Bernhard Eversberg wrote:
> Upon Jim Weinheimer's suggestion, we now also added the scope notes
> to the browser's database.
> BTW, LC's tool returns zero hits if you enter "humour", and displays
> neither suggestions nor a browse list of terms in the alphabetic
> vicinity. There's a link to a long help page, but this doesn't mention
> the possibility of variant spellings.
>
> While taking this in good humor and with all due respect, I'm reluctant
> to call it state of the art.
>
> B.Eversberg
>
>
You have to remember that the LC subject authority file is essentially a
computer-readable, marked-up version of the LCSH "red books", and that
both are guidance to catalogers, not a full taxonomy, and NOT a rigorous
example of semantic web capabilities. It has a number of different
problem areas, IMO. The one that really bugs me is that it defines
geographic places as subjects, but no where in the library canon will we
find geographic places as geographic places that can be used wherever
they are needed. The place name "London" in the subject file cannot be
used, for example, in a publication statement. Obviously, there should
be a list of geographic names, with URIs, that can then be used where
needed so that you can know that the London in the publication statement
is the same London as in the subject heading.
You don't solve modern problems by re-coding pre-modern data without
making any changes. LCSH in SKOS is a start, but if we don't make the
needed changes that will actually modernize the data, I don't think
we'll see much uptake.
kc
--
-----------------------------------
Karen Coyle / Digital Library Consultant
kcoyle@kcoyle.net http://www.kcoyle.net
ph.: 510-540-7596 skype: kcoylenet
fx.: 510-848-3913
mo.: 510-435-8234
------------------------------------
Received on Fri May 08 2009 - 09:38:43 EDT