Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records FRBR

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Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records
(FRBR)
CILIP CIG Bath, 30th June 2004 New emerging
standards

• Patrick Le Buf, Bibliothèque nationale de France
• Chair of the IFLA FRBR Review Group

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BR
FR

• what it is and what it is not
• what it does and what it does not
• whats the use of that stuff???

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What FRBR is

• a model developed for IFLA
• 1992-1997
• as a consequence of one of the 9 resolutions
  adopted in 1990 (Stockholm Seminar on
  Bibliographic Records)
• aim
• to produce a framework
• that would provide a () commonly shared
  understanding of
• what it is that the bibliographic record aims to
  provide information about,
• and what it is that we expect the record to
  achieve in terms of answering user needs

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What FRBR is

• an Entity-Relationship model
• defines entities, their attributes, their
  relationships
• 3 groups of entities Group 1

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FRBRs core Group 1 of Entities
Work
Expression
Manifestation
Item
The word book has at least four distinct meanings
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Group 2 of entities
Who made it???
Corporate Body
Person
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Group 3 of entities
What is it about???
Group 1
Concept
Object
Event
Place
Group 2
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What FRBR is

• a reference model
• a framework for commonly shared understanding
• to have the same structure in mind and to refer
  to the same concepts under the same appellations
• to compare differently structured data sets

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What FRBR is not

• a new or emerging standard???
• it is not a standard
• it is not prescriptive

• a data model
• attributes too generic to allow for an
  implementation of the model such as it stands
• e.g., FRBR does not account for different kinds
  of titles

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What FRBR is not

• an ISBD
• FRBR does not state how to structure data
  elements
• nor how to display them
• FRBR is broader and more abstract than ISBDs

• a format
• most systems that implement it use XML
• Roberto Sturman has developed a MARC-like format
  that follows very closely the FRBR structure

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What FRBR is not

• an event-aware model
• FRBR does not strive to explicitly account for
  temporal aspects, such as changes over time
• CRM models events that occur during the life-time
  of a document
• ABC models states that hold between two changes
• FRBR only considers uncontextualised snapshots of
  objects not supposed to stir over time

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History and achievements

• Implementation
• Impact
• In progress

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Implementation

• AustLit Gateway
• applies to an exclusively literary corpus of
  Australian texts
• not a catalogue
• work-centred displays for each work all of its
  expressions and manifestations on a single Web
  page
• data model based on FRBR and topic maps
• insists on contextualization of Works

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What is contextualization?
By whom? (life/works)?
Male or female?
Under what name or pseudonym ?
Inspired by what?
What heritage/ethnicity?
Where?
What form ?
What setting ?
When ?
What influences ? (another author another work a
place a period an event)
Work
What genre?
Creation
What subject ?
What type ?
Characteristics of different versions?
Reception/reputation
Influences exerted?
Features of different publications?
Critical reception?
Works generated?
Awards won?
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Lilian's Story
Credits to AustLit Gateway Carol Hetherington
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Evening Alone at Bunyah
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Bad Debts
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Implementation

• Virtua
• 2002 VTLS Inc. releases Virtua 41.0
• MARC records can be split into 4 levels
• Flat records and FRBR records live
  side-by-side
• uses Tom Delseys mapping of MARC21 to FRBR
• cataloguing paradigm is still based on ISBDs

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Virtuas FRBR Tree
full marc frbr tree Author xxxxxx Uniform
Title xxxxxx Subject xxxxxx
Work
Work
Complete record
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Implementation

• OCLC
• OCLCs WorldCat to be FRBRized
• Troubles with the Expression levelonly the
  Language attribute is retained
• OCLC FictionFinder prototype
  (lthttp//fictionfinder.oclc.orggt)
• Projects for the FirstSearch OPAC too

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OCLC FictionFinder prototype
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OCLC FictionFinder prototype
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OCLC FictionFinder prototype
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OCLC FictionFinder prototype
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Possible Future FirstSearch Display Mock-Up
SMDs
GMDs
Item
Work
Manifestation
Expression
Credits to OCLC ("Showboating FRBR")
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Another Possibility
Super-Work
Credits to OCLC ("Showboating FRBR")
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Implementation

• RLG (Research Libraries Group)
• RLGs RedLightGreen OPAC both Googlized and
  FRBRized
• FRBRization is only partial no Expression
• Available on line at lthttp//www.redlightgreen.com
  gt

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RLG RedLightGreen OPAC
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Implementation

• Library of Congress FRBR Display Tool
• Objective
• Sample hierarchical displays of records for
  multiple manifestations of the same work
• Citation for the work
• Guide cards for the expressions (Leader/06
  Type of record, 008/35-37 Language)
• Brief entries for the manifestations, with link
  to full records

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FRBR Display Tool
Search
FRBR Display Tool
MARCXMLToolkit
Set of "flat" Marc21 records
XSL stylesheet
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FRBR Display Tool
Author Welty, Eudora, 1909- Work The optimist's
daughter ? Form text - English ? Edition ?
Title The optimist's daughter ? Statement of
responsibility Eudora Welty. ? Imprint Random
House, 2002 ? Physical Description p. cm. ?
ISBN 037550835X (acid-free paper) ? Edition
1st ed. ? Title The optimist's daughter ?
Imprint Random House, 1972 ? Physical
Description 180 p. 22 cm. ? ISBN 0394480171
039448018X (lim. ed.) ? Form sound recording -
English ? Edition ? Title The optimist's
daughter ? Statement of responsibility by Eudora
Welty. ? Imprint Random House Audiobooks,
p1986 ? Physical Description 2 sound cassettes
(3 hr., 59 min.) analog, Dolby processed ?
ISBN 0394555872 ? Publisher Number RH29 Random
House Audiobooks
Work citation
Leader/06, 008/35-37
Brief entry
Link to LoC's record
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Impact

• ISBD revision
• first focused on chapters 6 and 7 of the FRBR
  Final Report, making some data elements optional
• Optional is not Forbidden
• National cataloguing codes more and more distant
  from each other over time?

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Impact

• AACR revision
• Decision to systematically FRBRize terminology
• Item being described Manifestation???
• How to make GMDs more consistent?

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In progress

• FRANAR
• 1999 FRANAR Working Group
• FRBRFRANAR Model for the entire Bibliographic
  Universe(bibliographic records authority
  records)
• 2004 approval by IFLA?

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In progress

• FRBR Review Group
• Formed 2002 (initially as FRBR Working Group)
• 2003 5 Working Groups
• Continuing Resources / FRBR-CRM Harmonization /
  Expression Entity / Teaching Training / Subject
  Relationships
• Web site hosted by IFLANET (lthttp//www.ifla.org/V
  II/s13/wgfrbr/wgfrbr.htmgt)
• Listserv frbr_at_infoserv.inist.fr

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Conclusion

• FRBR in my catalogue? Not today (except if I use
  Virtua)
• FRBR hates typos inaccurate uniform titles
• FRBR loves CRM tomorrow, only one OPAC for
  libraries museums?
• FRBR loves XML and the Semantic Web