Linked Data Metadata for Digital Clothing Collections

ABSTRACT

The historical clothing collections held by academic and other institutions serve as an important resource for scholars in fields ranging from fashion design to sociology. While metadata schemes have been created for individual clothing collections, no standard metadata scheme for clothing had been developed. This case study describes the creation of a linked data metadata scheme for clothing designed for the Oregon State University's College of Business Design Programs' Historical and Cultural Textile and Apparel Collection housed within the ScholarsArchive digital repository. In addition, the scheme can be used as a standard clothing metadata scheme which may be implemented by other organizations, or extended as needed.     

Archival objects in motion: historians’ appropriation of sources in nineteenth-century Austria and Switzerland

This contribution examines the social, material, and epistemic practices of historians and their counterparts engaged in the textual and visual reproduction of historical sources in nineteenth-century Austria and Switzerland. The Schweizerische Urkundenregister (1863–1877), a Swiss register of medieval charters, and the Monumenta graphica medii aevi (1859–1883), an Austrian collection of photographic facsimiles of medieval sources, were both intended to make historical sources accessible outside the archives in the framework of national history. The article analyzes institutional collaborations and the social interactions among the actors involved and follows the trajectories of the mobilized archival objects. These projects for national source publications appear as a negotiated social practice, in which archival objects were dislocated conceptually as well as materially in order to be stabilized and reified again in new infrastructures of research. The conflicts surrounding the projects reveal disputes about authority over the archival records, their significance, and the techniques required to represent them properly, and show how the emergence of scholarly source publications accompanied a conscious erasure of older contexts of meaning.     

Inclusion and Collaboration: PCC CJK Community Growing Strong and Global

Abstract

Establishing Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) Chinese Japanese Korean (CJK) NACO, BIBCO, CONSER, and SACO funnels grew out of the PCC’s strategy of engaging and inclusion of diverse membership, and the commitment of the Council on East Asian Libraries (CEAL) to collaboration with PCC, the Library of Congress, and the American Library Association. Together, PCC CJK funnels and CEAL’s Committee on Technical Processing (CTP) have been taking leadership roles in contributing quality metadata, developing CJK-specific training programs, participating in the development of PCC policies and best practices, and engaging in international collaborations. This article discusses challenges the CJK funnels and CEAL CTP have faced and strategies taken in this ongoing collaborative endeavor.     

Taking Paint Samples for Pigment Analysis in Nineteenth-Century England

ABSTRACT

During the nineteenth century, chemists became increasingly engaged in the conservation treatment of polychrome surfaces. While collaborations between chemists and museum workers in charge of easel painting collections were mostly oriented towards the improvement of conservation practices, the involvement of chemists in the nascent field of archaeology was oriented towards material characterization, such as pigment analysis of polychrome surfaces. Since this type of analysis is destructive and damages the artwork, it could, therefore, be assumed that chemists were in these cases less concerned with the conservation of objects with an archaeological and historical provenance. On the contrary, my new reading of nineteenth-century English primary sources reporting pigment analysis shows that chemists also had ethical concerns about the physical integrity of archaeological objects and their conservation. This is apparent in the process in which paint samples were taken from the artworks for their subsequent analysis.     

Using Information Visualization to Support Access to Archival Records

ABSTRACT

As more archival metadata and archival records become available online, providing effective interfaces to those materials is increasingly important to give users access. This article describes five approaches from the hypertext and visualization research communities which can be used to improve such access: (1) navigating hierarchical structures, (2) illustrating networks of relationships, (3) viewing organizational processes, (4) using time and space as organizing structures, and (5) spatializing arguments and discussions. This article addresses particular challenges in applying these visualization techniques to archival records and considers novel challenges introduced by them for both archival organization and for visualization research.     

Making Search Engines Notice: An Exploratory Study on Discoverability of DSpace Metadata and PDF Files

ABSTRACT

This study analyzed the search results of four main Internet search engines on three newly created digital collections at Texas Tech University Libraries, in order to assess the search engine indexing on metadata and PDF files of digital items that are published in the institutional repository. The exploratory study found that only one search engine discovered PDF files, while the others only discovered metadata. The results of the study also suggested that metadata and PDF files can supplement each other to facilitate discoverability of the digital collections on search engines, and revealed some findings that are contradictory to conclusions in previous research.     

Collaborating with Nonlibrary Faculty for Assessment and Improved Instruction

ABSTRACT

Collaboration with other entities and individuals has long been a standard practice of libraries. Typically, these collaborations seek to reduce redundancies, save money, and support educational and research efforts. However, a new model of collaboration exists that both assists discipline-specific research practices and informs library procedures. This article reviews two collaborations between an assessment librarian and a sociology class. The collaborations are unique because the library is the focus of the collaboration, with sociology students being able to apply classroom learning in a real-world setting. Several suggestions are provided for best practices when endeavoring to use this type of collaboration to inform library practice and engage students in hands-on learning.     

The PCC ISNI Pilot: Exploring Identity Management on a Global,Collaborative Scale

Abstract

The Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) conducted a multi-institution Pilot project to contribute metadata to the International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI) database. In addition to describing the goals, structure, and activities undertaken in the Pilot, this article examines some of the experiences of PCC metadata practitioners as they sought to incorporate ISNIs into their metadata workflows and pursue a wide range of ISNI use cases. Lastly, the article outlines next steps that flowed from the Pilot as the PCC has parlayed its newly developing identity management expertise into additional PCC program explorations.     

基于内容分析的数字人文领域中知识组织价值体现研究综述

[目的/意义]对知识组织方法与技术在数字人文领域的应用情况进行系统梳理,以更好地把握其实际应用特点,明确数字人文领域知识组织的价值,并为后续相关研究与实践提供借鉴。[方法/过程]采用文献调研法获取国内外数字人文领域相关研究文献,并基于内容分析法对其进行深入分析。[结果/结论]研究发现:元数据、本体、语义标注、关联数据等知识组织方法与技术贯穿数字人文的始终,是数字人文的有机组成部分;知识组织可为数字人文资源的组织提供解决方案与方法工具,为人们观察文化现象历史演化提供新视角,赋予人们获取新知识、发现新问题的能力;知识组织在数字人文领域发挥了方法价值和中介价值,为数字人文领域资源的组织与利用提供方法工具,充当用户与数字人文领域资源之间的桥梁。     

Work in Progress: The PCC Task Group on Metadata Application Profiles

Abstract

The Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) Task Group on Metadata Application Profiles was convened in May 2019 to help the PCC understand issues and practices associated with the management of metadata application profiles. Their work, discussed here, will guide future decisions and implementations of metadata application profiles in cataloging.     

Historical Information Science and Communications—A Report and Review Essay

Abstract

Historical studies using computers and social science research methodologies share many interests, techniques, methods and approaches with modern information science. The major difference is a focus on retrospective rather than contemporary research topics and attendant differences in methods resulting from the nature of historical sources and the impact of time on interpretation. Whereas historical informatics evolved as a focus on computer science and history from quantification research, this field is still growing and absorbing in an interdisciplinary manner material, methods and approaches from other fields in accord with the syncretic nature of History. This enlarged arena may be called Historical Information Science, which is exemplified by the recent conferences and activities of the International Association of History and Computing (IACH).     

Library Information Technology Collaborations at the University of New Mexico

ABSTRACT

Information technology services and programs at the University of New Mexico are delivered by a mixture of distributed and centralized operations. Collaborations between the distributed services, largely in academic areas, as well as with central Information Technologies have been developed largely around point of need, historical arrangements, and personal interests. Recent changes in the leadership for Academic Affairs, the Office of the Vice President for Research, Information Technologies, and the University Libraries provided an opportunity for evaluating the current state and proposing new ways of working together. The authors describe several collaborations where the University Libraries have engaged with campus units in developing new or improved service and approaches to working together.     

Library and information science research in China

Abstract

This study is to quantitatively analyze the research activity in the area of Chinese Library and Information Science (LIS) from 1975 to 2004 based on Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). Results show that there are increases in both the number of papers and the quality of publishing channels. It was higher than the world average for Chinese research effort in LIS area. About 79% of the total LIS papers in China were from universities. The web of science (WOS) journals are representative for the Chinese LIS publications in general. The quantity and quality of papers from Hong Kong were higher than that from Mainland China. About half of the papers from China were completed through either international or domestical collaborations. The major collaborators were from Europe and North America and the higher quality of collaborations were from Oceania and North America.     

Decontamination of Biocide Treated Museum Objects of the Swiss National Museum’s Collection by Liquid CO2 Technology

ABSTRACT

A decontamination treatment using liquid CO₂ (li-CO₂) and specifically developed for the requirements of museum objects (Lombardo, T., M. Wörle, V. Hubert, E. Hildbrand, I. Mayer, C. Hinterleitner, U. von Arx. 2020. “Influence of Process Parameters on Chlorinated Biocide Decontamination by li-CO₂ on Artificially Contaminated Model Materials.” Studies in Conservation, in press, doi:10.1080/00393630.2019.1641001) was first tested on model materials of wood (with and without coating), silk, and wool with different dyes, paper, and leather in order to evaluate possible material changes. Then, selected museum objects from the collection of the Swiss National Museum were treated to determine the efficiency of biocide decontamination and any resulting chemical and/or structural changes. Results show that dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), pentachlorophenol (PCP), lindane, and chlorpyrifos were successfully removed. Wool, silk, leather, and non-coated wood did not experience any detectable modifications, while moderate to major modifications were observed in wood coated with shellac and polychromy.     

Joining forces for public value creation? Exploring collaborative innovation in smart city initiatives

Creating public value is a key goal of public administrations, both in their daily business and in the growing field of smart government and smart cities, which focuses on IT-enabled innovations in the public sphere. However, many public administrations still struggle with such innovations due to complex technologies, high investments, and the numerous stakeholders involved. To address this issue, some local governments in continental Europe have turned to collaborative innovation approaches, partnering with (semi-)public utility companies in the hope that their additional innovation assets will boost innovativeness. Nevertheless, it remains unclear how exactly such collaborations should be governed to ensure that the focus remains on creating public value, as utility companies may have their own agendas. To explore this question, we conducted a comparative case study in the context of smart city initiatives with four cases in Swiss local governments. Drawing on agency and stewardship theory, we then propose a model of public-value-focused collaborative innovation, enabling us to explore various collaboration characteristics and their effects on public value creation. Our findings suggest that both agency- and stewardship-based collaborations increase innovativeness. However, while agency collaborations tend to produce smart city innovations that mainly serve the utility companies' business interests, stewardship relationships lead to innovations that are focused more on public value creation. As such, our study extends the literature on the effects of collaborative innovation on public value, and it provides practical recommendations on how such collaborative innovation should be designed.     

Towards a Better Description of Genre Archives: A Case Study of Travel Archives

Abstract

Researchers attempting to access genre archives are often stymied by insufficient metadata. They frequently overlook collections because a processing archivist may not have described those collections in a way which would have benefitted their research. Historic travel writing, often the end-product of a travel archive, generally focused on pilgrimages, exploration, adventure, and leisure. Yet finding these types of archives is a difficult task due to either too narrow/too broad or insufficient metadata. Archivists can play a more active role in helping these collections expand their audiences by making them more accessible.     

An Interview with Mirna Willer

Abstract

In this interview, conducted by email, Dr. Mirna Wiler discusses her career as cataloger, systems librarian and UNIMARC and metadata expert, as well as her position as Professor of library science. She also describes her participation in international organizations' working groups, such as IFLA and UNESCO.