
us!