025.431: The Dewey blog

CENDI/NKOS Workshop 2009

Last week, Juli Beall and I attended an all-day workshop on “Knowledge Organization Systems:  Managing to the Future,” sponsored jointly by CENDI and the NKOS (Networked Knowledge Organization Systems) Working Group.  (See the blog entry from last year’s workshop for background information on CENDI and NKOS.)  This year’s workshop was hosted by the National Agricultural Library.

The program was organized into three sections, with emphasis on different facets of  knowledge organization system (KOS) management:  (1) toward shared development, (2) toward interoperability, and (3) toward ontologies and the semantic web.  (Note how the inclusion of “toward” in the title of each section echoes the workshop subtitle—managing to the future—and indicates that each of these ventures is a “work in progress.”) 

One aspect of shared development is making information about knowledge organization systems widely available.  This subject was addressed in the presentation by Marjorie Hlava on Taxonomy ShareSpace, a terminology registry for controlled vocabularies.   Only a limited number of terminologies are currently documented in the registry; developers of thesauri, subject heading lists, taxonomies, ontologies, etc., are invited to contribute information. 

Interoperability was the theme receiving the most attention during the workshop.  Marcia Lei Zeng's presentation reported on ISO standard 25964.  Part 1 of the standard, currently in Draft International Standard stage, will replace standards from the mid-1980s on monolingual and multilingual thesauri; part 2 of the standard addresses interoperability of thesauri with other vocabularies and began development over the summer.  Especial attention was given to the issue of “nonsymmetrical multilingual thesauri.”  Lack of symmetry is not limited, of course, to knowledge organization systems in different languages.  Any mapping project we engage in runs up against this same problem:  there are different ways of organizing our perceptions of the world of recorded knowledge.  Indeed, a constant concern of the editorial team is to make sure we ferret out, on the one hand, and do not introduce, on the other hand, asymmetries within the DDC itself (except that a subject may be developed more deeply in one discipline than another, or in one language than another; the expressive notation used in the DDC renders this kind of asymmetry quite manageable).  (Asymmetry between knowledge organization systems was also a key reason why Willem Robert van Hage’s presentation, given as part of the ontologies and semantic web section, emphasized the benefits of aligning, rather than merging, ontologies.) The presentation by Thomas Baker focused on a set of levels of interoperability, geared toward the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, but also applicable in other contexts.  Study of his characterization of these levels should productively inform decisions on the degree of interoperability to be sought in specific situations. 

We should also note how gratified we were that Ed Summers’ presentation [8] on the use of SKOS in id.loc.gov, a web service that makes Library of Congress Subject Headings available as linked data, also highlighted dewey.info.

Staffordshire Hoard

In September the news broke, “Huge Anglo-Saxon Gold Hoard Found”:

The UK’s largest haul of Anglo-Saxon treasure has been discovered buried in a field in Staffordshire. . . . . The Staffordshire hoard contains about 5kg of gold and 2.5kg of silver, making it far bigger than the Sutton Hoo discovery in 1939 when 1.5kg of Anglo-Saxon gold was found near Woodbridge in Suffolk.

Summary of the Hoard and Interpretation, a report by Kevin Leahy, National Finds Adviser from the Portable Antiquities Scheme, who cataloged the items, includes the following (pp. 5–6):

While much of the decorative detail on these objects remains obscured by earth it seems on present evidence that the contents of the hoard range from the later sixth to the early eighth centuries AD. . . . .

The discovery of this hoard in Staffordshire should cause no surprise; it is the heartland of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia which was militarily aggressive and expansionist during the seventh and eighth centuries under kings Penda (633–655), Wulfhere (658–675), Aethelred (675–704), Coenred (704–19 [–709]), Ceolred (709–716) or Aethelbald (716–757). This material could have been collected by any of these men during their wars with Northumbria and East Anglia or indeed, by someone whose name is lost to history.

The deposit is “unbalanced”, consisting, in the main, of fittings from swords. Other, related objects, such as baldric fittings and large triangular buckles are absent, as are feminine dress fittings. Some fragments may represent helmet fragments but more work needs to be done on them. . . . .

The Staffordshire find might be interpreted as a ‘trophy hoard’ in the original sense of the word: material collected from vanquished enemies, the sword blades perhaps re-used but stripped of their valuable fittings.

Many kinds of works could be written about the Staffordshire hoard.  One kind could study what the hoard plus other sources reveal about the general history of Staffordshire in the seventh or eighth centuries.  Where should such a work be classed?  If one browses in the Relative Index for “Archaeology,” one finds (among other entries):
Archaeology                          930.1
Archaeology—ancient places    931–939
Archaeology—modern places    940–990

If one browses the Relative Index for “England,” one finds:
England                                942
England                                T2—42

If one browses the Relative Index for “England—ancient,” one finds:
England—ancient                    936.2
England—ancient                    T2—362

What is the dividing line in DDC between ancient and modern England?  The caption for 936.2 has the answer: 936.2     Southern Britain to 410    England.  Clearly the seventh and eighth centuries are too late for ancient England.  The comprehensive history number for England in the seventh and eighth centuries is 942.015—a number with two subdivisions that reflect the struggles of Northumbria and Mercia:
942.015      Period of Heptarchy, ca. 600–829
942.0153         Supremacy of Northumbria, 603–685
942.0157         Supremacy of Mercia, 757–796
The Table 2 number for Staffordshire (England) after 410 is T2—4246. The history number for Staffordshire in the seventh and eighth centuries is 942.46015 Staffordshire, ca. 600–829 (built with 9 plus T2—4246, following instructions at 930–990 History of ancient world; of specific continents, countries, localities; of extraterrestrial worlds, plus 0 plus 15 from 942.015, following instructions at 01–09 Historical periods in the add table under 930–990).

The work Sutton Hoo and Its Landscape: The Context of Monuments, which treats the historical context of the Sutton Hoo archaeological site in Suffolk Coastal District, is classed in 942.646015 Suffolk Coastal District, ca. 600–829 (built with 9 plus T2—42646 Suffolk Coastal District, following instructions at 930–990, plus 0 plus 15 from 942.015, following instructions at 01–09 in the add table under 930–990).

Dewey at AASL 2009

Are you going to the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) 14th National Conference in Charlotte November 5-8?  If yes, please join us for a free breakfast and chat about Dewey in school libraries at the Dewey Breakfast/Update on Saturday, November 7, 7:00–8:30 a.m., in the Magnolia Room at the Courtyard by Marriott, Charlotte City Center, 237 S. Tryon Street.

The agenda includes a lively discussion about “what does it mean to use Dewey?” plus a review of the latest proposals for changes to the 370 Education schedule.  We have discussed possible changes to 370 Education at the last two AASL conferences; at this year’s meeting, we’ll review proposals for updates to specific subjects in primary education and specific levels of education.  We’ve incorporated suggestions from AASL members and other groups in the latest version of the 370 Education and are anxious for feedback from school librarians before finalizing the content for inclusion in the print version of DDC 23.  The meeting will also include a general Dewey update and open discussion period—bring those burning Dewey questions and suggestions!

Please register here by November 2.  See you in Charlotte!