Lessons Learned from a Greenhorn Ontologist
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University LibraryBeyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data
ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Image credit: https://emmatrinidad.wordpress.com/2014/04/24/yoko-ono/
LD4L
My Career Path in 4 Bullets
• Catalog Librarian (2005-2006)
• Metadata Librarian for Image Collections (2006-2012)
• Discovery Metadata Librarian (2012-2015)– June 2014 to present- Representative on the LD4L
project, learning from/contributing to ontology discussions and metadata to RDF transformations.
• Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate (This past Tuesday – present)
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Talk Outline
• Modeling/Ontology Concepts– Terms/Vocabulary
– Modeling Languages/Light introduction to OWL
• Modeling Best Practices/Process
• LD4L Example of Applying Some of These Concepts
• Going forward (Skills Required and other Training Opportunities)
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Core Modeling/Ontology Concepts
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Image Credit:http://www.maciejratajski.com/work/this
Resource
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Library Resource- something in a library collection meant for patron use
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
RDF Resource- something identified with a URI that you can say things about (has relationships
to other resources, label, etc.)
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
http://dbpedia.org/resource/Joseph_Kosuth
Library [RDF] ResourceSomething named with a URI that a library made available the web
for patron/world use.
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
In linked data a URI identifies the thing/the entity/the RDF
resource.
The thing can have labels and relationships to other things,
but none of these traits *identify* the thing.
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
URIs Continued
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
What does it all mean?
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Image credit: http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/14959?e=jones_1.0-ch03_s01
Records
Image credit: http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/14959?e=jones_1.0-ch03_s01
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
URIs or Headings
Image credit: http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/14959?e=jones_1.0-ch03_s01
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Classes and Individuals
Image credit: http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/14959?e=jones_1.0-ch03_s01
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Classes and Individuals
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Introduction to Modeling Languages[RDFS, SKOS, and OWL… but mostly OWL]
RDFS
RDF Schema provides a basic data-modeling vocabulary for RDF data. Able to define:
• Classes and sub-Classes
• Properties and sub-Properties
– Domains and ranges
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
SKOS
A vocabulary, built with OWL and RDFS to model concepts
• Supports the building of thesauri, classification schemes, subject heading systems and taxonomies
• A focus on labels, preferred, alternate, and hidden
• Allows for broader/narrower relationships and associative relationships
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
SKOS
Example:
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85029624.skos.rdf
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
OWL
“designed to represent rich and complex knowledge about things, groups of things, and relations between things… can be exploited by computer programs, e.g., to verify the consistency of that knowledge or to make implicit knowledge explicit.”
- http://www.w3.org/OWL/
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
OWL Primitive Classes
Example from: http://protegewiki.stanford.edu/wiki/ProtegeOWL_API_Advanced_Class_Definitions
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
OWL Defined Classes
Example from: http://protegewiki.stanford.edu/wiki/ProtegeOWL_API_Advanced_Class_Definitions
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Cardinality
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
“If it is not said, it may still be true.”
-Samson Tu (from Protégé Short Course)
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Disjoint Classes
In OWL you can also say two types of things are not the same through disjoint classes.
<foaf:Person> <owl:disjointWith> <foaf:Project> .
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Property Types
• Object Properties relate two instances of two classes, e.g.<foaf:Agent> <foaf:made> <owl:Thing> .
• Data Properties relate instances of classes with RDFS Literals and XML Schema datatypes<foaf:Person> <foaf:name> “Joseph Kosuth” .
• Annotation Properties <owl:versionInfo>
<rdfs:label>
<rdfs:comment>
<rdfs:seeAlso>
<rdfs:isDefinedBy>
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Domains and Ranges
<foaf:made> <rdfs:domain> <foaf:Agent> .
<foaf:made> <rdfs:range> <owl:Thing> .
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Transitive Properties
<owl:TransitiveProperty rdf:ID="subRegionOf"> <rdfs:domain rdf:resource="#Region"/> <rdfs:range rdf:resource="#Region"/>
</owl:TransitiveProperty>
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Axioms
Statements in an ontology defining
• Relationships between entities
• Class expressions
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Entailments/Inferences
Logic or axioms that are true based on assertions, e.g. If X and Y are true, then Z.
<Cat> <subClassOf> <Mammal> .
<DomesticCat><subClassOf><Cat> .
Entails
<DomesticCat> <subClassOf><Mammal> .
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Best Practices/Process
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Image Credit: http://moca.org/pc/viewArtWork.php?id=23
Reuse
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Babel
Ontology reuse needs something like…
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Image credit: http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/~jenlrile/metadatamap/
Naming Classes and Properties
• Classes begin with a capital letter and are always singular, e.g. foaf:Person
• Properties begin with a lowercase letter, foaf:made
• Data type properties are nouns/noun phrases, e.g. bf:barcode
• Object properties are verbs/verb phrases, e.g. dc:hasPart
• Use camelCase if a term has more than one word, e.g. skos:ConceptScheme
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Consider Reuse When Defining Domain and Range
• Being overly stringent with domains and ranges inhibits their use in perfectly appropriate ways
• In a “Anyone can say anything about anything” world, it’s not wrong to use a property in an unintended way, it just means that we’ll get unintended inferences
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Applying some of these concepts in LD4L Use Case 4
Making use of complex graph relationships via queries or patterns (rather than direct connections)… to allow discovery that would not be possible without the semantics of different relationships between items and types of items included in the graph. User stories anddemonstrations will be somewhat tied to available data because detailed information and relationships will not be available for all resources.
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Pilot: Hip Hop Flyer Metadata to RDFwith links to MusicBrainz/LinkedBrainz Data
Goals
• Model non-MARC metadata from Cornell Hip Hop Flyer Collection to RDF– Test BIBFRAME for describing the flyers– Test the use of other ontologies for describing other
entities, e.g. events, venues (more on this in a moment)
• Use of LinkedBrainz URIs for performers to discover relationships to other entities to discover relationships to other entities…
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
MusicBrainz
About the Hip Hop Flyers
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Ontology Decisions
• Describe the flyer in BIBFRAME, extend where needed• Used Getty AAT to create bf:Work sub-
classes• Describe events and related entities using
MusicOntology, Event Ontology and Schema.org
• Use foaf:Person’s to reflect RWO persons, with bf:Person as an associated authority
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Ontology Decisions: BIBFRAME for Flyers
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Ontology Decisions: FOAF for Persons
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Ontology Decisions: Events and Performers
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
You, me, and the future
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Image credit: http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=81074
Training Opportunities
• Zepheira’s BIBFRAME training (the WHY)
• Library Juice (the HOW and library context)
– Especially the Ontologies and Linked Data Course
• Protégé Short Course- In depth training in OWL and ontology design through the Protégé ontology creation tool.
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Current Ontology Conversations
• BIBFRAME List (Can be pretty testy, but there are voices of reasonparticipating)
• Protégé User List (lots of trouble shooting Protégé software, also nice ontology design conversations)
• Lodlam.net,#lodlam on twitter, LODLAM Google Group
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
The Meaning [of My Life] Triangle
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Art and Science
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Image credit:http://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/joseph-kosuth-one-and-three-chairs-1965
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions?
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015
Image credit: http://www.maciejratajski.com/work/what-is-art
Thank You.
Steven Folsom, Metadata Strategist and Standards Advocate, Cornell University Library Beyond the Looking Glass: Real World Linked Data ALCTS Preconference, ALA Annual Conference, Friday, June 26, 2015