NEW MODELS FROM OLD TOOLS

CAROL L. TILLEY and KATHRYN LA BARREGraduate School of Library and Information Science

University of IllinoisISKO 2010

Partial funding provided by an OCLC/ALISE LISR Program Grant

Presentation Overview

Why folktales?Who and what is being studied?

What methods are we using?What have we learned so far?

How will we proceed?

Why Folktales?

They are complex information resources. Catalog records often omit critical information.

Standard tools for access are often complex and out of date.

No single type of user predominates their use.

About Folklore and Folktales

Field of study is relatively new and dynamic.

Basic requirements—• Conveyed orally or informally

demonstrated• Traditional in nature• Has natural variants

No systematic definition of folktales.

Several scholarly traditions of engaging folktales.

Discovery and Access Tools

Tale types• Narrative or plot structure• Sequence of motifs

Motifs• Actors• Items• Single incidents

“Some ideas have been so recurrent in tradition that we may encounter and recognize them in a great number of ‘texts’”

(Toelken, 1996, p. 209).

Who and What is Being Studied?

Four scholars at GSLIS• Intentional folklorists• Teach youth-services librarianship• Are storytellers

Folktales Collections• ~1200 volumes included at the

Center for Children’s Books• Primarily published for a juvenile

audience• Publication dates range from 1880 -

2010

Our Research Questions

[P1] scholar [P2] practitioner [P3] lay user RQ1) What kinds of information seeking tasks are evident for people seeking folktales? Are tasks shared across groups?

RQ2) What characteristics of an information retrieval interface best support tasks?

RQ3) To what extent do current bibliographic records support tasks? What improvements are suggested by facet and task analysis?

What Methods Are We Using?

Task analysis • Repertoire of techniques• Approaches

• Semi-structured interviews• Simulation interviews• Observation

Facet analysis• “Sorting of terms in a given field into homogeneous mutually exclusive

facets each derived from the parent universe by a single characteristic of division.” (Vickery, 1960).

• Steps• Mapping the scope• Labeling and sorting• Clustering and ordering

SCHOLARLY PRACTICES (TASK ANALYSIS)

EXPLORE Read and scan: tale collections/ websites/ journals.

SEARCH Identify variants and aggregations. Follow citations.

*COLLECT Build personal folklore libraries. Keep notes about folktale variants.

*CREATE Adapt a tale for performance. Design folktale-based programs.

SYNTHESIZE Critique published adaptations. Document variants. Prepare instructional materials.

STUDY Audience response. Examine the relationship between personal narratives and folktales.

What Have We Learned So Far? / TASK

What Have We Learned So Far? / FACETAgent (by origin) (by mode) (by role) (by occupation)

(by function)

Relation (language) (award) (review) (by origin) (by form) (by function) (by level) (by aggregation)

Place (by origin) (of setting) (of publication) (of item)

Time (by origin) (of setting) (of publication)

Elements (type) (motif) (character) (theme) (illustration)

Documentation (bibliography)(index) (note) (acknowledgment) (table of contents)

Performance (aspects) (strategies) (values) (interpretation) (role) (function)

Transmission (aspects) (strategies) (reception) (values) (function) (role)

Viewpoint (?)

AFS ETHNOGRAPHIC THESAURUSA General ethnographic concepts.B Belief and worldview C Ritual-belief manifest D Health E Migration and Settlement F Human Dynamics G Law and Governance H Education I Entertainment J Art K Language L Verbal Arts and Literature

M MusicN DanceP Material CultureQ FoodwaysR WorkS PerformanceT TransmissionU BeingsV Space and PlaceW TimeX Disciplines- Fields of study.Y Research, Theory, and MethodologyZ Documentation

Desired Features for Discovery & Access

• Searchable fields for source notes, cultural attributions

• Descriptor fields for characters and other motifs

• Integration of learning standards, suggested audience for performance

• Other: directed searching and serendipitous discovery, full-text or extended synopses

Prototype Record

Agent MARC 245/700Relation MARC 510, 586, 76X-78X, [RDA linking] Place MARC 260, 751 [of setting] Time MARC 260 [of setting] Elements MARC 6XX (type) (motif) Documentation (MARC 5XX) (note) (acknowledgment)Performance (aspects) (strategies) (values)

(interpretation) (role) (function) Transmission (aspects) (strategies) (reception)

(values) (function) (role) (restrictions)

How Will We Proceed?

Task-Side• Conduct simulation interviews with scholars• Interview additional scholars and practitioners• Observe scholars and practitioners

Facet-Side• Analyze interviews• Full facet analysis of classifications and controlled vocabularies for

folklore

General• Refine prototype record description• Broaden scope of test collection• Encode sample materials using prototype

record description

QUESTIONS?

THANKS!

Non-circulating collection of more than 16,000 recent* and historically significant trade books for youth, birth through high school, plus review copies of nearly all trade books published in the U.S. in the current year.

FOCUS Folktale and storytelling collection (1200+volumes) 1880-2010

Local records imported into Koha ILS

FACET EXEMPLARSAIP (1961-1965): LISA (1969/1963) API (1966)

PropertyObject

Method

Material

OperationSystem

Property

Material

OperationProcess Equipment

Emphasis PhenomenonOperating condition

Place Time

Place

Type of work Common Subdivision Living organism

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HIGH LEVEL CATEGORIES

Ranganathan Shera/Egan Prieto-Diaz Aitchison Aristotle

>Personality>Matter>Energy>Space>Time

>Product>Agent>Tools>Act>Object of action>Space>Time

>Function>Objects>Medium>System-type>Functional area>Setting

>Entities, things, objects>Kinds or types/ systems and assemblies>Actions and activities>Applications and purposes>Space, place, location and environment>Time

>Substance >Quality >Quantity >Relation >Place >Time >Position >State >Action >Affection

INFLUENCES

Kuhlthau’s (2005) call for greater connection between the study of users' information-seeking behaviors and the design of information retrieval systems

On the Record: Report of The Library of Congress Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control (2008).

• integrating user-contributed data into library catalogs (4.1.2),

• encouraging application of—and cross-referencing with—other controlled subject vocabularies (4.3.3),

• supporting ongoing research about bibliographic control (5.1.2).

STUDY OVERVIEW : TASK ANALYSIS

• Repertoire of techniques (Vakkari, 2003)– Commonly associated with user-centered interface design– Also used to investigate information-seeking processes

• Task is information-seeking activity necessary to complete a goal (cf. Xie, 2008).

• Working Minds: A Practitioner's Guide to Cognitive Task Analysis (2006). Crandall, Klein, Hoffman.

TASK ANALYSIS

• Repertoire of techniques (Vakkari, 2003)– Commonly associated with user-centered interface design– Also used to investigate information-seeking processes

• Task is information-seeking activity necessary to complete a goal (cf. Xie, 2008).

• Working Minds: A Practitioner's Guide to Cognitive Task Analysis (2006). Crandall, Klein, Hoffman.

OBSTACLES

DISCIPLINARY:

Tale names vary

Tale motif / theme variants (Cinderella)

ACCESS / DISCOVERY:

Misunderstand use of type and motif indexes

Publication overtakes indexing

Catalogs have limited cross-references

STUDY OVERVIEW : FACET ANALYSIS

“Sorting of terms in a given field into homogeneous mutually exclusive facets each derived from the parent universe by a single characteristic of division.” (Vickery, 1960).

Steps:Define the subject field

Examine materials that reflect user interests

Develop a list of characteristics, concepts or categories

Sort these terms into facets

FACET ANALYTICAL APPROACH:

Proper and rigorous practice of facet analysis by observing the rules of logical division.

(Broughton, 2001, p. 67; Mills, 2004, p. 268)

(1)one characteristic of division is applied at a time [conceptual analysis]

(2) division steps should be logical and proximate

(3)division should be exhaustive (Mills, 2004, pp. 551).

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FACET ANALYSIS (FA)FACETED CLASSIFICATION (FC)

FA - (analytical technique)• Listing of characteristics of the entities in a universe (exhaustive,

mutually exclusive)

FC - (synthetic structure)• Division of entities in a universe (by one characteristic at a time)

FC – (structure of synthesis) • Synthesis – combine relevant facets:

– Schedule of terms for description – Assignment of notation

FACET ANALYSIS

Identify domain / entities

• Mapping the scope– (Context) Examine the domain– (Content) Survey the literature– (Users) Who? Information needs?

• Label/ sort – Begin analysis with a list of “standard categories” (provisional

guide) PMEST/ Who/ Where/ How/ What/ When– Result: set of homogeneous mutually exclusive groups (facets) – Formulate every distinctive logical category and possible relation

• Cluster /order– In-depth analysis of categories– Cluster terms/ objects into arrays or groups which share a

common characteristic

LIMITATIONSMALL NUMBER OF SUBJECTS

COLLECTION = JUVENILE FOLKTALES

BIAS = COLLEAGUES

MITIGATION

PHASE 2: LIBRARIANS / TEACHERS / STORYTELLERS

INDEX AND VOCABULARIES INCLUDED IN ANALYSIS

ONE RESEARCHER CONDUCTED TASK ANALYSIS / ANOTHER FACET ANALYSIS

NEXT STEPS

TaskConduct think-aloud tasks with scholars

Interview additional scholars Interviews with practitioners

Facet analysis of interviews

FacetFull facet analysis of classifications and controlled vocabularies for folklore

Refine prototype record structure Features task-focused facets

DISSEMINATIONPirmann, C. iConference POSTER #54 Folktales and Folksonomies: Investigating the Utility of Tags as a Means of Description for Folktales.

New Models from Old Tools: Leveraging an Understanding of Information Tasks and Subject Domain to Support Enhanced Discovery and Access to Folktales. (2010). In Paradigms and Conceptual Systems in Knowledge Organization, Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference of the International Society for Knowledge Organization.

Facets, Search and Discovery in Next Generation Catalogs: Informing the Future by Revisiting Past Understanding. (2010). In Paradigms and Conceptual Systems in Knowledge Organization, Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference of the International Society for Knowledge Organization.

Project report: Folktales and Facets: Final report to OCLC/ALISE IDEALS: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/14887

SPECIAL THANKS:

Betsy Hearne. Practicum students: Carrie Pirmann, Diana Weaver.

Student volunteers: Laura Rancani, Tina Ladika, Anna Peterson, Daniel Burkhalter, Ata Bird, and Patricia Rosario.

The Center for Informatics Research in Science and Scholarship (CIRSS)The Center for Children’s BooksColleagues at the Metadata Roundtable

Sandy Wolf and Michael Norman

GSLIS Research Services:Amit Kumar, Nav Khanal, and Adam Kehoe.

PHASE 1 FUNDED BY: ✪ OCLC/ALISE LISRG✪ GRADUATE SCHOOL OF LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE, UIUC

FACETS AND FOLKTALES

Facets and Folktales: Study Overview

Phase One (Supported by OCLC/ALISE and ongoing)– Task Analyses of scholarly informants' information

seeking– Facet analysis of the collection and common access

methods– Importing existing records into a KOHA implementation– Developing a prototype for enhanced records.

Phase Two (Practitioner informants)Phase Three (Lay informants)

COLLECTED DATA

INTERVIEWS

BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORDS (local / WorldCat / Indiana University)

BOOK CONTENT (ToC / reviews / index / introduction – notes)

LITERATURE

TYPE and MOTIF INDICES Aarne-Thompson-Üther

tale type and motif indexes

“some ideas have been so recurrent in tradition that we may encounter and recognize them in a great number of ‘texts’” (p. 209).

Tale type narrative or plot structure specific sequence of motifs.

Motif recurring elements from which tales are constructed. Thompson (1946): actors, items, single incidents.

FOLKLORE

Folktales

Fairy tales

Definitions of folklore are largely idiosyncratic,

Three basic requirements:

1)the object under scrutiny must be conveyed either orally or

informally demonstrated;

2) it must be traditional in nature; and

3) the object must have natural variants as a consequence of its

informal transmission

(Brunvand, 1996).

TRADITIONS

Literary approach ORIGIN Historical-geographic ORIGIN Structuralist tradition FORM MEANINGPsychoanalytic school MEANING Narrative structure tradition STYLE

Image credits:

Gazing child:http://gallery.photo.net/photo/6364197-lg.jpg

Lady with a horse: http://lisb.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/

Rackham illustrations:http://childillustration.blogspot.com/2009/11/willy-pogany-folktales.html