Time Period Directories Vivien Petras Matt Meiske Kim

Time Period Directories Vivien Petras, Matt Meiske, Kim Carl, & Michael Buckland Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative University of California, Berkeley PNC / ECAI Joint Meeting, Hawaii, Nov. 2005 Time Period Directories. ASIST.

Background and Introduction ECAI project: “Supporting the Learner: What, Where, When and Who” – ecai. org/imls 2004 For WHAT we can use subject headings, classifications, etc. WHERE was addressed on a prior project “Going Places in the Catalog: Improved Geographical Search” – ecai. org. imls 2002 Recent work addressed WHEN, searching by time. Future work will seek to improve access to biographies WHO. Also how university teachers find resources for teaching. 6/12/2021 Time Period Directories. ASIST. 2

Geographical search Ordinarily place names are used. Place names are ambiguous, multiple, and unstable. Solution: Use a gazetteer of place names in which each record is: Place name – Type – Spatial references (lat. & long) – Time (When). These data allow: • Control of ambiguity, multiplicity, and instability; • Map visualization • Interoperability with other tools, e. g. online library catalog. 6/12/2021 Time Period Directories. ASIST. 3

Search by time is also weakly supported. Calendar systems are the standard for time but in speech and writing people use the names of events to refer to time periods. Named time periods resemble place names in being: • Unstable: European War, Great War, First World War. • Multiple: Second World War, World War II, Great Patriotic War. • Ambiguous: “Civil war” in different centuries in England, USA, Spain. • As places have temporal aspects, periods have a geographical aspect: When the Stone Age was, varies by region. 6/12/2021 Time Period Directories. ASIST. 4

Similarity between place names and period names Suggests similar solution: A gazetteer-like Time Period Directory. Gazetteer: Place name – Type – Spatial markers (Lat & long) -- When Time Period Directory Period name – Type – Chronological markers (Calendar) – Where Note the symmetry. Note the connections: Where and When. 6/12/2021 Time Period Directories. ASIST. 5

Time Period Directory – Major Components • Period ID • Period name • Descriptive notes • Dates • Period classification • Location • Related periods • Entry metadata 6/12/2021 Time Period Directories. ASIST. 6

Time Period Directory – Sample record (abridged) <period. ID>1811</period. ID> <period. Name> <name>War of Independence, 1285 -1371</name> <source>LCSH Authority ID: sh 85118831 </source> <dates> <begin. Date date. Qualifier="exact"> 1285</begin. Date> <end. Date date. Qualifier="exact">1371</end. Date> <period. Classification> <classification. Term>Groups of People -- Period of Conflict </classification. Term> <location. Name>Scotland</location. Name> <location. Scheme. Id>adlgaz-1 -4177310 -16</location. Scheme. Id> 6/12/2021 Time Period Directories. ASIST. 7

Web Interface - Access by country / US state / world city 6/12/2021 Time Period Directories. ASIST. 8

Web Interface - Access by map 6/12/2021 Time Period Directories. ASIST. 9

Web Interface - Access by timeline Link initiates search of Library of Congress catalog for all records relating to this time period. 6/12/2021 Time Period Directories. ASIST. 10

Connections – 1: WHAT. These named time periods are derived from Library of Congress catalog subject headings and so can be used for catalog searching which finds books on topics relevant to that time period. 6/12/2021 Time Period Directories. ASIST. 11

Connections – 2: WHERE. Time period directory records have a geographical field that can contain a place name or a reference to a gazetteer entry. Example: War of Independence, 1285 -1371 <location> <location. Name>Scotland</location. Name> <location. Scheme. Id>adlgaz-1 -4177310 -16</location. Scheme. Id> <location. Scheme> <scheme. Name>ADL Gazetteer</scheme. Name> <scheme. Version>3. 2</scheme. Version> <source>http: //middleware. alexandria. ucsb. edu/client/gaz/adl/index. jsp] 6/12/2021 Time Period Directories. ASIST. 12

Connections – 3: WHO. Catalog records found from a time period search commonly include names of persons important at that time. Their names can be forwarded to, e. g. , biographies in the Wikipedia encyclopedia. 6/12/2021 Time Period Directories. ASIST. 13

Issues, challenges and further agenda • Some periods, like some places, have uncertain boundaries. • Cultural terms, e. g. Baroque, Renaissance, are ambiguous referring to a period and/or to a style. • Need more standards (e. g. for personal names), protocols (for time period directory servers), and best practices. • More content: Additional time period directories. 6/12/2021 Time Period Directories. ASIST. 14

Acknowledgment: This work was partially supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through a National Leadership Grant for Libraries, award number LG-02 -04 -0041 -04, Oct 2004 - Sept 2006. For more information http: //ecai. org/imls 2004/ Contact Michael Buckland <buckland@SIMS. Berkeley. EDU> Ray Larson <ray@sims. berkeley. edu> 6/12/2021 Time Period Directories. ASIST. 15