Documenting Events in Metadata

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Documenting Events in Metadata
Joint event in Cyprus The e-Documentation in
Cultural Heritage
Martin Doerr, Athina Kritsotaki
Center for Cultural Informatics Institute of
Computer Science Foundation for Research and
Technology - Hellas
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Event-centric documentation is essential for..

• Structuring cultural metadata and capturing the
  full historical context of artifacts
• Interpreting heterogeneous and complex
  information resources
• More accurate information about life histories
• Aggregation of relevant historical information
• Documentation of scientific observations

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History as meetings

• Events are states of affairs a particular
  distribution of material
• items, conceptual items and interactions in
  space-time.
• Most events can be seen as meetings.
• Things, people and ideas meet each other and
  create history as a
• network of meetings (a sequence of meetings
  under the
• perspective of an individual person or item).

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CRM Core Metadata Schema

• A proposal of CIDOC.
• A simple schema for summarization of historical
  events.
• Compatible with CIDOC CRM (ISO/FDIS 21127) and
  Dublin Core.
• Uniform schema for object descriptions and
  biographical data.
• Supports information integration and has the
  potential to capture huge, meaningful knowledge
  networks

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CRM Core Metadata Schema
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CRM Core Metadata Schema

• CRM Core describes the most fundamental
  relationships that
• connect things, concepts, people, time and place
  
• Identification
• Classification
• Participation in an event
• Part decomposition
• References
• Similarity

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Other approaches Dublin Core, VRA, CCO

• Focus on categorical data rather than events and
  indirect relationships.
• Fail to capture complex historical contexts
  because time, place and participants are
  disassociated.
• Can not describe complex relationships fail to
  integrate or connect rich historical information
  fail to build large networks of knowledge

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Example using CRM Core
P62 depicts
P62 depicts
P16B was used for
P108B was produced by
P108B was produced by
P134 continued
P2 has type
P2 has type
P120B occurs after
P4 has time-span
P14 carried out by
P7 took place at
P14 carried out by
P4 has time-span
P4 has time-span
P2 has type
P2 has type
P100B died in
P98B was born
P4 has time -span
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Example Monument to Balzac

• A production (event) of Monument to Balzac a
• meeting of the producer Rodin and his work
• Balzac in France in 1898.
• is continued by
• Another production (event), the Bronze casting
  of
• Monument to Balzac in 1925.
• occurs after
• Rodins death (event) in 1917.

network of relationships and events
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Work (CRM Core). Category E84 Information
Carrier Classification sculpture (visual work)
Classification plaster Identification The
Monument to Balzac (plaster) Description
Commissioned to honor one of France's greatest
novelists, Rodin spent seven years preparing for
Monument to Balzac. When the plaster original
was exhibited in Paris in 1898, it was widely
attacked. Rodin retired the plaster model to his
home in the Paris suburbs. It was not cast in
bronze until years after his death. Event
Role in Event P108B was produced by
Identification Rodin making Monument to Balzac
in 1898 Event Type E12 Production
Participant Identification Rodin,
Auguste Identification ID 500016619
Participant Type artists
Participant Type sculptors Date 1898
Place France (nation) Related event
Role in Event P134B was continued by
Identification Bronze casting Monument to Balzac
in 1925 Event Role in Event P16B was used
for Identification Bronze casting Monument
to Balzac in 1925 Event Type E12
Production Participant
Identification Rudier (Vve Alexis) et Fils
Participant Type companies Thing
Present Identification The Monument to
Balzac (S.1296) Thing Present Type
bronze Thing Present Type sculpture
(visual work) Date 1925 Related event
Role in Event P120B occurs after
Identification Rodin's death Relation To
Honore de Balzac Relation type
refers to
Artist (CRM Core). Category E21
Person Classification artists Classification
sculptors Identification Rodin,
Auguste Identification ID 500016619 Event
Role in Event P98B was born Identification
Rodins birth Event Type E67 Birth Date
1840 Event Role in Event P100B died in
Identification Rodins death Event Type
E69_Death Date 1917 Related event
Role in Event P120 occurs before
Identification Bronze casting Monument to Balzac
in 1925
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Example using DC, VRA
Example (VRA Core Categories, Version
3.0). Record Type workType sculptureTitle
Monument to BalzacMaterial.Medium
bronze Material.Medium plasterDate.Creation
1898 Date.Completion ? 1925Creator Auguste
Rodin Creator.Role sculptor Creator ? Rudier
(Vve Alexis) et Fils Creator.Role
Casters Subject Balzac Description
Commissioned to honor one of France's greatest
novelists, Rodin spent seven years preparing for
Monument to Balzac. When the plaster original
was exhibited in Paris in 1898, it was widely
attacked. Rodin retired the plaster model to his
home in the Paris suburbs. It was not cast in
bronze until years after his death.
Example (Dublin Core) Type workType
sculptureTitle Monument to BalzacFormat
bronze Format plasterDate.Created 1898 Date
.? 1925Creator Auguste Rodin Creator
sculptor ContributorRudier (Vve Alexis) et Fils
Subject Balzac Description Commissioned to
honor one of France's greatest novelists, Rodin
spent seven years preparing for Monument to
Balzac. When the plaster original was exhibited
in Paris in 1898, it was widely attacked. Rodin
retired the plaster model to his home in the
Paris suburbs. It was not cast in bronze until
years after his death.
no connection
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Example implementing CCO
Example (CCO) Record type item Class
sculptureWork type statueTitle Monument to
BalzacMaterial and Techniques bronze,
plasterCreator Display Auguste Rodin (French,
1840-1917) Rudier (Vve Alexis) et Fils. Role
linksculptor link Rodin, Auguste Role
linkcasters link Rudier (Vve Alexis) et
Fils Creation Date designed and produced in
1898, cast in 1925 Qualifier design Start
1898 End 1898 Qualifier casting Start
1925 End 1925Subject Balzac Culture
French Description Commissioned to honor one of
France's greatest novelists, Rodin spent seven
years preparing for Monument to Balzac. When the
plaster original was exhibited in Paris in 1898,
it was widely attacked. Rodin retired the plaster
model to his home in the Paris suburbs. It was
not cast in bronze until years after his death.
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Conclusions

• CRM Core is a powerful simplification to capture
  large networks of knowledge
• by far more general and precise than Dublin
  Core
• only slightly more complex than Dublin Core
• Meaningful information integration
• More effective search and retrieval, in
  particular by historical context
• Compatible with CIDOC CRM and DC