FIWI Video Library Ontology (FIWI-ON)
About this Project
FIWI-ON aims to modernize the catalogue of the film collection of the Department of Film Studies according to modern linked open data standards.
Scientific Summary
With a collection of almost 60,000 films on DVD and Blu-ray, the film collection of the Department of Film Studies (FIWI) is one of the largest film studies collections in Europe. This collection is managed using a proprietary database that has been carefully managed and expanded over the past 30 years.
This solution is now clearly outdated. All information was originally organized in a "flat" database, and the various records were only rudimentarily linked. In its original form, the FIWI database does not comply with the principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability as formulated in the FAIR principles.
As part of FIWI-ON, the database has been comprehensively modernized and organized according to the principles of Linked Open Data. The goal was to follow the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR), which distinguishes between different levels of a cinematic work. We successfully implement the so-called WEMI model, which distinguishes between work, expression, manifestation and item. In addition, the vast majority of cataloged films have been assigned with standardized identifiers.
Challenges and Goals
From the beginning of the project, it was clear that standardized identifiers would play a central role. Once an identifier is assigned to a movie, linking it to a director or another work becomes a trivial task. The challenge was that there are several competing identifiers with different strengths and weaknesses. Not all of them are open, and not all of them provide well-documented APIs. Accessing the available data and linking it to our database proved to be a challenging task.
Results and Outputs
Well over 80% of the films in the FIWI collection have been assigned an identifier. This is an excellent result, exceeding our most optimistic expectations. The assignment of identifiers has allowed for extensive data enrichment. We now have visual material posters for many of the films in our collection, and for most of the directors we have a dedicated website with additional information.
In close collaboration with the University Library, the UB-AV competence team was established.
Impact on Open Science Practices
Open data practices are not well developed in the film collecting world. FIWI-ON not only provides rich open data for interested researchers, but also serves as an example of best practice.
