Wikidata:WikiProject Heritage Collections/Data structure
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Introduction[edit]
Since the creation of archives at (P485) in 2013, this and other properties that follow a similar modeling approach, such as documentation files at (P10527), have been used in two distinct, but mutually compatible approaches: (1) They have been used to reference archival holdings across a variety of institutions, mainly focusing on holdings about persons and organizations; (2) they have been used to reference artefacts documenting a specific thematic field of study, such as the performing arts. As the use case illustrates (see the table below), the data modeling approach originally proposed for archives at (P485) can easily be extended to be applied to a variety of subject entities as well as a variety of types of heritage holdings.
Referencing Archival Holdings about Persons, Organizations, and other Entities[edit]
In 2023, there were approx. 100'000 archives at (P485) statements in Wikidata. A bit over 50% of those statements pertained to humans; the rest pertained to a large variety of classes of items, including organizations, which most likely make up the second largest group[1]. See the "Statistics" section of this WikiProject for further details regarding the usage of archives at (P485) and documentation files at (P10527) and its evolution over time.
Referencing Artefacts Documenting the Performing Arts[edit]
This section documents the data structures required for the realization of a "WorldCat" of the performing arts, i.e. a comprehensive catalogue of artefacts documenting the performing arts (for an overview of such artefacts, see Artefacts Documenting Activities Related to the Performing Arts).
| (Super-)class of item | Type of artefact | Property used | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| human (Q5) | archival material | archives at (P485) | Angelique Rockas (Q23893984) |
| human (Q5) | documentation | documentation files at (P10527) | Bob Dylan (Q392) |
| human (Q5) | personal library | personal library at (P9419) | Tennessee Williams (Q134262) |
| organization (Q43229) | archival material | archives at (P485) | Flemish Theater Institute (Q1812913) |
| organization (Q43229) | documentation | documentation files at (P10527) | Stadttheater Zürich (Q110287453) |
| performing arts production (Q43099500) | documentation | documentation files at (P10527) | |
| performing arts production (Q43099500) | objects | object collection at (property to be created) | |
| performance (Q35140) | audio recording | audio recording(s) at (property to be created) | |
| performance (Q35140) | video recording | video recording(s) at (property to be created) |
Recommended Usage of archives at (P485), documentation files at (P10527), and Similar Properties[edit]
In 2023, an analysis of the current usage of the archives at (P485) was carried out in order to identify current data modeling practices and to propose a best practice as to the recommended usage of archives at (P485), and by extension similar properties, such as documentation files at (P10527), personal library at (P9419), or oral history at (P9600).[1] The findings of this analysis have been discussed in an online workshop of the LODEPA community and are summarized below in the form of best practice recommendations.
Core Structure: Current Practices to be Upheld in the Future[edit]
- Use a described at URL (P973) qualifier to point to a detailed description of the holding (provided that there is a detailed description available online of a holding that concerns mainly the subject in question).
- To the extent possible, an inventory number (P217) qualifier should be provided for holdings that concern mainly the subject in question. A subject named as (P1810) or a title (P1476) qualifier as well as a level of description (P6224) qualifier can be used to further describe the holding. If applicable, start of covered period (P7103) and end of covered period (P7104) may be used to indicate the period covered by the holding.
- Use a reference URL (P854) to point to an online reference that mentions the holding (without describing it) or to point to a description of a larger holding where documents about the subject can be found among other contents.
- If there is a detailed description of the archival holding available online and there is no other value for the reference URL (P854), a reference URL (P854) should still be provided and take the same value as the described at URL (P973) qualifier.
Practices to Be Discontinued / Issues to Be Fixed[edit]
- Do not use an official website (P856) qualifier in connection with an archives at (P485) (or similar) statement. – Use a described at URL (P973) qualifier and/or a reference URL (P854) instead to point to the description of the holding.
- Do not provide pointers to the descriptions of several archival holdings in the same archives at (P485) (or similar) statement, e.g. by adding several described at URL (P973) qualifiers or by adding several reference URL (P854) statements pointing to different holdings.
- Link rot should be avoided by providing stable identifiers and by implementing redirects in the case of website migrations (to be implemented by the archival institutions / the providers of metadata catalogs).
- As of 2023, the applies to part (P518) qualifier was used in about 3% of the cases to indicate the type(s) of artifact in the holding. This usage should be discontinued; a has part(s) of the class (P2670) qualifier should be used instead.
Further Qualifiers Used to Describe Holdings[edit]
Several other qualifiers have been used to further specify archival holdings. See the list of "allowed qualifiers" in the "property constraint" section of archives at (P485). So far, their use has not been very frequent. Challenges related to their use and the harmonization of practices should be addressed in the light of concrete use cases.
Recommendations for the Rendering of archives at (P485), etc. Statements in Applications[edit]
From the above-mentioned best practices regarding the usage of archives at (P485), documentation files at (P10527), and similar properties, the following recommendations ensue as to the rendering of those statements in applications. These recommendations are robust with regard to the main diverging practices for describing holdings on Wikidata in the past (most notably with regard to the practice of using solely a reference URL (P854) to link to the detailed description of the holding):
- When rendering such statements in an application, display the label of the institution holding the heritage collection as the main piece of information.
- If the statement has a described at URL (P973) qualifier, use it to provide a direct link to the description of the holding. In the absence of a “described at URL” qualifier, use the “reference URL” in its stead if available.
- Display the inventory number (P217) and the name of the holding (subject named as (P1810) / title (P1476)) as extra pieces of information if available.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Estermann, Beat (2023) "archives at" Statements - Towards a Best Practice (unpublished report).