Linked Open Usable Data for Cultural Heritage

Perspectives on Community Practices and Semantic Interoperability

PhD Thesis - https://phd.julsraemy.ch - supervised by:

• Peter Fornaro (University of Basel)
• Walter Leimgruber (University of Basel)
• Robert Sanderson (Yale University)

PIA Teams

• Cultural Anthropology: Institute for Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology, University of Basel
• Technology: Digital Humanities Lab, University of Basel
• Design: Bern Academy of the Arts, Bern University of Applied Sciences

Project Website

Collections of the Swiss Society for Fokflore Studies (SSFS) within PIA

• SGV_05 Atlas der Schweizerischen Volkskunde - Cartography
• SGV_10 Familie Kreis - Vernacular Photography
• SGV_12 Ernst Brunner - Photojournalism

https://archiv.sgv-sstp.ch

Linked Art

Linked Art is a community collaborating to define a metadata application profile (the model) for describing cultural heritage, and the technical means for conveniently interacting with it (the API).

https://linked.art

Extensive Definition

Linked Art is an RDF profile of the CIDOC-CRM that uses JSON-LD and the Getty Vocabularies to describe object-based cultural heritage in an event-based framework for consumption by software applications. It uses a subset of classes from the CIDOC-CRM ontology along with other commonly-used RDF ontologies to provide interoperable patterns and models that can be interpreted either as JSON or as RDF.

Newbury 2018

Linked Art Model Fundamentals

Model Components

Basic Patterns, Object, People and Organizations, Places, Digital Integration, Provenance of Objects, Collections and Sets, Exhibitions of Objects, Primary Sources of Information, Assertion level metadata, Dataset level metadata

API Format

JSON-LD, Shared Constructs, Entity Endpoints, JSON Schema, Ecosystem Endpoints, Class Reference

Linked Art API Endpoints (1)

• Concepts - Types, Materials, Languages, and others, as full records rather than external references
• Digital Objects - Images, services and other digital objects
  Events - Events and other non-specific activities that are related but not part of other entities
• Groups - Groups and Organizations
• People - People
• Physical Objects - Physical things, including artworks, buildings or other architecture, books, parts of objects, and more

Linked Art API Endpoints (2)

• Places - Geographic places
• Provenance Activities - The various events that take place during the history of a physical thing
• Sets - Sets, including Collections and sets of objects used for exhibitions
• Textual Works - Texts worthy of description as distinct entities, such as the content carried by a book or journal article
• Visual Works - Image content worthy of description as distinct entities, such as the image shown by a painting or drawing

Main Design Principle of Linked Art

• Linked Art is focused on usability, not full precision / completeness
• Consistently solves actual challenges from real data
• Development is iterative, as new use cases are found

Sanderson 2019

Web Annotation Data Model

{
  "@context": "http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json",
  "id": "https://iiif.participatory-archives.ch/annotations/SGV_12N_00001-p1-list.json",
  "type": "AnnotationPage",
  "items": [
    {
      "@context": "http://www.w3.org/ns/anno.jsonld",
      "id": "https://iiif.participatory-archives.ch/annotations/SGV_12N_00001-p1-list/annotation-2800001.json",
      "motivation": "commenting",
      "type": "Annotation",
      "body": [
        {
          "type": "TextualBody",
          "value": "person",
          "purpose": "commenting"
        },
        {
          "type": "TextualBody",
          "value": "Object Detection (vitrivr)",
          "purpose": "tagging"
        },
        {
          "type": "TextualBody",
          "value": "<br><small>Detection score: 0.999616265296936</small>",
          "purpose": "commenting"
        }
      ],
      "target": {
        "source": "https://iiif.participatory-archives.ch/SGV_12N_00001/canvas/p1",
        "selector": {
          "type": "FragmentSelector",
          "conformsTo": "http://www.w3.org/TR/media-frags/",
          "value": "xywh=3225,201,943,4051"
        },
        "dcterms:isPartOf": {
          "type": "Manifest",
          "id": "https://iiif.participatory-archives.ch/SGV_12N_00001/manifest.json"
        }
      }
    },

Why do we need/want Linked Art at PIA?

Conveying semantically enriched events and as a benchmark against other collections leveraging this model

• Event-based model inherited from CIDOC-CRM
• Being part of a community of developers/scholars
• Potential aggregation capabilities
• Additional (LOUD) access point

Schwyzer Fasnacht

Black and White Negative modelled as a DigitalObject

• https://archiv.sgv-sstp.ch/resource/422236
• https://participatory-archives.ch/s/explore/item/232922

Needed properties/patterns for our DigitalObject

• member_of → Collection (SGV_12) - Pointing a Set
• subject_of → Web Pages / IIIF Manifest
• current_owner→ SSFS Photographic Archives
• created_by → Through the digitisation of a negative
• produced_by → Production of the negative
• digitally_shows → Visual Content
• identified_by → Names and Identifiers
• access_point → IIIF Image API

{
  "@context": "https://linked.art/ns/v1/linked-art.json", 
  "id": "https://linkedart.participatory-archives.ch/digital/12033",
  "type": "DigitalObject",
  "_label": "PIA ID 12033 - [Schwyzer Fasnacht]",
  "classified_as": [
    {
      "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300215302", 
      "type": "Type", 
      "_label": "Digital Image"
    }
  ],
  "member_of": [
    {
      "id": "https://linkedart.participatory-archives.ch/set/12",
      "type": "Set",
      "_label": "SGV_12 (Ernst Brunner)",
      "classified_as": [
        {
        "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300025976",
        "type": "Type",
        "_label": "Collection"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],

  "subject_of": [
    {
      "type": "LinguisticObject",
      "_label": "SGV Homepage for PIA ID 12033 - [Schwyzer Fasnacht]",
      "digitally_carried_by": [
        {
          "type": "DigitalObject",
          "_label": "SGV Homepage for PIA ID 12033 - [Schwyzer Fasnacht]",
          "format": "text/html",
          "access_point": [
            {
              "id": "https://archiv.sgv-sstp.ch/resource/422236",
              "type": "DigitalObject"
            }
          ],
          "classified_as": [
            {
              "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300264578",
              "type": "Type",
              "_label": "Web Page"
            }
          ],
          "identified_by": [
            {
              "type": "Name",
              "content": "SGV Homepage for PIA ID 12033 - [Schwyzer Fasnacht]"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },

    {
      "type": "LinguisticObject",
      "_label": "IIIF Manifest for PIA ID 12033 - [Schwyzer Fasnacht]",
      "digitally_carried_by": [
        {
          "type": "DigitalObject",
          "_label": "IIIF Manifest for PIA ID 12033 - [Schwyzer Fasnacht]",
          "format": "application/ld+json",
          "conforms_to": [
            {
              "id": "http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json",
              "type": "InformationObject"
            }
          ],
          "access_point": [
            {
              "id": "https://iiif.participatory-archives.ch/12033/manifest.json",
              "type": "DigitalObject"
            }
          ],
          "identified_by": [
            {
              "type": "Name",
              "content": "IIIF Manifest for PIA ID 12033 - [Schwyzer Fasnacht]"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],

  "current_owner": [
    {
      "id": "https://linkedart.participatory-archives.ch/group/42",
      "type": "Group",
      "_label": "SGV Fotoarchiv",
      "classified_as": [
        {
          "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300343368",
          "type": "Type",
          "_label": "Photo Archives"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],

  "created_by": {
    "type": "Creation",
    "_label": "Digitisation of Photograph",
    "used_specific_object": [
      {
        "type": "HumanMadeObject",
        "_label": "Negative of [Schwyzer Fasnacht]",
        "classified_as": [
          {
            "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300128343",
            "type": "Type",
            "_label": "Black and White Negative",
            "classified_as": [
              {
                "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300435443",
                "type": "Type",
                "_label": "Type of Work"
              }
            ]
          }
        ],

        "dimension": [
          {
            "type": "Dimension",
            "classified_as": [
              {
                "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300055647",
                "type": "Type",
                "_label": "Width"
              }
            ],
            "value": 6,
            "unit": {
              "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300379098",
              "type": "MeasurementUnit",
              "_label": "Centimetres"
            }
          },
          {
            "type": "Dimension",
            "classified_as": [
              {
                "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300055644",
                "type": "Type",
                "_label": "Height"
              }
            ],
            "value": 6,
            "unit": {
              "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300379098",
              "type": "MeasurementUnit",
              "_label": "Centimetres"
            }
          }

"produced_by": {
            "type": "Production",
            "timespan": {
              "type": "TimeSpan",
              "identified_by": [
                {
                  "type": "Name",
                  "classified_as": [
                    {
                      "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300404669",
                      "type": "Type",
                      "_label": "Display Title"
                    }
                  ],
                  "content": "1937"
                }
              ],
              "begin_of_the_begin": "1937-01-01T00:00:00Z",
              "end_of_the_end": "1937-12-31T23:59:59Z"
            },
            "took_place_at": [
              {
                "id": "https://linkedart.participatory-archives.ch/place/2",
                "type": "Place",
                "_label": "Schwyz"
              }
            ],
            "carried_out_by": [
              {
                "id": "https://linkedart.participatory-archives.ch/person/12345",
                "type": "Person",
                "_label": "Ernst Brunner"
              }
            ]
          },

"digitally_shows": [
    {
      "type": "VisualItem",
      "_label": "Visual Content of Digital Positive of [Schwyzer Fasnacht]",
      "represents_instance_of_type": [
        {
          "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300164207",
          "type": "Type",
          "_label": "Carnival"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],

  "identified_by": [
    {
      "type": "Name",
      "content": "[Schwyzer Fasnacht]",
      "classified_as": [
        {
          "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300404670",
          "type": "Type",
          "_label": "Owner-Assigned Title"
        }
      ],
      "language": [
        {
          "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300388344",
          "type": "Language",
          "_label": "German"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "Identifier",
      "content": "AA 1",
      "classified_as": [
        {
          "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300417447",
          "type": "Type",
          "_label": "Creator-Assigned Number"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "Identifier",
      "content": "SGV_12N_00001",
      "classified_as": [
        {
          "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300312355",
          "type": "Type",
          "_label": "SGV Signature"
        }
      ]
    },

"access_point": [
    {
      "id": "https://sipi.participatory-archives.ch/SGV_12/SGV_12N_00001.jp2/full/max/0/default.jpg",
      "type": "DigitalObject",
      "_label": "Image in full resolution"
    }
  ],
  "digitally_available_via": [
    {
      "type": "DigitalService",
      "_label": "IIIF Image API",
      "format": "application/ld+json",
      "access_point": [
        {
          "id": "https://sipi.participatory-archives.ch/SGV_12/SGV_12N_00001.jp2/info.json",
          "type": "DigitalObject"
        }
      ],
      "conforms_to": [
        {
          "id": "http://iiif.io/api/image/3/context.json",
          "type": "InformationObject"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]

Linked Art II

• Collaboration between PIA and the University of Oxford over the Summer 2022 after completion of a survey (centred on the application of Linked Art)
• Workflow for the transformation of photographic collection data to Linked Art

https://linked.art/community/projects/linkedartii/

High-level overview

Linked Art Collection Worfklow

1. Query
2. Map
3. Transform

What has been done on the PIA side

• Boilerplates (JSON-LD + in some cases SVG)
  • DigitalObject
  • HumanMadeObject
  • Set
• Preliminary mappings of our several data models (old and new SSFS, PIA)
• Alignment of some terms against the AAT

Endpoints

1. Deployment of the PIA Linked Art API at https://data.participatory-archives.ch. The PIA JSON API will be deprecated, but still accessible (at https://json.participatory-archives.ch)
2. Workflow Source: PIA JSON API →
   • Omeka S API (JSON-LD) or
   • DaSCH Service Platform API (JSON-LD, Turtle, RDF/XML)

Templates

• Updating and creating new boilerplates for each (useful) top-level entity
• Generic vs specific: another workflow? Software?

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to:

• Rob Sanderson who helped me create some of the Linked Art boilerplates/templates
• Tanya Gray for her work on the Linked Art Collection Data Workflow
• Kevin Page, PI of the Linked Art II project

Image Credits

• [Blick auf das Spalentor]. Basel, 1938. Ernst Brunner. SGV_12N_00115
• [Katze auf einer Mauer]. Ort und Datum unbekannt. Ernst Brunner. SGV_12N_19553
• [Ringtanz während der Masüras auf der Alp Sura]. Guarda, 1939. SGV_12N_08589
• ["Steffenbach-Brücke" der Furka-Bahn: Bau und Erneuern der Brücke]. Kanton Wallis, 1950. Ernst Brunner. SGV_12N_36937

These images are part of the photographic archives of the Swiss Society for Folklore Studies. Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0