Abstract
The aim of this study is to contribute to the field of machine-processable bibliographic data that is suitable for the Semantic Web. We examine the Entity Relationship (ER) model, which has been selected by IFLA as a “conceptual framework” in order to model the FR family (FRBR, FRAD and RDA), and the problems ER causes as we move towards the Semantic Web. Subsequently, while maintaining the semantics of the aforementioned standards but rejecting the ER as a conceptual framework for bibliographic data, this paper builds on the Resource Description Framework (RDF) potential and documents how both the RDF and Linked Data’s rationale can affect the way we model bibliographic data.
 In this way, a new approach to bibliographic data emerges where the distinction between description and authorities is obsolete. Instead, the integration of the authorities with descriptive information becomes fundamental so that a network of correlations can be established between the entities and the names by which the entities are known. Naming is a vital issue for human cultures because names are not random sequences of characters or sounds which stand just as identifiers for the entities - they also have socio-cultural meanings and interpretations. Thus, instead of describing indivisible resources, we could describe entities that appear in a variety of names on various resources. In this study, a method is proposed to connect the names with the entities they represent and, in this way, to document the provenance of these names by connecting specific resources with specific names.
Highlights
The basic aim of this study is to contribute to the field of machine-processable bibliographic data
We examine the Entity Relationship (ER) model, 2 as well as the potential problems that may arise as we move towards the Semantic Web
Two new members were added to the family; the “Functional Requirements for Authority Data: A Conceptual Model” (FRAD) and the “Functional Requirements for Subject Authority Data (FRSAD).” 7,8 At the same period of time, the “Resource Description and Access” (RDA) standard was established as a set of cataloging rules to replace the AACR standard
Summary
The basic aim of this study is to contribute to the field of machine-processable bibliographic data. As to what constitutes “machine processable” we concur with the clarification of Antoniou and van Harmelen, who state, “In the literature the term machine-understandable is used quite often We believe it is the wrong word because it gives the wrong impression. In the context of the Semantic Web and Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs), the identification process has been transformed For this reason we have performed an analysis of appellations and names as identifiers and explored how we could move on from an era where controlled names play the role of identifiers to one of the URI dominion: “While it is self-evident that labels and comments are important for constructing and using ontologies by humans, the OWL standard does not pay much attention to them. This requires a transition from descriptions aimed at human readers to descriptions that put the emphasis on computational processes to escape the rationale of records being a condensed description in textual form and move towards more flexible and fruitful representations and visualizations
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