85575 - SEMANTIC DIGITAL LIBRARIES (1) (LM)

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

Libraries have always been an inspiration for the standards and technologies developed by semantic web activities. At the end of the course the students will learn how to manage the process related to a DL creation: from the metadata choice to the ontologies selection; from the network issues to the architecture implementation; from the preservation of data to the curation of the life cycle of digital cultural objects.

Contenuti

The course combines lectures with practical activities/laboratories. The students are encouraged to bring a laptop to class. Please note that the program is subject to change until the start of the course.

 

The course is tentatively articulated into the following parts (per week):

 

Week 1: Introduction

• Introduction to the course, including:

  1. A brief delineation of semantic digital libraries, their historical development and components.
  2. Course logistics, assessment and projects.

• An overview of the main LOD standards for (semantic) digital libraries.

• Examples of (semantic) digital library platforms: Islandora, Omeka.

 

Laboratory (graded activity): take a user perspective and assess the offering of a digital library; it can be any national library, institutional or private systems. What does the digital library offer to the users in terms of functionalities? Which of these functionalities are “semantic”? Why? Present your results to the class.

Project ideas brainstorming session.

 

Week 2: Semantic Web and interoperability standards

• Ontologies for Semantic Publishing and Referencing (SPAR).

• Contents (full texts): OCR-D.

• Annotations: Open Annotation and the Web Annotation Data Model.

• Interoperability: International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF), InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), Distributed Text Services (DTS).

 

Laboratory (graded activity): Explore and compare the use of Semantic Web standards, technologies, and tools in different national library systems. Also look for a Semantic Web strategy/vision document, and compare it with reality/roadmap. Present your results to the class.

 

Week 3: Artificial Intelligence I

• AI for Semantic Digital Libraries.

• How to run an annotation campaign.

 

Laboratory (graded activity): Explore and compare the usage of AI technologies and tools in different national library systems. Present your results to the class.

 

Week 4: Artificial Intelligence II

• Information extraction: H/OCR with Transkribus.

• Information extraction: layout parsing.

 

Laboratory (graded activity): Design and execute an H/OCR information extraction project with Transkribus and other software libraries.

 

Weeks 5: Case studies and advanced topics

 Topics will be selected according to the students’ preferences.

Case studies (possibly by invited speakers)

• Semantic scientific citation indices (e.g., OpenCitations).

• Advanced semantic services in LAM organisations.

Advanced topics

• Modern scholarly information retrieval systems. 

• Advanced AI techniques for Semantic Digital Libraries.

 

Laboratory: group work on projects and office hours.

Testi/Bibliografia

A list of texts will be provided by the lecturer before the beginning of each week.

 

General references

• Kruk and McDaniel (eds.). 2009. Semantic Digital Libraries. Springer.

• Banarjee and Rese. 2018 (2nd ed.). Building Digital Libraries. ALA Neal-Schuman.

• van Hooland and Verborg. 2019. Linked Data for Archives, Libraries and Museums. Facet Publishing.

 

Primers

For who needs a refresher or exposure to the background for this course:

• A brief history of computers (this is not a prerequisite, just a reference)

• Introduction to XML (this is not a prerequisite, just a reference)

• Metadata basics

• Introduction to Linked Data (ch. 1 and 2)

• RDF primer

• Introduction to information retrieval (this is not a prerequisite, just a reference)

• Introduction to machine learning (ch. 1 and 2) (this is not a prerequisite, just a reference)

Metodi didattici

The course uses a mix of lectures, seminars, and practical exercises.

All sessions take place in person. Recordings will be made available only upon advance request and for motivated reasons.

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

In-class laboratories conducted during the first part of the course will yield a small (0-3 points) contribution towards the final grade.

The final examination consists of the presentation of an original project. The project is proposed by the students. For example, it can focus on an in-depth, technical analysis of an existing (semantic) digital library platform; the design and specification of the user and technical requirements for a new one; the exploration of a currently open research area related to semantic digital libraries; or a case study using a tool/technology discussed in class (e.g., Transkribus). A project may be theoretical, applied, or a combination.

The project guidelines will be shared at the beginning of the course. Students will be asked to work in small groups (2-3). Individual projects are allowed for motivated reasons. The students are highly encouraged to do their projects during the duration of the course, and present their results shortly after the end of the course, at a dedicated session.

The personal contribution of each member of a group will be assessed during an individual oral colloquium at a regular exam session. In the oral colloquium, both the project and the course contents will be assessed. The project and the oral examination each contribute 50% of the final grade. Further information about the assessment are provided during the first class (slides in Virtuale).

The program for non-attending students is the same, except that the project might be done individually. Furthermore, non-attending students will have to include extra readings to complement the class contents. Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending. Readings for both attending and non-attending students are provided via Virtuale.

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

Classes are held in a classroom equipped with personal computers connected to the Intranet and Internet.

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Giovanni Colavizza