Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LITMUS (Linked Irish Traditional Music Project)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2017-07-01 do 2019-06-30
LITMUS objectives are to: facilitate improved semantic web-based descriptions of, & access to, Irish music & dance materials such as those found in the ITMA; further applied & theoretical research in music information access, the semantic web, & cultural heritage informatics; &, increase wider audiences' understanding of ITM & unique considerations for orally-based music traditions in both non-academic & academic sectors.
The LITMUS ontology, an extension of the widely-used FRBRoo ontology specific to Irish traditional music and dance, is based upon the considerations of oral transmission. LITMUS employs unique terminology used by traditional musicians and dancers to describe & relate concepts, & reflects the richness and diversity found within ITM. The conclusion of the LITMUS project resulted in 38 new classes and 77 new properties (relationships) to extend FRBRoo, as well as 3 bi-lingual SKOS (Simple Knowledge Organization System) thesauri to describe Irish traditional instruments and tune types. The Linked Data Pilot applied the LITMUS ontology & thesauri to a dataset of culturally-important & nationally / internationally recognised traditional musicians & dancers. These performances are sourced from the Gradam Ceoil (music awards) by TG4, Ireland's Irish-language television broadcaster. The ontology & thesauri are published in accordance with linked open data best practices for FAIR data - findable, accessible, interoperable, & re-usable data. As a FRBRoo extension, the LITMUS ontology is interoperable with other ontologies built upon FRBRoo & also the ontologies used to construct FRBRoo: FRBR & CIDOC-CRM. All project publications, tools, & data are published at the ITMA website and within the project's Zenodo repository: https://www.zenodo.org/communities/litmus-750814
Project results have been widely disseminated using conference presentations, social media, website, blog, project videos, a project launch presentation, & postcards & leaflets handed out at music festivals, cultural heritage events, visiting tours to ITMA, & conferences. The researcher gave 13 conference presentations (2 of which were invited presentations resulting from project dissemination activities), gave 5 public talks, authored 2 publications, wrote 4 blog posts, promoted project activities using #litmusH2020, developed 3 project videos, & developed postcards & leaflets to distribute project information & results. Conference presentations engaged appropriate audiences in musicology/ethnomusicology, digital humanities, digital cultural heritage, libraries & archives, & linked data. 2 videos were promoted within Facebook & Twitter, increasing their combined reach to over 1/2 million people. Project postcards & leaflets were distributed within ITMA to its visitors & users. In addition, project result leaflets were distributed to all attendees of the LIBER 2019 conference, where the conference theme centred on data & linked data. Presentations & publications for academic & non-academic audiences increased wider understanding of ITM & dance.
Tools developed as part of the LITMUS project allow ITMA to describe collections in even greater detail, & can make explicit information outside current catalogue records. Using LITMUS, we can account for renderings of the same or similar melody across many different forms of music, & even into related dance forms. We can account for similarities in personal repertoire between musicians & dancers, such as one singer knowing the same version of a song sung by another. This empowers our library & archival cataloguing work with the means to describe what occurs within traditional music & dance, giving ITMA’s users new connections between resources.
As the first linked data ontology focused on orally-based music traditions, LITMUS will therefore impact European & non-European intangible cultural heritage. LITMUS' linked data tools directly support & provide the means for public engagement with digital heritage, increased access to heritage data, & development of practical information infrastructures for digital heritage. The resulting tools were designed with flexibility & adaptability in mind, & may be expanded upon to suit ITMA's future needs. With the development of LITMUS ontology & thesauri using established standards, the project developed applied research tools in line with Horizon Europe's priorities for European cultural heritage, including societal engagement with digital cultural heritage, European-wide investment in intangible & tangible heritage, & building sustainable information pathways to enable greater access to cultural heritage data. The LITMUS project has furthered the linked data community’s work in cultural heritage, enhancing the potential for quality research & innovation contributing to Europe's competitiveness & growth.