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Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative – Computer Applications in Archaeology Joint Conference, Williamsburg, “Making History Interactive,” March 22-27, 2009.

ECAI Session: Inventing Paths in Digital Data.

Empowering Readers to Find Explanations:A What – Where – When – Who Approach

Michael BucklandECAI & School of Information,

University of California, Berkeley

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Textwith a interesting details.Who was she?Where is that?What is this?What else was happening? Reader

(or Writer)

ResourcesEncyclopediasAtlases, place nameBiographical dictionariesDictionariesLibrary catalogStatistical seriesetc., etc. . . . .

In a paper environment, a library is a good place to read and to write because explanations are available.

How do we move this situation into an internet environment?

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Emanuel Goldberg, b. Moscow, 1881; son of Grigorii Goldberg; Univ. of Moscow, 1900-04; Ph.D w. Robert Luther, Leipzig Univ., 1906; Assistant, Adolf Miethe, TU Charlottenburg, 1906-07; Prof, Akad. f. graphische Künste, Leipzig, 1907-17; ICA, Zeiss Ikon, Dresden, 1917-1933; Kinamo cine camera, 1921; microdots, 1925; search engine, 1927; Contax 35 mm camera 1932; kidnapped by Nazi SA; refugee in Paris, 1933-37; Laboratory, Palestine, Israel, 1937; d. 1970.

WHO?

Click a name to search for an internet resource.

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Emanuel Goldberg, b. Moscow, 1881; son of Grigorii Goldberg; Univ. of Moscow, 1900-04; Ph.D w. Robert Luther, Leipzig Univ., 1906; Assistant, Adolf Miethe, TU Charlottenburg, 1906-07; Prof, Akad. f. graphische Künste, Leipzig, 1907-17; ICA, Zeiss Ikon, Dresden, 1917-1933; Kinamo cine camera, 1921; microdots, 1925; search engine, 1927; Contax 35 mm camera 1932; kidnapped by Nazi SA; refugee in Paris, 1933-37; Laboratory, Palestine, Israel, 1937; d. 1970.

WHERE?

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Emanuel Goldberg, b. Moscow, 1881; son of Grigorii Goldberg; Univ. of Moscow, 1900-04; Ph.D w. Robert Luther, Leipzig Univ., 1906; Assistant, Adolf Miethe, TU Charlottenburg, 1906-07; Prof, Akad. f. graphische Künste, Leipzig, 1907-17; ICA, Zeiss Ikon, Dresden, 1917-1933; Kinamo cine camera, 1921; microdots, 1925; search engine, 1927; Contax 35 mm camera 1932; kidnapped by Nazi SA; refugee in Paris, 1933-37; Laboratory, Palestine, Israel, 1937; d. 1970.

WHAT?

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Building the functionality of a reference collection.

1. Context finder: Search support from text to reference works.

2. Context builder: Make, retain notes and links to reference works.

3. Context provider: Make reference works better by adding two-way links, e.g. text has links to place name list AND place name list has links to texts.

Demos at http://metadata.berkeley.edu/demos/

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Initial sketch for “Context Finding / Building” interface.

Save search path

Save link & notes as “stand-off” markup.

Save link & notes as embedded mark-up.

Insert / block text

Define facet

Ranked lists of suggested resources for each facet chosen

Display of search result

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Reference Genre Vocabulary Displays FacetEncyclopedia Topics Cross-references WHATAtlas, place list Places Maps WHEREChronology Time Timelines WHEN

Biogr. Dictionary Persons Relationships WHO

Different genres for different facets require different vocabularies, different display requirements

Differentiation by What, Where, When and Who aids disambiguation.

Work in progress of feasibility and desirability of decomposing “Who’s Who” style biographical texts into life events encoded as 4W-tuple: Actions and activities encoded by What kind of action/activity; Where; When; and involving Who [else]

Search interest

Reasons for using WHERE, WHEN, WHO, and WHAT

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Comment: Facet genres include other facets

Encyclopedia or library catalogTopic – Geographic aspects – Chronological aspects

Place name gazetteerPlace name – Type – Spatial markers (Lat & long) – When

Time Period DirectoryPeriod name – Type – Time markers (Calendar) – Where

Biographical DictionaryPerson – Activity type – Time – Where – Who else

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Facet genres with facets realigned: Associations.

What Where When WhoWHAT (Library catalog) X X X X

WHERE (Place name list) X X X X

WHEN (Time period dir.) X X X X

WHO (Biographical dict.) X X X X

From LCSH “Lighthouses” to NGA Place name list Geographic Description Code “Lthse” (Lighthouse). Place name list give locations of examples. Catalog gives literature about light houses.

Vertical: Semantic mappings to same facet resources.Horizontal: Association with other facets provides context.

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CORPUS

FRAGMENT CONTEXT

Context Finder: Ad hoc searches. Looking outwards, not inwards!

Reference works

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Reading online, The Irish Review, 1911, with place names already identified. Click on Westport, then on links to more info.

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Building the functionality of a reference collection.

1. Context finder: Search support from text to reference works.

2. Context builder: Make, retain notes and links to reference works.

3. Context provider: Make reference works better by adding two-way links, e.g. text has links to place name list AND place name list has links to texts.

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CORPUS

FRAGMENT CONTEXT

Context Builder: Query, source, result saved as markup in text; and in notes.

Reference work

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The case of editing of historical papers . . .

-- Slow publication

-- Very limited footnotes, most editorial research not revealed

-- Duplicative, overlapping editorial research

The constraints of the printed codex!

Web-published editors notes, as low-cost byproduct.

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Building the functionality of a reference collection.

1. Context finder: Search support from text to reference works.

2. Context builder: Making, retaining notes / links to reference works.

3. Context provider: Enriching reference works by adding reverse links, e.g. place name gazetteer mentions where a place is mentioned in texts.

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CORPUS

FRAGMENT CONTEXT

Context Provider: Also reverse links from resource back to text. Now two-way!

Reference work

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Facet Vocabulary Displays Reference GenreWHAT Topics Cross-references EncyclopediaWHERE Places Maps Atlas, place listWHEN Periods Timeline ChronologyWHO Persons Relationships Biogr.dictionary

Reference Genre Vocabulary Displays FacetEncyclopedia Topics Cross-references WHATAtlas, place list Places Maps WHEREChronology Time Timelines WHEN

Biogr. Dictionary Persons Relationships WHO

Paper-based reference collection: Codex determines structure and use.

Reversed in a digital environment: Metadata forms infrastructure.

Build a union index, so you know where too look! Little green lights!

http://metadata.berkeley.edu/demos/

Search interest

Search interest

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Three projects on search support:Supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

- Support for the learner: What, Where, When and Who (IMLS, 2004-06) ecai.org/imls2004

- Bringing Lives to Light: Biography in Context (IMLS, 2006-09) ecai.org/imls2006

- Context and Relationships: Ireland and Irish Studies (IMLS & NEH, 2007-09) ecai.org/neh2007

Part of a long-term “metadata” program. Teamwork by several people: Aitao Chen, Fredric Gey, Ray Larson, Dan Melia, Barry Pateman, Vivien Petras, Ryan Shaw, and others.

Demos at http://metadata.berkeley.edu/demos/