Authority data in a European context: The CERL Thesaurus

Authority data: a new conceptional model? Machine readable cataloguing, relational databases 1984: Guidelines for authority and reference entries, idea of ISADN 1998: FRBR published. 1999: FRANAR: extend the concept of FRBR to authority data 2009: FRAD published

Ancestors of authority data? Traditional catalogues: PR, CR (Munich) IFLA s lists of uniform titles Encyclopedias, biographical reference works Indexes and registers

Authority data in a European context IFLA international context CERL European context Consortium of European Research Libraries - HPB: Heritage of the Printed Book Database - CERL-Thesaurus - CERL-Portal for manuscripts and printed books

CERL Thesaurus Authority data in a European context Contents and structure Methods of providing content Editing procedures Use of the CT Further developments Role of authority files for organizing intellectual content

Names of Contents of the CERL Thesaurus Imprint Places Imprint Names Personal Names Corporate Names Reference Works connected to book production in Europe from 1450 to ca. 1830 6

International Scope 54 authority files From libraries in 12 European countries - multilingual Fully Unicode compliant - multiscript UNIMARC inspired format Virtual keyboard for non-roman scripts 7

Contributing libraries Belgium University Library, Antwerp Denmark: Royal Library, Copenhagen Germany: Bavarian State Library, Munich Common Library Network, Göttingen National Library of Germany, Frankfurt a. M. Herzog-August-Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel 8

France: Contributing libraries Bibliothèque nationale, Paris Bibliothèque municipale, Lyon United Kingdom: British Library, London Cathedral Libraries Middle Temple Library Private contributions 9

Italy: Contributing libraries Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico, Rome Croatia: National Library, Zagreb Netherlands: National Library of the Netherlands, The Hague Poland: University Library, Warsaw 10

Spain: Contributing libraries Library of the Complutense University Hist. Library of the Univ. of Salamanca Sweden: Royal Library, Stockholm Switzerland Basel University Library 11

Content of the CERL Thesaurus Records in total: 715.096 Imprint places 4.186 Personal names 670.112 Corporate names 8.274 Imprint names 30.409 Reference works 2.117 12

Contents of the CERL Thesaurus Places of printing and publishing Variant spellings ( find, identify ) Vernacular forms Fictitious names Links to printers' records ( contextualize ) Geographic co-ordinates (in autumn 2009) Sources ( justify ) 13

Content of the CERL Thesaurus Printers, publishers, booksellers, Variant names Biographic information Links to predecessors and successors Printing places Printers' devices 14

Content of the CERL Thesaurus Persons Authors, owners, editors, translators, Variant names Pseudonyms Biographic information Links to related persons (relatives etc.) Links to related corporate bodies Links to provenance information 15

Content of the CERL Thesaurus Corporate bodies: Authors, owners, General information Variant names Links to predecessors and successors Provenance information 16

THESAURUS Allows for different standardized name forms in parallel ( justify : quoting the agency Not prescriptive or selective of content Creating added value

Editing procedures Machine procedures:create records, Integrate existing records, merge with existing records Machine supported manual editing: merge records Manual editing: create records, merge records, edit records WINADH- software Multilingual records

Accessing the CERL Thesaurus WWW http://cerl.sub.uni-goettingen.de/ct/ free for everybody SRU http://sru.cerl.org/thesaurus upon agreement with CERL 19

Web interface Search box Help Information on recently added files 20

Search options Index Virtual Keyboard 21

Browsing the Index Automatic selection of identical records 22

Short display Full display Display of Standard Forms 23

Full display 24

Navigation Back to the Shortlist Print Annotations Display of Standard Forms Display of Related Records Internal format 25

Related records Display related records List of printers who had been active in Munich 26

Provenance information Restrict the search to records with provenance information 27

Provenance information Display provenance information from remote library catalogues 28

Provenance information These libraries hold books owned by the person in question 29

Provenance information Books formerly owned by Carl Ketelhodt, now in the Herzog-August-Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel 30

Printers' devices Links to images of printers' devices 31

Sources of printers' devices England & Scotland McKerrow, Ronald B.: Printers' and publishers' devices in England & Scotland 1485-1640. London, 1913 Italy Censimento nazionale delle edizione italiane del XVI secolo. [Rom, s.a.] 32

Sources of Printers' Devices Paris Renouard, Philippe: Les marques typographiques parisiennes des 15e et 16e siècles. Paris, 1926 Spain Vindel, Francisco: Escudas y marcas de impressores y libreros en Espana durante los siglos XV a XIX (1485-1850). Barcelona, 1942 33

Sources of Printers' Devices in preparation: Heitz, Paul: Elsässische Büchermarken bis Anfang des 18. Jahrhunderts. Strassburg, 1892 34

Commenting on a record Open the annotations window Leave your own comment Read other users' comments 35

SRU Interface Access to the CERL Thesaurus data from within other applications SRU 1.1 compatible Exchange formats: CT internal format (in MARCXML syntax) Variant Names for Assisted Searching (proprietary format) Indexes: Same as in the web interface 36

Assisted Searching in the HPB database A search for "Munich" as a printing place returns 15,245 hits Variant names can be added from the CERL Thesaurus 37

Assisted Searching in the HPB database Use all variant name forms for a new search 38

Assisted Searching in the HPB database Including all the variant names for "Munich" returns a set of 19,514 records 39

Assisted Searching in the Search for variant names in the CERL Thesaurus CERL Portal Select the name forms to be included in the search 40

Everybody: How to join in? Enrich the CERL Thesaurus records by adding comments and annotations Librarians: Provide CERL with your authority files Allow for your provenance information to be searched via the CERL Thesaurus Use the CERL Thesaurus to support searching within your local information systems 41

Conclusion Useful functions of the CERL Thesaurus: - Definition of an entity: Providing an object identifier (and maintaining all object identifiers of contributing libraries), Gathering name forms (dictionary function, vocabulary function) Providing necessary (basic) information about an entity (multilingual) - Tool for standardisation: The CERL Thesaurus is not prescriptive for standardized entry forms, but distinguishes (and indicates) chosen standardized name forms (from different origins, thus multilingual) from variant name forms (multilingual). - Establishment of relationships: controlled: e.g. predecessors, successors, pseudonyms, fictious name forms, and machine processed: related place names for printers etc. (format questions, interpretation of notes and commentaries) - Pathfinder function, finding aid: pointing to relevant material, allowing for post-coordination (where pre-coordination is not sufficient: this is in the WWW), helps to discover more - Sophisticated implementation needed clever user to naviguate the interlinked cosmos

Conclusion Development of the CERL Thesaurus to better accommodate information on manuscripts Assets: personal names (PAN, PMA), reference works, multilingualism, annotation tool - Imprint places: place names: paper mills (Bernstein project), regional information, production places of mss. - Subject and concept terms: No files yet in place, but feasible (and necessary): materials used, decoration and illumination (Icon Class), dating terminology, handwriting terminology, (construct records out of reference works, e.g. Muzerelle) - Use and develop existing products: bookbinding (e.g. EBDB), watermarks (e.g. Bernstein, Piccard online) - Personal names: Scribes, Provenances - Corporate names: Mss holding institutions, former owners (etc.), standardized name forms available - Uniform titles (under consideration for the CERL Thesaurus) with incipit and explicit

Conclusion Reuse and cooperate: Authority records are expensive to build and to maintain, join forces for better and fuller information, just serving not only your own purpose but multiple interests Standardize (instead of reinvent) any name form is admitted they must be integrated into one entity, name record. The common denominator is the object identifier, not any name Distinguish: free text (individual projects) standardized entries Tools like the CT allow for searching any structured information with a wide vocabulary. The researcher describes, the librarians standardize (to provide wider access)

Semantic Web You are invited to enrich the CERL Thesaurus as a backbone of Semantic Web application Thus caring for its growing relevance in content Thus ensuring its long-term sustainability and effectiveness Access: Through the CT to your records From your records to the CT From the CT to other related records = semantic web?