Brenda SalemHispanic Languages Catalog Librarian

University of Pittsburghbrs64@pitt.edu

SALALM LVI, Philadelphia, PA

FRBR-izing the Library Catalog: a look into the OPAC of the

future

What is FRBR?Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records

A conceptual information model developed by IFLA

Based on 3 groups of entities and their relationships to each other

Each entity has attributes (title, date, language, name)

Used to fulfill 4 User Tasks (Find, Identify, Select, Obtain)

Group 1 Entities and Relationships

is realized through an…

which is embodied in a…

which is available as an…

Group 1 Entity ExamplesWork (the conceptual intellectual endeavor)

Romeo and JulietExpression (format, language)

Spanish translation, recording of the performance, online text

Manifestation (embodiment of an expression)

1772 text edition of the French translation, 1968 annotated text

Item (a copy of a manifestation held in a library)

Copy of the 2002 Cambridge Press edition held at Hillman Library

Group 2 Entities and Relationships

is owned by

is created by

Creators, Producers, Owners

is realized by

is produced

by

Group 2 Entity ExamplesShakespeareThe creator of Romeo and JulietNames of actorsPerformers in a performance of the playWashington PressPublisher of the 1959 text edition of the playLibrary of CongressOwner of a copy of the CD-ROM version of the

play

Group 3 Entities (Subjects of a Work)

as a subject

Can have

A

Group 1 Entities

Group 2 Entities

Example of FRBR principles at work: Library of Congress’ FRBR Display Tool

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marc-functional-analysis/tool.html

http://webapp-test.dlib.indiana.edu/scherzo/

Along with:

OLAC Work-Centric Moving Image Discovery Interface Prototype

http://blazing-sunset-24.heroku.com/

How does the AACR2-based OPAC already reflect FRBR principles?

Group 1 Entities AACR2 Cataloging Rules

WorkExpression

ManifestationItem

Uniform titleGeneral material

designation, Language

Bibliographic description

Item (Holdings/Item records)

FRBR Entities: A comparison

Group 2 Entities AACR2 Cataloging Rules

PersonCorporate Body

Personal nameCorporate bodyConference

FRBR Entities: A Comparison

Group 3 EntitiesSubject Headings (LC)

Group 1+2 entities

ConceptObjectEventPlace

Headings for person, corporate body, title

Topical heading (abstract)

Topical heading (concrete)

Topical heading (historial event or period of time)

Geographical heading

Current OPAC (PittCat +)Finding, Identifying, and SelectingExcellent for refining by format, language,

author, subject headingsNot good at tracing bibliographic

history/editionsNot very good at grouping by relationships

Books about the work, adaptationsRelationships between works (books about

the work…)

Good at “obtaining”: holdings information, request feature

Making the most of FRBR: RDA (Resource Description and Access)

A new set of cataloging rules that would replace AACR2

Created according to the FRBR modelRecording attributesRecording relationships (primary relationships,

relationships to, relationships between)

Designed to be more flexible in order to conform to different encoding formats (not just MARC) and therefore work better in online environments

ILS (Integrated Library System) Challenges

Does your current ILS vendor carry products that make the most of FRBR principles in its catalog display?

Some examples:VTLS: Virtua and RDA Sandbox (MARC based)eXtensible Catalog (open source, non-MARC

based)

Do you buy a new ILS or wait until your current ILS offers RDA/FRBR-related products?

What would it take to make the most of FRBR in a library OPAC (Online Public-

Access Catalog)?Display according to FRBR principlesNew cataloging rules: RDAEncoding format: Right now, early

implementations of RDA are encoded in MARC but are other encoding schema (Dublin Core, XC Schema) in the OPAC’s future?Pro: A new encoding format could be better

suited for the semantic web, which is important considering the increase of digital information.

Con: Converting the millions of MARC-based catalog records!

More issues to considerEntities aren’t clearly defined : How will it work with

other kind of information such as archives, museums, art, and film?

Existing FRBR-based protypes are very narrowly focused: a need for more generalized examples of FRBRized catalogs

Few user studies: Do we know if it will it truly make information search easier for library users?

Cost effective (does your institution even have the money)?Time and effort in learning new rules and new formatsConverting to a new system

For more information:

About the OLAC Work-Centric Moving Image Discovery Interface Prototype

http://blazing-sunset-24.heroku.com/page/about

FRBR-Based Systems to Effectively Support User Tasks and Facilitate Information Seeking (Kent State Study)

http://frbr.slis.kent.edu/publications.htm

FRBR Display Tool

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marc-functional-analysis/tool.html

FRBR Review Group http://www.ifla.org/en/frbr-rg

Understanding FRBR : What it is and how it will affect our retrieval tools / Arlene Taylor

Thank You!