Dictionaries
Dictionaries in LexBib
Initially being meant for LOD-ification of publication metadata, LexBib ontology is now being further developed, so that conceptual-lexical resources (LCR) such as dictionaries can be represented, linked to other LCR through a defined set of properties, and linked to the bibliographical items or other types of distribution that embody them.
We follow the three-level entity hierarchy for the representation of artistic or creative endavour proposed in the FRBR ontology, widely used in libraries, which we map to the two-level hierarchy for the representation of LCR metadata proposed in Metashare. These hierarchy levels, expressed as RDF classes, are the following:
| FRBR class | Metashare class | LexBib class | MetaShare definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| frbr:Work | Q41 | [An abstract notion of a creation; used to group different expressions (editions, versions) of the same work] | |
| frbr:Expression | ms:LexicalConceptualResource | Q4 | A resource organised on the basis of lexical or conceptual entries (lexical items, terms, concepts, etc.) with their supplementary information (e.g., grammatical, semantic, statistical information, etc.) |
| frbr:Manifestation | ms:DatasetDistribution | Q24 | Any form with which a dataset is distributed, such as a downloadable form in a specific format (e.g., spreadsheet, plain text, etc.) or an API with which it can be accessed |
The entity Schemata for LexBib LCR and LCR Distributions are aligned to those of the corresponding FRBR and Metashare classes (in other words, the LexBib class is a subclass of both). This has several implications:
- Properties that describe LCR content belong to the LCR item.
- Properties that describe the LCR distribution, e.g. a physical dictionay in book form, or an electronic dictionary in a dictionary web portal or as downloadable dataset, belong to the LCR Distribution item.
- LCR Distribution items, when they have publication metadata as books have, are LexBib Zotero items, i.e. in LexBib wikibase, members of class LexBib BibItem.
- A dictionary with the same contents in printed form, on CD-ROM, available in a mobile app, or downloadable in different serialization formats (XML, JSON, etc.) will be represented as the same resource with different distributions.
