Jennifer Bowen, University of RochesterCornell UniversityMay 8, 2012, Ithaca, NY

The eXtensible Catalog (XC): Transitioning to a

Post-MARC Environment

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Agenda

What is eXtensible Catalog (XC) Software?

XC’s potential role in the transition from MARC to a non-MARC environment

Lessons learned from XC to inform RDA implementation and a new bibliographic framework

XC’s potential for producing linked data

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What is XC software?

eXtensible Catalog (XC) is open source, user-centered, next generation software for libraries.

XC provides a discovery system and a set of tools for libraries to manage metadata and build applications.

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XC Software – end to end

OAIToolkitILS ConnectivitySynchronizedata with XC

NCIPToolkitILS Connectivity- Circ. status- Account info

MSTToolkit

Metadata Services- Cleanup- Format Convert

DrupalToolkit

User Interface- Search- Browse

Voyager ILS

MetadataLive Circ. DataUser Interface

Voyager“Driver”

Voyager“Driver”

Digital Repository

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XC software – just the metadata

OAIToolkitILS ConnectivitySynchronizedata with XC

NCIPToolkitILS Connectivity- Circ. status- Account info

MSTToolkit

Metadata Services- Cleanup- Format Convert

User Interface- Search- Browse

Voyager ILS

MetadataLive Circ. DataUser Interface

Voyager“Driver”

Voyager“Driver”

Digital Repository

DrupalToolkit

Insert your Application with OAI-PMH Harvester here!

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Why Build XC?

Empower libraries to have control over their discovery environment Put results of user research into practiceEverything in XC user interface is customizable

Create a new platform for metadata manipulation that uses FRBR, RDA

XC User Research: A few findings

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XC User Research Partners:

Cornell UniversityOhio State University

University of RochesterYale University

Studying scholars at the UR…

User Research Findings

Users have preferred material and format types, depending upon their projects

“I want the printed book. Well, I read online but, what have I accomplished if I print out the pages? Printer ink is incredibly expensive, it’s a horrible pain to do all that. I want the book.”

“I’m very happy because I know it’s online […] I try to do everything electronically now.”

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User Research Findings

Users have preferred material and format types, depending upon their projects

“I’ve done a fair amount of scanning with microfilm and then using the document delivery service to have them scan microfilm and it never works very well for me and what seems to be fine on the computers [in the library] doesn’t work well when I get [to my office]. So I avoid microfilm when I can.”

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User Research Findings: XC Approach

Users have preferred material and format types, depending upon their projects– Show online materials only– Exclude microforms– Enable facet for format

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User Research Findings

Users want to choose between versions of a resource, see relationships between resources

“Yesterday I was teaching Robinson Crusoe and usually I’ll have the newest edition…”

“At the present moment I am completing an edition of selected narratives from the 1883 edition of Fox’s Book of Martyrs …”

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User Research Findings: XC Approach

Users want to choose between versions of a resource, see relationships between resources

XC approach:– Base underlying XC Schema metadata on

linked FRBR Group 1 entity records: works, expressions, manifestations, etc.

– Develop metadata processing services to aggregate/group FRBR entities in the XC User Interface (forthcoming)

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“View XC Schema”

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“Uplinks” between FRBR levels

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XC Schema record originated as this MARC record in our ILS

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“FRBRized” MARC records

MARCXMLBibliographi

c

XCWork

XCExpression

XC Manifestatio

n

XC Holdings

Parse MARCXML records into linked FRBR-based XC Schema records

MARC Holdings records produce XC Holdings records

Uplinks created

MARCXMLHoldings

OO4 “Uplink”Manifestation Held

Expression Manifested

Work Expressed

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XC software – just the metadata

OAIToolkitILS ConnectivitySynchronizedata with XC

NCIPToolkitILS Connectivity- Circ. status- Account info

MSTToolkit

Metadata Services- Cleanup- Format Convert

User Interface- Search- Browse

Voyager ILS

MetadataLive Circ. DataUser Interface

Voyager“Driver”

Voyager“Driver”

Digital Repository

DrupalToolkit

Insert your Application with OAI-PMH Harvester here!

MARC

DC

FRBRized option

What are the implications of XC’s FRBR capabilities?

Facilitating RDA Implementation

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XC transforms MARC data into a FRBR-informed “transitional” XML schema

The “XC Schema,” uses a subset of RDA elements and roles alongside Dublin Core, some XC data elements

More RDA elements can be added to the schema in the future

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“View XC Schema”

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By March 2013…

By the time that RDA is implemented,

Using XC Software, libraries will be able to use RDA in MARC and RDA in a non-MARC environment at the same time.

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RDA in Multiple Environments at Once

Use RDA in MARC via existing ILS

Set up XC alongside a MARC-based ILS. XC harvests a copy of the ILS metadata, converts it to the FRBRized XC Schema that uses some RDA elements and roles.

This enables risk-free experimentation of RDA outside of the constraints of MARC, but without disturbing current workflows

What have we learned from “FRBRizing” MARC in a live

system?(some really ugly slides!)

MARC to XC Schema Transformation

XC Work

XC Expression

XC Manifestation

MARCXML Bibliograp

hic

Parses MARCXML records into linked FRBR-based records

Maps MARCXML data elements to elements in the XC Schema.

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Converting MARC 21

Problematic areas:– Some MARC fields/subfields are

difficult to map to appropriate FRBR entities

– Tracking relationships between FRBR entity records: How many relationships can we support with XC software?

Managing Relationships

XC Work

XC Expression

XC Manifestation

MARCXML Bibliograp

hic

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Managing Relationships

XC Work

XC Expression

XC Manifestation

MARCXML Bibliograp

hic

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Issue 1: Managing Multiple Relationships

XC Work

XC Expression

XC Manifestation

MARCXML Bibliograp

hic

XC Expression

XC Work

MARC bibliographic records can refer to multiple FRBR entities of the same type (analytics that represent multiple works/expressions, e.g. tracks on a CD)

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Issue 2: Beyond FRBR Group 1 Entities

MARC “Alternate Graphic Representation” (880 fields) can contain data that belong in records for Group 2 and Group 3 entities

Contributor:700 1 ‡6 880-08 ‡a Vasil’ev, Maksim.880 1 ‡6 700-08 ‡a Васильев, Максим.

Subject:600 10 ‡6 880-06 ‡a Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich, ‡d 1952- 880 10 ‡6 600-06 ‡a Путин, Владимир Владимирович, ‡d 1952-

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If we were to parse this 880 data correctly:

XC Work

XC Expression

XC Manifestation

MARCXML Bibliograp

hic

Contributor •Contributor in Cyrillic characters•Contributor in Roman characters

Subject •Subject in Cyrillic characters•Subject in Roman characters

Alternative script of

name from 880

Alternative script of

subject from 880

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Issue 3: Related Group 1 Entities

Language attribute for a related expression

041 1 ‡a eng ‡h ita100 0 ‡a Dante Alighieri, ‡d 1265-1321.240 10 ‡a Divina commedia. ‡l English245 14 ‡a The divine comedy / ‡c Dante ; a

new verse translation by C.H. Sisson.500 ‡a Translation of: Divina commedia.

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If we were to parse 041 ‡h data…

XC Work

XC Expression

XC Manifestation

MARCXML Bibliograp

hic

Based on (Expression)

Contributor •Contributor in Cyrillic characters•Contributor in Roman characters

Subject •Subject in Cyrillic characters•Subject in Roman characters

Alternative script of

name from 880

Original language

from 041 ‡h

Alternative script of

subject from 880

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Contributor •Contributor in Cyrillic characters•Contributor in Roman characters

Managing Relationships Between Entities

Based on (Expression)

Subject •Subject in Cyrillic characters•Subject in Roman characters

XC Work

XC Expression

XC Manifestation

MARCXML Bibliograp

hic

Original language from 041

$h

Alternative script of

subject from 880

Alternative script of

name from 880

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•new records•changed records•deleted records•changed relationships

Maintaining links between separate FRBR entity records in a production environment may not be scalable if we continue to manipulate records.

What we are learning from XC

XC Work

XC Expression

XC Manifestation

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The GOOD news: MARC data is very rich, and contains data about MANY relationships described in FRBR and related data models

What XC has taught us about FRBR…

There are hundreds of RDA Relationships between FRBR entitles!

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What XC has taught us about FRBR…

The GOOD news: MARC data is very rich, and contains data about MANY relationships described in FRBR and related data models

The BAD news: managing all of these relationships in a record-based system is probably not feasible

Conclusion (more good news): Linked Data may make a fuller implementation of FRBR much more attainable!

Questions?

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XC MST Demo

www.extensiblecatalog.org/software/mst/demo