FRBR : A Review

Joy KimUniversity of Southern California

What is FRBR?

Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records

A Conceptual model for a new approach to organizing recorded knowledge

Why Change?

Bibliographic Universe much more diverse and complex than before

Information technology offers better ways to manage records (no longer the limitations of the Card Catalog)

Shared cataloging environment calls for common shared understanding

Increased user expectations

Who Wrote FRBR?

IFLA Study Group on FRBR (of IFLA Section on Cataloging)

Six-Year Study Completed in 1997 & published in 1998

http://www.ifla.org/VII/s13/wgfrbr/wgfrbr.htm

Why Discuss FRBR Now?

An important major topic embraced by the international bibliographic community

Impacts all of us (slowly but surely!)—ISBD, RDA, MARC, etc.

The records we create now have lasting consequences

CEAL never discussed it as a group

FRBR in a Nutshell Entity-Relationship Model

Entities: Group 1, 2, 3 Relationships Attributes

User Tasks Find Identify Select Obtain Navigate

National Level Record Elements (mandatory & optional data)

Objects of Interest (Entities) to Catalog Users

Work (an intellectual/artistic creation)

Expression (the realization of a work)

Manifestations (the physical embodiment of an expression of a work)

Items (a single exemplar of a manifestation)

Example

w1. Miura Ayako’s Hyoten 三浦绫子 . 冰點 . e1. Chinese translatione2. Korean translation

m1. the book published by 汎友社

m2. the book published by 三民社

i1. copy autographed by the author

Relationships:

Structural relationshipsResponsibility

relationshipsSubject relationshipsWhole/Part relationships

FRBRizing: Application of FRBR Concepts

Implementation Examples AustLit Gateway Virtua OCLC’s Fiction Finder and

Worldcat Similar Versions RLG’s RedLightGreen LC’s FRBR Display Tool BIBSYS FRBR project

OCLC Fiction Finderhttp://fictionfinder.oclc.org/

A prototype system developed for 2.5+ million bibliographic records for fiction that have been clustered at the work level

Fiction Finder

Works Expressions

Expressions

Manifestations (could be Expressions)

Worldcat Similar Versions Trial

Expressions

Work

Types of Works in Worldcatby Ed. O’Neill, FRBR Workshop, May 2005

78% of works have only a Single Manifestation

16% of works have only a Single Expression but Multiple Manifestations

6% of works have Multiple Expressions Revisions (53%) Translations (26%) Aggregates or Collected Works

(9%) Augmentations (2%)

Ed O’Neill’s 2002 Study on FRBRizing Humphry Clinker

Aggregating Works, Manifestations, Items improves bibliographic organization and navigation

Expressions are much harder to identify due to lack of information or detail in bibliographic records

Implications for Catalogers• Consistent cataloging practice• Accuracy of data• Added entries & details, such as

Bibliography/Bibliographic note Chronological table Glossary Illustrations/List of illustrations Introduction/Foreword Maps Notes Publisher’s note Table of contents Reproduction of original title page Reviews Analytics Uniform titles Authority Work

Other Related IFLA Studies Functional Requirements

of Authority Numbering and Records (FRANAR)

Functional Requirements for Subject Authority Records (FRSAR)

For More Information

• IFLA Division of Bibliographic Controlhttp://www.ifla.org/VII/d4/dbc.htm

• LC MARC and FRBR

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marc-functional-analysis/

• OCLC FRBR Projectshttp://www.oclc.org/research/

projects/frbr/

Thank You!

Questions or Comments?Contact:

Joy Kimjoykim@usc.edu213-740-2329