Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records: FRBR and Millennium

Claudia ConradProduct Manager

FRBR

• “Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records”

• Pronounced “fur-bur” or “eff are bee are”• Outcome of an IFLA study, approved in 1997

– Study’s aim was to “produce a framework that would provide a clear, precisely stated, and commonly shared understanding of what it is that the bibliographic record aims to provide information about, and what it is that we expect the record to achieve in terms of answering user needs”

• http://www.ifla.org/VII/s13/frbr/frbr.pdf(or Google: frbr +ifla)

• A “conceptual model”• Intended to relate the attributes and

relationships of bibliographic records in respect to the tasks that users perform

• An attempt to recommend a set of minimum data requirements that would provide a basic level of functionality based on user needs

FRBR is…

• A standard• Intended to replace AACR2 • An alternative to MARC21 or any other MARC

format

FRBR is not…

Basic User Tasks

• Find materials using search criteria • Identify an entity as being the desired

object • Select an entity that is appropriate to

their needs • Obtain the entity (or access to it)

FRBR Entities

• Group 1 (WEMI): what is described by the record– Work - distinct intellectual or artistic creation (e.g.,

Shakespeare’s Hamlet)– Expression - intellectual or artistic realization of a work (e.g.,

video recording of a performance or an English language text version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet)

– Manifestation - physical embodiment of an expression of a work (e.g., the video recording of a performance of Shakespeare’s Hamlet released by Columbia Pictures in 1997)

– Item - single exemplar of a manifestation (the physical piece with a barcode attached to it)

• Group 2: who is responsible for the creation, production, etc. of the entity (individuals and corporate bodies)

• Group 3: the subjects of the entity (concept, object, event, and place)

Group 1 Entities

• Nature of the entities– The intellectual or artistic content are reflected in the

work and expression – The physical form is defined in the manifestation and item

• Relationship between entities– A work may be realized through one or more than one

expression – An expression is the realization of one and only one work– An expression may be embodied in one or more than one

manifestation; likewise a manifestation may embody one or more than one expression

– A manifestation, in turn, may be exemplified by one or more than one item

Expression

Manifestation

ItemItemItem

Manifestation

Group 1 Relationships

Work

Expression

Manifestation

Item

Realized through

Embodied in

Exemplified by

• FRANAR (FRAR?): Functional Requirements and Numbering of Authority Records

• Group 2– Authority records for names (persons, families,

corporate bodies), titles and name-titles

• Group 3– Authority records for subjects (concept, object,

event, place)

Group 2 & 3 Entities

Possible Approaches

• Split bibliographic records into 3 separate records (work record, expression record, manifestation record)– Not defined by MARC standard– Implications for record loading and output– Whole new way of thinking for cataloging staff?

• Add data to existing records to define which the data comprising Group 1 entities (work, expression)– Not defined by MARC standard– Less disruptive to cataloging staff?

Innovative Solution

• Automatically build “keys” that define the group one entities appropriate to a bibliographic record– Web OPAC will provide FRBR access via keys– Millennium will automatically create keys in bib

records

• Using OCLC’s FRBR Work-Set Algorithm as a starting pointhttp://www.oclc.org/research/software/frbr/

• Future development may include a more complex linked records approach

Group 1 Key

Work1. Author: 100, 110 or 111 (author subfields only)2. Title: 130, 240, 243 or 245 (title subfields only)3. Date of work: 130, 240, 243 or 245 (subfields d, f) 4. Form of work: 130, 240, 243 or 245 (subfield k)5. Other distinguishing characteristics: 130, 240 or 243 (subfield

s)6. Medium of performance: 130, 240 or 243 (subfield m)7. Key for music: 130 or 240 or 243 subfield r  8. Coordinates: 255 subfield c

Keys also built for analytical entriesSome elements may be blank

Group 1 Key, continued

Expression1-8. Work key9. Form of expression: leader byte 0610. Language of expression: 130, 240 or

243 subfield l or 008/35-379. Other distinguishing characteristic: 130 or 240 or

243 subfield o, or 245 subfield s10. Type of score: 254 subfield a11. Scale: 255 subfield a

• A key is not built: the balance of the record is considered to be manifestation data

What about the Manifestation?

• A key is not built: the balance of the record is considered to be manifestation data

• The items are still stored as attached records

What about Items?

What about the Manifestation?

Highly “FRBR-izable”

• Popular fiction• Classic literature• Music• Things with a uniform title• Studies show 15-20% of bib records in

library catalogs are FRBR-izable

Example Keys

LEADER #####ncm 22##### a 4500008 840417s1981 nyuopc n eng100 1 Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus,|d1756-1791.240 10 Zauberflöte245 14 The magic flute =|bDie Zauberflöte : an opera in

two acts /|cmusic by W.A. Mozart ; the original text by Emanuel Schikaneder and Carl Ludwig Giesecke ; English translation by Earl Snow.

• Work Key: mozartwolfgangamadeus17561791|zauberflote|||||||

• Expression Key: mozartwolfgangamadeus17561791|zauberflote|||||||c|eng|

LEADER #####njm 22#####I 4500008 790525s1965 gw opnn dh n 0 germ100 10 Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus,|d1756-1791240 10 Zauberflöte.|lGerman245 14 Die Zauberflöte;|bOper in zwei Aufzügen

Work Key: mozartwolfgangamadeus17561791|zauberflote|||||||

Expression Key: mozartwolfgangamadeus17561791|zauberflote|||||||j|ger|

Example Keys

Web OPAC and Millennium Clients

Provide a logical grouping of bibliographic records that would allow users to target the desired entity more quickly and easily

Search for author “Mozart, Wolfgang” would include a FRBR entry for Zauberflöte in the results

Standard browse

FRBR tree view

Standard Web OPAC

Web OPAC with FRBR

Bib (manifestation) with FRBR map

Current FRBR Projects

• OCLC’s FictionFinder– http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/frbr/fictionfinder.

htm

• OCLC’s xISBN– http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/xisbn/default.htm

• RLG’s RedLight Green– http://www.redlightgreen.com/

Challenges?

• Cataloging workload and thought process– Currently, the manifestation is cataloged as a whole

• Record Sharing• How to go back and FRBR-ize existing records in

system?– Not all records benefit from FRBR

• FRBR is appropriate for different works in different libraries

• A work may become a good FRBR candidate long after initially cataloged

• Superworks– Works that have been adapted multiple times (e.g.,

Romeo and Juliet)

Planned availability: Release 2005

Committee Participation:

Vendor Liaison to the Joint Steering Committee for Revision of Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules' Format Variation Working Group

(JSCfRoAACRFVWG for short)

Thank you!

Claudia ConradProduct Manager