An information hub for metadata and full text information coming from various systems in a cloud based semantic network. A case study for Szekszárd Municipal and County Museum (Tolna county, Hungary)

András SIMON | Endre FÜLÖP
(Qulto – Monguz, Szeged, Hungary)

Keywords: deep web, semantic network, collection management system, integrated system

Abstract:
Though the amount of digitalized information is constantly growing, most of it is hidden in the “deep web”, which means that users might find it difficult to trace.
A professional solution for this problem is a cloud based Integrated System, a semantic network of identified, qualified and tagged metadata and full text or visual information, originating from databases and repositories of archeology, digital inventories and catalogues, making browsing, search and displaying the linked data on the Web possible.
Data is coming from databases of several types created for various purposes.  It is prepared by local experts as data masters, and linked by the managers of the collection management and knowledge organisation systems. Such data cannot be regarded as database records anymore, but rather statements acting as nodes and links of a semantic network.
Units of the system:

  • items of inventories and catalogues of heritage institutions,
  • descriptions of restoration and conservation events in museums,
  • information about archeological sites and objects,
  • articles from knowledge organisation systems and full text databases,
  • vocabulary items,
  • data from namespaces of persons, corporations, geographical locations, animal and plant species
  • text (indexed for search), image, audio, video and 3D files

Linking all kinds of data nodes with each other, the system becomes the network of semantic statements, classifying the nodes and the link joining them as well. The innovation of this system is the integration of statements of various data masters, making possible the reuse of recorded metadata. The system prepares the search indexes, synchronises the elements of various data sources, cares for the protection of non-public data, and displays the relevant information on the web interface.