Subjects in the FR family

1. Subjects in the FR family Gordon Dunsire Presented at the CC:DA/SAC joint meeting, ALA Annual, 27 June 2011

2. Overview • Functional Requirements and Resource Description Framework • Semantics and inferencing • Treatment of “subject” in each FR model • Reconciling the models • Some open questions

3. FR family history • Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) published in 1997/8 • Amended and corrected 2009 • Functional Requirements for Authority Date (FRAD) published in 2009 • Functional Requirements for Subject Authority Data (FRSAD) published in 2010

4. FR in RDF • FR models represented in Resource Description Framework (RDF) • FRBR Namespace project • RDF is basis of the Semantic Web • Representations made separately for each model to recapitulate historical development • Learning curve for FRBR Review Group • Informs development of consolidated model

5. Resource Description Framework • Metadata expressed as “atomic” statements • A simple, single, irreducible statement • The title of this book is “Treasure island” • Metadata statement constructed in 3 parts: a “triple” • Subject of the statement = Subject: This book • Nature of the statement = Predicate: has title • Value of the statement = Object: “Treasure island” • This book – has title – “Treasure island” • subject – predicate - object

6. RDF triple • Subject and predicate MUST be machine-identifiable • Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) • Object MAY be a URI, or a literal • “Treasure Island” • Predicate = RDF Property

7. E-R in RDF Entity Class Set of individuals with similar characteristics Relates one individual to another individual or value Relationship Property

8. Property domain and range • A property links two specific things • The subject and object of a triple using the property • This book – has subject – that topic • A property may be defined to indicate the type (class) of thing that is its subject: Domain • A property may indicate the class that is its object: Range

9. Inferencing (1) This thing – has subject – that thing Implies: This thing – is a – Book Implies: That thing – is a – Topic Book and Topic are classes (types of thing)

10. Inferencing (2) • A sub-class is a sub-type of thing • A sub-property is a refinement of a property • The domain or range of a sub-property is a sub-class of the domain or range of the property • Therefore a thing which is of the class of the domain or range of a triple using a sub-property is also of the class of the domain or range of the property

11. FRBR “Subject” relationships: E-R diagram Work Work Group 1 Expression has as subject [is subject of] Manifestation Item Person Group 2 has as subject [is subject of] Corporate Body Concept Group 3 Object has as subject [is subject of] Event Place

12. FRBR “Subject” relationships: RDF properties

13. FRBR “Subject” relationships: RDF inverse properties

14. FRAD treatment of subject (1) • New attribute of FRBR Work entity • Subject of the work • “The subject aspects of the work and its content.” • “Includes information about the subject of the work. Includes classification numbers.” • New Family entity • Added to the FRBR high-level E-R diagram • Adds subject relationship between Work and Family

15. FRAD treatment of subject (2) • Descriptive relationship • “The relationship between a target work or expression or manifestation or item and a new work that refers to that target as its subject (e.g., criticism, commentary, review, casebook, etc., and the object of that analysis). • This type of relationship is usually expressed in bibliographic data through a subject controlled access point for the target work rather than through authority data.”

16. FRAD treatment of subject (3) • Controlled access point/Corresponding subject term or classification number relationship • “The relationship between the controlled access point for the name of an entity (for a person, family, corporate body, work, expression, manifestation, item, concept, object, event, place) and a subject term in a controlled vocabulary, and/or a classification number for that entity. Here the subject term and the classification number may also be viewed as parallel names/identifiers for the name of the same entity.”

17. FRAD “Subject” relationships: RDF properties Not a “subject of” relationship

18. FRAD “Subject” relationships: RDF inverse properties

19. FRSAD: E-R diagram Work has as subject Thema is subject of has appellation Nomen is appellation of

20. FRSAD “Subject” relationships: RDF properties FRSAD “Subject” relationships: RDF inverse properties

21. FRBR/FRSAD: E-R diagram Thema Work Work has as subject Expression Manifestation has as subject Item is subject of has appellation Person has as subject is appellation of Corporate Body Family Concept has as subject Object Event Nomen Place

22. Work Work Work Work Work Work frbrer:has as subject (G1) frbrer:has as subject (G3) frbrer:has as subject (G2) frad:has subject of the work frsad:has as subject frad:is descriptive work of Thema G1 G3 G2 G1 G3 – is a sub-class of – Thema is a sub-property of Implies: G2 – is a sub-class of – Thema G1 – is a sub-class of – Thema

23. Is Thema a class? • (In a non-trivial sense) • Any thing can be a thema (?) • Thema has only 2 attributes • Type • Scope note • Does this imply that Thema is an equivalent class to Thing (the class of all classes)?

24. Reconciling Nomen • Nomen is a class of labels? • There are many label-type classes in the FR family • FRAD: Controlled Access Point, Name (of a Person, etc.) • FRBR properties with no range: titles, terms, designations, etc. • Relationship with SKOSXL class Label?

25. Thank you • gordon@gordondunsire.com • Sponsors • ALA • Cataloging & Classification Quarterly • MARCIVE, Inc.