The wikipedia information on databases is extremely informative. I never realized all the different ways of relating information to each other. It seems like by combining a relational database with a networked, hierarchical system we could come up with a really outstanding system for organizing scholarly information. Each "master file" would be a piece of the "core, seminal" literature on the subject, and the respective levels down would be the derivative articles and ideas.
The importance of metadata in this endeavor is paramount. I find it interesting that while metadata is integral to information sorting and retrieval, applying Zipfian data distribution tables to the vocab of metadata leaves us with the core vocab of metadata that makes it simultaneously "opening/enfranchising" and very much an exclusionary tool: if you don't know the right language to use in your search, you may never find anything. In this respect, librarians are still very important to the search process becuase they should know the language with which to best utilize metadata tags in searches. Because I have always been interested in cataloging (and how, for instance, a travel book on Disney World gets put in the 796's instead of the 917.5304's) the Dublin core data model is somewhat fascinating. As opposed to the OCLC tags, the Dublin model seems to be applied with the lay end-user in mind and depends on semantics that the lay end-user actually uses and would feel comfortable with. In addition, the idea that a search engine using this model would be able to take into account things like synonyms and jargon differences means that you wouldn't necessarily be limited to your area of expertise anymore, and would be able to move just as easily through connections with other areas and subjects.
Week 13 Muddiest Point
15 years ago
3 comments:
Maggie this is very well stated. When I read the Dublin Core article, I thought about how you would find resources that you may not have found in another model because of the accomodation to language and culture, but I didn't think about area of expertise. You basically could find something useful that you may not have even thought to look for because it's unknown to you or you might have discounted specific areas of study. I hope they are successful as it's a great idea.
You make an excellent point when you say that "librarians are still very important to the search process because they should know the language with which to best utilize metadata tags in searches." The language is not at all self-evident. For that matter, not much is, when it comes to online research. Casual Web surfers may feel "self-sufficient" with Google at their finger tips, but anybody who has tried to use the Internet for serious research knows that we need librarians to help us find the right stuff in the deluge of information out there. There is water, water everywhere, but who is going to help us find drop to drink? Right now, the serious online researcher is far less self-sufficient, I think, than was the serious print researcher in the pre-digital library age.
Maggie I was also excited about the interaction among different disciplines in the Dublin Core article. Whether conducting research or browsing you will be able to have access to so much more information and communication. It is a long way from locating a specific subject in different locations in a library collection. Can hardly wait for the change!
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