Andrew Marlow wrote: > Your web site is great. Yes, the subject hierachy you have is the sort > of thing I am after. I did not see the traditional breadcums that show > the hierarchy though. You have opted for saying 'broader' or 'narrower' > classification.
Yes, because LC subject headings doesn't represent a traditional hierarchy, but more of a conceptual network. That is, there's more than one "broader term" in use for many terms, so there's no canonical hierarchy to hang bread crumbs off of (unlike DDC, LC call numbers, or UDC). To see a clearer example of the complexity involved, look at "Information storage and retrieval systems", which I have a subject map for at http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/browse?type=lcsubc&key=Information storage and retrieval systems Here, notice that there are multiple broader, narrower, and related terms; no single thing "above" it in a breadcrumb hierarchy. (Instead, you can go up whichever route you choose.) > Is your system based on DSpace? You mentioned having to do some > non-trivial programming. If your system is DSpace-based will you be able > to contribute the code back to DSpace? It's not DSpace based. It's currently a Perl library drawing on some somewhat out of date metadata for the LC subject headings taxonomy local to Penn. I'm considering porting the subject mapping library to Java, though, for some other developments, which could in theory make it usable by Dspace if interest warrants. (Or if anyone else wants to work on this, I can point folks to downloadable XML versions of the LC subject headings conceptual network.) John ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SF.Net email is Sponsored by MIX09, March 18-20, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The future of the web can't happen without you. Join us at MIX09 to help pave the way to the Next Web now. Learn more and register at http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;208669438;13503038;i?http://2009.visitmix.com/ _______________________________________________ DSpace-tech mailing list DSpace-tech@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/dspace-tech
