Retrieval That Works: FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records) and OCLC

1. Retrieval That Works: FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records) and OCLC Eric Childress OCLC Research SEALL 2006 Raleigh, NC 8 April 2006

2. Outline • Background • FRBR explained • FRBR applied

3. FRBR Explained

4. FRBR basics • FRBR = Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records • Developed by cataloging experts working under the auspices of IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) • FRBRis from a document issued by IFLA: • Functional Requirements For Bibliographic Records: Final Report (1998) • FRBR is a conceptual model (not a standard!) • FRBR systematically models the bibliographic universe

5. The FRBR Project • Stockholm Seminar on Bibliographic Records (1990) • Issued a resolution calling for the commissioning of a study to define the functional requirements of bibliographic records • IFLA Study Group on the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records • Study (1992-1995): • Against the changing environment within which cataloging principles & standards operate… • Conceptualize a cataloging code- and implementation-agnostic, generalized view of the bibliographic universe • Deliver (1996-1998): • A reference (i.e. conceptual) model • A report: Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records: Final Report Münich : K.G. Saur, 1998. [viii, 136 pages. ISBN 3-598-11382-X]

6. About the FRBR study… • Primary objectives of the FRBR study: • Provide a clearly defined, structured framework for relating bibliographic data to user needs • Recommend a basic level of functionality for records created by national bibliographic agencies • Modeling the bibliographic universe: • Utilizes an entity-relationship framework: • Entities = a class of things • Relationships = associations among entities • Attributes = characteristics of the entities

7. Value of FRBR • FRBR study process and report: • Fresh look at what functions bibliographic records perform • FRBR systematically models the bibliographic universe • Helps us answer important questions: • What information is of the most value to users of the catalog? • How can that most valuable information be used more effectively? • Promises to inspire next generation catalogs, etc. • Illuminates user tasks • Clarifies how catalogs should function

8. “The FRBR model is revolutionary. The (computer) catalogue is not seen as a sequence of bibliographic records and a replica of the traditional card catalogue, but rather as a network of connected data, enabling the user to perform seamlessly all the necessary functions.” -Dr. Maja Žumer. National and University Library, Ljubljana, Slovenia

9. FRBR Explained (in Swedish…) http://www.biblioteksforeningen.org/komm/katalog/frbr/summary.html

10. Four User Tasks: • Findentities that match the search criteria • Identify entities (confirm that the user has found what they were looking for) • Selectan entity that matches the user’s criteria • Obtainaccess to the entity through purchase, loan, or through electronic remote access And, maybe a fifth: • Navigate

11. FRBR defines 3 groups of entities • Group 1: products of intellectual or artistic endeavor that are named of described in bibliographic records • work, expression, manifestation, item • Group 2: entities responsible for the intellectual or artistic content, the physical production and dissemination, or the custodianship of such products • person, corporate body • Group 3: entities that serve as the subjects of intellectual or artistic endeavor • concept, object, event, place

12. agents intellectual/ bibliographic units “aboutness” From William Denton (http://www.frbr.org/)

13. From William Denton (http://www.frbr.org/)

14. Is embodied in Manifestation Is exemplified by Item Group 1 Entities Work A distinct intellectual or artistic creation Is realized through The intellectual or artistic realization of a work Expression The physical embodiment of an expression A single exemplar of a manifestation

15. Group 1

16. Attributes • A set of characteristics that serve as the basis for formulating queries and interpreting responses • Can be either inherent or externally applied • E.g., inherent: the physical medium and dimension of an object • E.g., externally sourced: assigned identifiers (e. g., thematic catalog numbers for musical compositions)

17. Attributes of Group 1 Entities • Work • Work title, form or genre, date, performance medium, intended audience • Expression • Expression title, form of the expression, language of the expression, type of score, scale of a map • Manifestation • Manifestation title, publisher, date of publication, form of carrier, dimensions, manifestation identifier (e.g. ISBN), terms of availability • Item • Location or call number, barcode, provenance, condition, access restrictions on an item

18. From: http://www.nla.gov.au/lis/stndrds/grps/acoc/tillett2004.ppt

19. OCLC FRBR work set algorithm used to cluster related WorldCat records Original English Translation Illustrated edition Abridged edition Adaptation e¹ e² e³ e¹ Expressions Work² Work¹

20. An example of a law title Handbook of the Law of Torts William Prosser (1941) [Braille] 5th edition, Student edition Original 2nd-4th editions 5th edition e¹-e3 e4 e5 Microform edition Expressions m1 Work

21. Worldcat Print books Total 47,423,810 Works 28,542,021 59,879,322 Manifestations 35,372,459 1,531,400,969 1,194,751,352 Items (est: holdings*1.5)

22. Works in WorldCat Works with between 2 and 5 manifestations: 12% Works with > 5 manifestations: 1% Manifestations By Holdings Works with > 5 manifestations: 17% of total holdings Works with 1 manifestation: 87% Works with between 2 and 5 manifestations: 40% of total holdings Works with 1 manifestation: 43% of total holdings

23. Top 10 works in WC by holdings 10

24. Complex relationships can exist among works, expressions, manifestations, items • Closely-related resources may form a “super work” • Barbara Tillet (LC) has done analysis on resource-to-resource relationships http://www.tezuka-gu.ac.jp/public/seiken/sub4/frbr_tab5-1.jpg

25. From William Denton (http://www.frbr.org/)

26. Group 2 – Responsible Entities Entities responsible for the intellectual or artistic content, the physical production and dissemination, or the custodianship of such products Group 2 entities: • Person • Corporate Body And perhaps a third … • Family

27. Attributes of Group 2 Entities • Attributes of Group 2 entities: • Person • Names, dates, titles or other designations • Corporate body • Name, number, place, date, other designation

28. From William Denton (http://www.frbr.org/)

29. Group 3 - Subject Entities Entities that serve as the subjects of intellectual or artistic endeavor Group 3 entities: • Concept: topical subject heading • Object: name for an object • Event: name for an event • Place: name for a place • Plusthe Group 1 and 2 Entities: • Works about Works/Expressions/Manifestations/Items • Works about Persons and/or Corporate Entities

30. Attributes of Group 3 Entities • Attributes of Group 3 entities: • Concept • term • Object • term • Event • term • Place • term

31. Since the initial FRBR report… • Statement of International Cataloguing Principles Approved by the IFLA Meeting of Experts on an International Cataloguging Code (Frankfurt, 2003) • Adapts and expands the Paris Principles (1961) • Expands scope from: • Textual works to all types of materials • Choice and form of entry to all aspects of bibliographic & authority records • First principle remains: Serve the convenience of the users of the catalogue

32. Working the FRBR/FRANAR framework… All work now under the FRBR Review Group: • Group 1 entities [bibliographic]: • The IFLA Study Group on the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records, 1992-1998 • Various follow-on work underway (Clarifying “expression” ; Clarifying FRBR for continuing resources, more…) • Group 2 entities [authorities]: • Functional Requirements and Numbering of Authority Records (FRANAR) Working Group • Group 3 entities [subject access]: • Working Group on Subject Relationships

33. FRBR Applied

34. Applying FRBR in services • Incorporating the concepts of the FRBR model in systems: • Superior presentation of search results • Esp. in large files – more intuitive clustering • May help streamline library cataloging • Reduces repeated keying of work-related info • Bibliographic & management intelligence • New insights into works (e.g., OCLC’s 1000 list) • Libraries can operate at workset level (e.g., ILL)

35. An OCLC experimental prototype Supports searching & browsing of fiction materials cataloged in WorldCat Fiction records — 2.8 million Unique works — 1.4 million Total holdings — 130 million Employs FRBR to: Build a “work” view & cluster related records Support the creation of special indexes OCLC Research team: Diane Vizine-Goetz (lead) Roger Thompson Carol Hickey Lance Osborne J.D. Shipengrover New version: Available later in 2006 Improved navigation & work-based displays FictionFinder

37. Alphabetical browse display in redesigned interface

38. Nearly 20,000 works retrieved The record for Don Quixote represents 2,300+ editions

39. Don Quixote work view aggregates information from 2,367 editions in 40,212 libraries

40. Don Quixote work view limited to Spanish language editions ordered by latest publication date

41. Edition (manifestation) record display Link to OCLC WorldCat Find in a Library Service

43. OCLC Research prototype Features: Quick searches target with each additional keystroke of search term/phrase Retrieves ordered, FRBR-inspired results (combined with holdings-based ranking) Narrow-by Dewey attributes (expressed as captions) OCLC Research Team: Thom Hickey (lead) Jenny Toves Ralph LeVan Files being prototyped: Phoenix Public+DDC LCSH Live Search

44. Search results automaticallyregenerate as searches are entered

45. Search categories automaticallyupdate as search results update

46. Narrow by natural facets (“categories”) of any given result set

47. item data drawn from Phoenix Public’s OPAC

48. Questions? Eric Childress Consulting Project Manger OCLC Research http://www.oclc.org/research/staff/childress.htm

49. Resources on FRBR

50. IFLA-related FRBR resources • IFLA FRBR Review Group http://www.ifla.org/VII/s13/wgfrbr/wgfrbr.htm • Functional requirements for bibliographic records : final report / IFLA Study Group on the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records ; Approved by the Standing Committee of the IFLA Section on Cataloguing. Münich : K.G. Saur, 1998. viii, 136 pages. ISBN 3-598-11382-X also online:http://www.ifla.org/VII/s13/frbr/frbr.htm • FRBR Bibliography: http://www.ifla.org/VII/s13/wgfrbr/bibliography.htm • FRBR in 21st century catalogues (Workshop held at OCLC) http://www.oclc.org/research/events/frbr-workshop • Statement of International Cataloguing Principles http://www.loc.gov/loc/ifla/imeicc/source/statement-draft_jan05.pdf