Major Papers
Maps and Gaps: Strategies for Vocabulary Design and Development
Diane I. Hillmann, Gordon Dunsire and Jon Phipps. Paper presented at the DC2007 Conference, Aug./Sept. 2013, Lisbon.
Abstract: In this paper we discuss changes in the vocabulary development landscape, their origins, and future implications, via analysis of several existing standards. We examine the role of semantics and mapping in future development, as well as some newer vocabulary building activities and their strategies. Available at: DC Papers 2013-3673
Linked Data Vocabulary Management: Infrastructure Support, Data Integration, and Interoperability
Gordon Dunsire, Corey Harper, Diane I. Hillmann, Jon Phipps. Information Standards Quarterly, 2012 Spring/Summer, 24(2/3):4-13.
Abstract: Recently there has been a shift in popular approaches to large-scale metadata management and interoperability. Approaches rooted in semantic Web technologies, particularly in the Resource Description Framework (RDF) and related data modeling efforts, are gaining favor and popularity. In the library community, this trend has accelerated since the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) re-framed many of the Semantic Web's enabling technologies in terms of Linked Open Data (LOD)�a lightweight practice of using web-friendly identifiers, explicit domain models, and related ontologies to design graph-based metadata. As more and more RDF-based metadata become available, a lack of established best practices for vocabulary development and management in a Semantic Web world is leading to a certain level of vocabulary chaos. Strategies for vocabulary publishing, discovery, evaluation, and mapping have the potential to change the conversation significantly. Available at: PDF Download DOI
A Reconsideration of Mapping in a Semantic World
Gordon Dunsire, Diane I. Hillmann, Jon Phipps and Karen Coyle. Paper presented at the DC-2011 Conference, Aug./Sept. 2007, The Hague.
Abstract: For much of the past decade, attempts to corral the explosion of new metadata schemas (or formats) have been notably unsuccessful. Concerns about interoperability in this diverse and rapidly changing environment continue, with strategies based on syntactic crosswalks becoming more sophisticated even as the ground beneath library data shifts further towards the Semantic Web. This paper will review the state of the art of traditional crosswalking strategies, examine lessons learned, and suggest how some changes in approach--from record-based to statement-based, and from syntax-based to semantic-based--can make a significant difference in the outcome. The paper will also describe a semantic mapping service now under development. Available at: DC Papers 2011-3622
Application Profiles: Exposing and Enforcing Metadata Quality
Diane I. Hillmann and Jon Phipps. Paper presented at the DC2007 Conference, Aug./Sept. 2007, Singapore.
Abstract: In this paper, we explore a range of issues yet to be addressed in the large-scale use of application profiles. While considerable attention has been paid to human-readable application profiles, there is a growing need for machine-readable application profiles that can support quality control mechanisms including, but not limited to, data validation. We examine these issues in the context of the evolving Semantic Web and the DCMI commitment to RDF and the challenges presented. We frame the discussion in terms of select functions to be served by application profiles and our notion of data profiles. While much remains to be done to address these issues, positive movement toward solutions is dependent on the appropriate framing of those issues in terms of the needs of large-scale applications such as metadata aggregators. Available at: hdl.handle.net�9371
A Metadata Registry from Vocabularies UP: The NSDL Registry Project
Diane I. Hillmann, Stuart Sutton, Jon Phipps, Ryan Laundry. Paper presented at the DC2006 Conference, Oct. 2006, Manzanillo, Mexico.
Abstract: The NSDL Metadata Registry is designed to provide humans and machines with the means to discover, create, access and manage metadata schemes, schemas, application profiles, crosswalks and concept mappings. This paper describes the general goals and architecture of the NSDL Metadata Registry as well as issues encountered during the first year of the project's implementation. Available at: arxiv.org�0605111
Orchestrating Metadata Enhancement Services: Introducing Lenny
Jon Phipps, Diane I. Hillmann, and Gordon Paynter. Paper presented at the DC2005 Conference, Sept. 2005, Madrid, Spain.
ABSTRACT: Harvested metadata often suffers from uneven quality to the point that utility is compromised. Although some aggregators have developed methods for evaluating and repairing specific metadata problems, it has been unclear how these methods might be scaled into services that can be used within an automated production environment. The National Science Digital Library (NSDL), as part of its work with INFOMINE, has developed a model of service interaction that enables loosely-coupled third party services to provide metadata enhancements to a central repository, with interactions orchestrated by a centralized software application. This application is launched by an editor, then works to define collections by requesting web services from allied projects. In this paper, the service orchestration process is described from both perspectives. Available at: arxiv.org�0501083 or International Journal of Metadata, Semantics and Ontologies, v. 1, issue 3, 2006, p. 189-197.
Improving Metadata Quality: Augmentation and Recombination
Diane I. Hillmann, Naomi Dushay, and Jon Phipps. Paper presented at the DC2004 Conference, October 2004, Shanghai, China.
Abstract: Digital libraries have, in the main, adopted the traditional library notion of the metadata 'record' as the basic unit of management and exchange. Although this simplifies the harvest and re-exposure of metadata, it limits the ability of metadata aggregators to improve the quality of metadata and to share specifics of those improvements with others. The National Science Digital Library (NSDL) is exploring options for augmenting harvested metadata and re-exposing the augmented metadata to downstream users with detailed information on how it was created and by whom. The key to this augmentation process involves changing the basic metadata unit from 'record' to 'statement.' Available at: hdl.handle.net�7897
Analyzing Metadata for Effective Use and Re-Use
Naomi Dushay and Diane I. Hillmann. Paper presented at DC-2003 conference, Seattle, Wa.
Abstract: Using a commercially available visual graphical analysis tool, the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) has developed techniques to expedite evaluation of large batches of metadata. These techniques allow efficient and thorough review of large quantities of XML metadata, thus enabling the focus of limited resources on evaluation and manipulation tasks that are most important in our context. In the NSDL, metadata is evaluated for aggregation, but these techniques are applicable to any situation where batches of metadata need to be evaluated. This paper discusses the motivations for this approach and the techniques themselves. Available at: hdl.handle.net�7896