Possibilities of establishing interoperability among metadata schemas in museum environment

Zlodi, Goran. (2007). Possibilities of establishing interoperability among metadata schemas in museum environment. PhD Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Information Science > Chair of museology and heritage management. [mentor Vujić, Žarka].

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Abstract

In the global networked environment, the number of users that needs information from museum and broader heritage context has increased; and in the same time discovery of cultural information resources is seriously hindered because cultural heritage information is heterogeneous in structure and content. That was the motivation for author to explore and analyse possibilities of achieving interoperability among existing metadata schemas in museum documentation and related information systems. Establishing interoperability is necessary for facilitating and implementing of conversion and exchange of metadata and enabling federated searches, metadata harvesting and cross-domain discovery of cultural information resources in the global information environment. Digital and networked environment causes changes in meaning and function of many concepts basic to information science and museum documentation, therefore first chapter deals with this subject, with special focus on changes related to concept of medium as content carrier in museum documentation. Subsequently, concept of metadata is introduced and critically examined. Problems in modelling and developing metadata schemas, are identified within segment of recognition and selection of important elements which will represent entities and relations from real word in information systems. Discussion shows possibilities of improvement in modelling relationships and rules from domain of cultural heritage, firstly by systematic research user needs and then by analysis of existing documentation forms and methods. Next chapter contains an analysis of methods used for establishing or improving interoperability among metadata schemas and information systems. Existing methodological framework, developed by Zeng and Chan, which considers implementing interoperability at different levels of operation - schema level, record level, and repository level, is extended with new level – global level of establishing interoperability which includes formal ontologies and global infrastructure of metadata schemas, application profiles and ontology registers. By integrating multiple approaches, author develops the multi-level model of establishing interoperability in global information environment. All this strategies and methods are harmonised with contemporary developments in information technology and with consideration of user requirements. Finally, author presents the results of comparative analysis of the research on structure of museum object information published in the museum catalogues. Those results improve findings in establishing common minimal metadata element set in museum information environment with special concern on preserving information diversity of specific scientific discipline approaches. In this dissertation, establishing interoperability of museum documentation, is always considered in broader heritage and global context, with special concern of possibilities of museum information participation in a global semantic web of culture.

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