CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model
Encyclopedia
The CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CRM) provides an extensible ontology
for concept
s and information
in cultural heritage
and museum
documentation
. It is the international standard
(ISO
21127:2006) for the controlled exchange of cultural heritage information. Archive
s, libraries
, museum
s, and other cultural institutions are encouraged to use the CIDOC CRM to enhance accessibility to museum-related information and knowledge
.
. Initially, until 1994, the work focused on developing an entity-relationship model
for museum information, however, in 1996, the approach shifted to object-oriented modeling
methodologies, resulting in the first "CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CRM)"in 1999. The process of standardizing the CIDOC CRM began in 2000 and was completed in 2006 with its acceptance as the ISO 21127 standard.
and information standard that museums, and other cultural heritage institutions, can use to describe their collections, and related business entities, to improve information sharing.
By adopting formal semantics
for the CIDOC CRM, the pre-conditions for machine-to-machine interoperability and integration
have been established. Thus, CIDOC CRM is well placed to become an important information standard and reference model for Semantic Web
initiatives, and serves as a guide for data
, or database
, modeling more generally. Technically speaking, CIDOC CRM lends itself to software applications that extensively use XML
and RDF
. Many cultural heritage institutions are investigating or building applications that use CIDOC CRM.
Following the successful standardization of the CIDOC CRM, a new initiative, FRBRoo
, was begun in 2006 to harmonize it with the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR). The aim of this initiative is to "provide a formal ontology intended to capture and represent the underlying semantics of bibliographic information and to facilitate the integration, mediation, and interchange of bibliographic and museum information."
Ontology (computer science)
In computer science and information science, an ontology formally represents knowledge as a set of concepts within a domain, and the relationships between those concepts. It can be used to reason about the entities within that domain and may be used to describe the domain.In theory, an ontology is...
for concept
Concept
The word concept is used in ordinary language as well as in almost all academic disciplines. Particularly in philosophy, psychology and cognitive sciences the term is much used and much discussed. WordNet defines concept: "conception, construct ". However, the meaning of the term concept is much...
s and information
Information
Information in its most restricted technical sense is a message or collection of messages that consists of an ordered sequence of symbols, or it is the meaning that can be interpreted from such a message or collection of messages. Information can be recorded or transmitted. It can be recorded as...
in cultural heritage
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
and museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
documentation
Information science
-Introduction:Information science is an interdisciplinary science primarily concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information...
. It is the international standard
International standard
International standards are standards developed by international standards organizations. International standards are available for consideration and use, worldwide...
(ISO
International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
21127:2006) for the controlled exchange of cultural heritage information. Archive
Archive
An archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...
s, libraries
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s, and other cultural institutions are encouraged to use the CIDOC CRM to enhance accessibility to museum-related information and knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
.
History
The CIDOC CRM emerged from the CIDOC Documentation Standards Group in the International Committee for Documentation of the International Council of MuseumsInternational Council of Museums
The International Council of Museums is an international organization of museums and museum professionals that is committed to the conservation, continuation and communication to society of the world's natural and cultural heritage, present and future, tangible and intangible.- Overview :Created...
. Initially, until 1994, the work focused on developing an entity-relationship model
Entity-relationship model
In software engineering, an entity-relationship model is an abstract and conceptual representation of data. Entity-relationship modeling is a database modeling method, used to produce a type of conceptual schema or semantic data model of a system, often a relational database, and its requirements...
for museum information, however, in 1996, the approach shifted to object-oriented modeling
Object-Oriented Modeling
Object-oriented modeling , also called object-oriented programming is a modeling paradigm mainly used in computer programming. Prior to the rise of OOM, the dominant paradigm was procedural programming, which emphasized the use of discrete reusable code blocks that could stand on their own, take...
methodologies, resulting in the first "CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CRM)"in 1999. The process of standardizing the CIDOC CRM began in 2000 and was completed in 2006 with its acceptance as the ISO 21127 standard.
Aims
The overall aim of the CIDOC CRM is to provide a reference modelReference Model
A reference model in systems, enterprise, and software engineering is a model of something that embodies the basic goal or idea of something and can then be looked at as a reference for various purposes.- Overview :...
and information standard that museums, and other cultural heritage institutions, can use to describe their collections, and related business entities, to improve information sharing.
The CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CRM) provides definitions and a formal structure for describing the implicit and explicit concepts and relationships used in cultural heritage documentation...to promote a shared understanding of cultural heritage information by providing a common and extensible semantic framework that any cultural heritage information can be mapped to. It is intended to be a common language for domain experts and implementers to formulate requirements for information systems and to serve as a guide for good practice of conceptual modelling. In this way, it can provide the "semantic glue" needed to mediate between different sources of cultural heritage information, such as that published by museums, libraries and archives.
By adopting formal semantics
Formal semantics of programming languages
In programming language theory, semantics is the field concerned with the rigorous mathematical study of the meaning of programming languages and models of computation...
for the CIDOC CRM, the pre-conditions for machine-to-machine interoperability and integration
Information integration
Information integration is the merging of information from disparate sources with differing conceptual, contextual and typographical representations. It is used in data mining and consolidation of data from unstructured or semi-structured resources...
have been established. Thus, CIDOC CRM is well placed to become an important information standard and reference model for Semantic Web
Semantic Web
The Semantic Web is a collaborative movement led by the World Wide Web Consortium that promotes common formats for data on the World Wide Web. By encouraging the inclusion of semantic content in web pages, the Semantic Web aims at converting the current web of unstructured documents into a "web of...
initiatives, and serves as a guide for data
Data modeling
Data modeling in software engineering is the process of creating a data model for an information system by applying formal data modeling techniques.- Overview :...
, or database
Database model
A database model is the theoretical foundation of a database and fundamentally determines in which manner data can be stored, organized, and manipulated in a database system. It thereby defines the infrastructure offered by a particular database system...
, modeling more generally. Technically speaking, CIDOC CRM lends itself to software applications that extensively use XML
Extensible Markup Language
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
and RDF
Resource Description Framework
The Resource Description Framework is a family of World Wide Web Consortium specifications originally designed as a metadata data model...
. Many cultural heritage institutions are investigating or building applications that use CIDOC CRM.
Following the successful standardization of the CIDOC CRM, a new initiative, FRBRoo
FRBRoo
The FRBRoo initiative is a joint effort the CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model and Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records international working groups to establish "a formal ontology intended to capture and represent the underlying semantics of bibliographic information and to facilitate...
, was begun in 2006 to harmonize it with the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR). The aim of this initiative is to "provide a formal ontology intended to capture and represent the underlying semantics of bibliographic information and to facilitate the integration, mediation, and interchange of bibliographic and museum information."
Further reading
- Doerr M., "The CIDOC CRM – An Ontological Approach to Semantic Interoperability of Metadata", AI Magazine, Volume.24, Number 3 pp. 75-92 (2003)
- Martin Doerr, Dolores Iorizzo, The Dream of a Global Knowledge Network – A New Approach, ACM Journal for Computing and Cultural Heritage, Vol. 1, No. 1, Article 5, Publication date: June 2008
- Nick Crofts, Martin Doerr, Tony Gill, Stephen Stead, Matthew Stiff (editors), Definition of the CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model, October 2006. Version 4.2.1
- Martin Doerr, Nicholas Crofts: Electronic Communication on Diverse Data. The Role of the oo CIDOC Reference Model
- T. Gill: Making sense of cultural infodiversity: The CIDOC-CRM. 2002
- Regine Stein, Jürgen Gottschewski u.a.: Das CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model: Eine Hilfe für den Datenaustausch? Berlin, 2005 (German)