aleg project technical system implementation update kent fitch 8 july 2000

ALEG ProjectTechnical System Implementation

Update

Kent Fitch

8 July 2000

Topics

• Introduction• Stage 1: report summary• Stage 2 : progress report

– the big picture– data model– visual design– implementation options

• Stage 3 + : timetable, what to expect

Introduction

• Kent Fitch, Project Computing Pty Ltd– applications programmer/analyst– database administrator– IBM systems & network programmer– UNIX systems & network programmer– commercial & public-domain software developer– web developer (since 1994)– not affiliated with commercial software suppliers

Stage 1 : report summary

• ALEG goals:– unify ALEG resources under a single data

model and software/hardware platform• decentralised control

• consolidated resource, but– partners’ identity/profile not subsumed

– separate, customisable views

– web based maintenance and access• as simple and powerful as possible

…continued

Stage 1 : report summary

• ALEG goals (continued)

– query & data retrieval• Z39.50

• MARC

• XML, customisable presentation

– Links to external resources• holdings (Kinetica?)

• manuscripts and archive items (RAAM?)

Stage 2 : progress report

• The big picture

• Data model

• Visual design

• Operational issues

• Implementation options

Stage 2 : progress report

• Stage 2 is the “detailed design stage”– Most important: agree on data model– Then “motherhood” issues:

• “nice” user interface (simple, fast, powerful, flexible…)• “wonderful” operational characteristics (simple, fast, powerful,

flexible, robust, cheap) – security, charging, logging...

– And finally:• evaluate implementation options against desires / requirements• implementation plan

– including data take-up

Stage 2 : the big picture

• Library systems are facing challenges– recognition that existing data models are not

adequate, especially given:• declining budgets

• growth in resources (especially electronic)

• “challenge” from web-based resource discovery systems (eg Google)


• “The web changes everything”– charging model– user interface expectations– interconnectedness of all things…

• metadata

• RDF

• Topic Maps

• XLink

– users expect everything, all the time, for free

Stage 2 : the big picture• New data models:

– Dublin Core– simple 15 element metadata set

– IFLA’s FRBR– Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records

– INDECS– INteroperability of Data in E-Commerce systems

– CIDOC’s CRM– object oriented reference model for cultural heritage

– Harvest project ABC– common cross-realm entities (work, event, agent)

…more on this later


• Where does ALEG fit in all of this?– about literary resources, but not a library catalogue– emphasis on resources which help interpret and

understand:• reviews/criticisms

• setting & subject classification

• biographical material

• archival items

• linking, relationships

…continued


• Where does ALEG fit in all of this? (continued)

– central database, but decentralised control and separate, customisable views

– web based maintenance and access – linking to full text

• via SETIS & others for large works

• scanned reviews/articles (copyright issues)

• electronic journals and other resources

…continued


• Where does ALEG fit in all of this? (continued)

– integration with external electronic resources• as a user:

– holdings (Kinetica?)

– manuscripts (RAAM/son-of-RAAM?)

• as a provider– Z39.50 target

– support specialised views, deliver data in XML format


• For ALEG to be relevant

– it must be designed to integrate with and take advantage of the systems of the present and the future, not those of the past

– it must ‘play nicely’ in the ‘semantic web’


• “The systems of the present and the future”– web based– common metadata based– common data model, supporting

• unambiguous identification

• rich relationships, explicit and implied

• interoperability with other systems

Stage 2 : data model

• The data model lays the foundation of a system– worth spending a lot of time to “get it right”

• “Getting it right”– explicitly represent the objects the system has to deal

with• adding attributes later is easy

• adding concepts later is hard

– an eye to interoperability with other systems and future system and industry directions


• Being explicit:

“Metadata not descriptions”– identifiers, not words– relationships, not labels– events, not things

Godfrey Rust, Technical Coordinator, INDECS projectMetadata 2010, presentation to British Library Seminar, Sept 99http://www.bl.uk/information/news/2709rust.ppt


• The rest of the world has been doing a LOT of thinking about this too!

– IFLA FRBR– Dublin Core– INDECS– Harmony ABC– Topic Maps….

Stage 2 : data model IFLA FRBR

From:Deconstructing the Library Catalogue, Tom Delsey, National Library of CanadaPresentation to British Library Seminar, Sept 99http://www.bl.uk/information/news/2709frbr.ppt

Manifestation

Expression

Work

Item

realized through

embodied in

exemplified by

IFLA FRBR


Manifestation

Expression

Work

Item

creates

realizes

produces

owns

Corporate body

Person


Work

Expression

Manifestation

Item

Concept

Object

Event

Place

Corporate Body

Person

Worksubject of

subject ofsubject of

IFLA FRBR



Work Workrelated to

successor supplement complement summarization adaptation transformation imitation whole / part



Expression

abridgement revision translation musical arrangement whole / part

Expressionrelated to



Manifestation

reproduction alternate whole / part

Manifestationrelated to



Item

reconfiguration reproduction whole / part

Itemrelated to

Stage 2 : data model INDECS

From:A Common Model to Support Interoperable Metadata - Progress report on reconciling metadata requirements from the Dublin Core and INDECS/DOI Communities, D-Lib January 1999 - Bearman/Miller/Rust/Trant/Weibelhttp://www.dlib.org/dlib/january99/bearman/01bearman.html

http://www.dlib.org/dlib/january99/bearman/01bearman.html


• Topic Maps– “A thesaurus on steroids”– “The Global Positioning System for the Web”

– Charles Goldfarb, SGML

– ISO standard, influenced by HyTime (SGML)– a framework for defining topics, associations

scopes, occurrences and attributes (facets) separate from an underlying data base

Stage 2 : data modelTopic Maps

• Traditional approach• data bases are self contained

• others can’t ‘point in’ and make assertions and build relationships about your data

• but enter:• common markup, metadata and semantics

• universal addressability

• “the web”

• and then...• relationships and assertions can be separated from the base data


• So what?– Many different views and organisations of the

base data can be supported– Building and maintaining topics and associations

can become a specialist task• divide and conquer• plurality of interpretations and values

– Base data can be easily reused, reinterpreted, combined with other databases


White,PatrickVoss (novel)

Tree of Man

Flaws in the Glass

David Malouf

Voss (opera)

Fly away Peter


Richmond

Richmond

Dubbo

Victoria

NSW

St Kilda

GeelongMelbourne

WW1

WW2

20th CenturyAcme ArmamentsFactory

Leura Katoomba

Blue Mtns


White,Patrick

Knightsbridge

London born

Australiaemigrated

NSW

England

Voss

wrote

death

isolationsubject

Sydneysubject

Longhams

published

lived in

grief


• Proposed ALEG data model– Titles and agents:

• FRBR, as expanded/interpreted by INDECS

– Subjects:• Topic Maps

– Plus:• Award, archival item

– Minus:• FRBR Item (but what about holdings?)

Stage 2 : visual design

“The practice of simplicity”


The help manual for a well designed system:


The face of the most successful search engine:


• Some approaches to searching:– detailed search form– refinement– “intelligent” grouping/ranking of results

• Not mutually exclusive

• Regardless of approach:– search from every screen– users don’t understand boolean searches

– (“cats and dogs”)

Stage 2 : visual designDetailed

search

form:

Stage 2 : visual designALEG Search Results for: “Patrick White”

1. White, Patrick (1912-1990) - 1200 results2. White, Patrick ([1984]-) - 3 results3. White, Patrick A.T - 2 results

+++


1. White, Patrick (1912-1990) - 1200 results Biographical Details Works By - 140

Short Stories - 27Dramas - 22Novels - 13Verse - 8Criticism - 1

Subject - 256 results Reviews of Works - 1134 results2. White, Patrick ([1984]-) - 3 results3. White, Patrick A.T - 2 results

-

++

++

+++

++

-



Short Stories - 27Dramas - 22Novels - 13

Voss Criticism of - 56 As subject - 23 Related Work - 2 The Tree of Man The Vivisector

-

++

++

+

++

-

--





-

++

++

+

++

-

--

Search scope: White, Patrick (1912-1990)

Search term : David Malouf

CancelOK

Stage 2 : visual design• Searching for “David Malouf” within the scope of

“Patrick White (1912 - 1990)”– Would return

• references to “Voss [the Opera]”• David Malouf reviews of Patrick White works and vica versa• ...

– What about:• a review by David Malouf of Voss written under a pseudonym?• Searching for graveyard

– would it return subjects of cemeteries? (automatically?)

– how would “related” terms be shown?

Stage 2 : visual designALEG Title Maintenance

Work Title: Type: single work Form: Genre: Agent Biographical Details Works By - 140



-

++

+

+

++

--

One Tree Hill+

Stage 2 : implementation options

• Three components– web front end data maintenance – web front end data retrieval– back end data storage

• including Z39.50 target


• Browser based maintenance system– it is now possible to build very sophisticated

applications in the browser– technologies:

• Document Object Model (DOM)

• Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

• JavaScript

– Unfortunately, Netscape has not kept up• IE 5 is much more functional for web applications

• some hope that “Mozilla” will be competitive


• Browser based user access interface– choice between power and platform dependencies

• target “lowest common denominator”?

• several popular targets (Netscape 2/4, IE5)?

• As at 18 June, www.statmarket.com reports browser market share as:

– Internet Explorer 86%

– Netscape 14%

– accessibility issues are very important• making the facility available to all users


• Adapt existing proprietary library catalogue– ADFA has just implemented Voyager

• Build something– based on proprietary text or XML system

• dbTextWorks, Blue Angel, Tamino, ...

– based on “standard” tools• SQL, Apache, Java XML packages, HTML


• Adapt existing proprietary library catalogue– Pro

• because it is there• Z39.50 interface and simple web interface likely to be ready to

use

– Con• ALEG is not a library catalogue• compromises to data model, maintenance screens, user

interface, access model• hard to estimate risks and cost• vendor lock-in


• Build something based on proprietary text or XML system– Pro

• some infrastructure may be ready to use

– Con• initial software cost, plus training and maintenance

• have to build nearly everything

• vendor lock in


• Build something based on standard tools – Pro

• free tools• no vendor lock in• no constraints/complete flexibility• no “unknowns”

– Con• have to build nearly everything• requires “faith”• no vendor “support”

Stage 3 + : what to expect

• Timetable– Stage 2 to do:

• user interface principles

• access/logging principles

• evaluate implementation options, decide

• data conversion plan

• produce implementation timetable

• done by 21st July (2 weeks late)

…continued


• Timetable (continued)

– Stage 3: 24 July - 17 October:• development of prototype

• design/implement database

• design/implement prototype user interfaces

• trial data load from AUSTLIT, BAL, Lu Rees (+ ?)

• hardware/software commissioning

• 8 September: early demo (basic maintenance, search, browse functions) for partner feedback

…continued


• Timetable (continued)

– Stage 4: 18 October - 8 January• refinement of prototype into production system

– incorporate feedback– complete all user interface functions– add Z39.50 target, MARC extract, XML/XSL extract– add user maintenance/accounting

• complete data load

• volume and load testing

– Stage 5: 9 January - 18 January• production

aleg project technical system implementation update kent fitch 8 july 2000

Documents

big picturewhere

big picturefor aleg

big picturenew data

aleg resources

big picturelibrary systems

single data model

existing data models

customisable viewsweb