[open-bibliography] Extract Translations from WorldCat?

Mon Oct 22 15:30:45 UTC 2012

Here's the OCLC documentation on their xISBN algorithm:

http://www.worldcat.org/affiliate/webservices/xisbn/app.jsp

"Original" editions (either original language or original print or 
original edition) are not identified in library cataloging. This is a 
huge gap, but it seems to be a near-universal one.

kc

On 10/22/12 7:43 AM, Cheesman T. wrote:
> Thanks John. That’s definitely a start!
>
> How are the various ISBNS and/or OCLCs associated? Is that done manually? (I notice that the OCLC749427863,for one of the Polish editions, is not in any of the lists of OCLCs e.g. at177669176 – so it must be an ISBN association?)
>
> There is an ‘Original Language’ field – but only for thetranslations –
> and that’s not the same as a link or pointer to an original-language
> edition.
>
> Tricky!
>
> Cheers
>
> Tom
>
> Dr Tom Cheesman
>
> Reader in German
>
> College of Arts and Humanities
>
> Swansea University
>
> SA2 8PP
>
> T: +44 (0)1792 205678 x 4030
>
> M: (+)(0)7736408064
>
> Institution: www.swansea.ac.uk/staff/academic/ArtsHumanities/cheesmant/
>
> Version Variation: www.delightedbeauty.org /and/
> www.delightedbeauty.org/vvv
>
> Asylum: www.swanseabassgroup.org
>
> Publishing: www.lulu.com/hafan
>
> *From:*open-bibliography-bounces at lists.okfn.org
> [mailto:open-bibliography-bounces at lists.okfn.org] *On Behalf Of *John Salter
> *Sent:* 22 October 2012 15:16
> *To:* 'List for Working Group on Open Bibliographic Data'
> *Subject:* Re: [open-bibliography] Extract Translations from WorldCat?
>
> Hi Tom,
>
> The xISBN API already returns multiple language variations of an item
> (and editions) e.g.
>
> http://xisbn.worldcat.org/webservices/xid/isbn/0596002815?method=getEditions&fl=*&format=json (also:
>
>
> http://www.oclc.org/developer/documentation/xisbn/response-details)
>
> This would cover *recent* items (e.g. items with an ISBN), but not older
> texts - and I'm not sure how you tell which language is the original?
>
> Does that help at all with what you're trying to do?
>
> Cheers,
>
> John
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *From:*open-bibliography-bounces at lists.okfn.org
> <mailto:open-bibliography-bounces at lists.okfn.org>
> [mailto:open-bibliography-bounces at lists.okfn.org] *On Behalf Of *Cheesman T.
> *Sent:* 22 October 2012 14:41
> *To:* open-bibliography at lists.okfn.org
> <mailto:open-bibliography at lists.okfn.org>
> *Subject:* [open-bibliography] Extract Translations from WorldCat?
>
> Hello, dear Open Bibliography group,
>
> [I sent the following to the ScraperWiki list yesterday and David Jones
> has suggested I try you – saying: “I think some people there have done
> some WorldCat hacking”. But come to think of it, there might be better
> sources than WorldCat for the data I’m interested in?]
>
> Here's a major challenge - possibly new (?): scrape out of WorldCat all
> the items which are translations, and link them with all the items which
> are translated.
>
> Doing this would (1) help anyone find any translations of a work or find
> the original of any translation (= a tool which performs as an interface
> to WorldCat data) and (2) build a dynamic dataset representing global
> cultural flows (= a stats tool).
>
> Data about WorldCat items includes OCLC number, title, date, publisher,
> language, edition/format, personal names under 'author' (sometimes also
> 'responsibility'), sometimes 'other titles', 'notes' etc. - the fields
> vary depending on the library catalogue or other source they came from.
>
> In the case of translations, the fact that a work is a translation is
> often only shown in the title field:  '... translated from ... by ...'
> can appear.  So we might have to start by collating all items with such
> phrases (in all languages) in the title field, and extracting names.
> Translator names will be key links.
>
> An 'other title', esp if it is in a different language (but that won't
> be marked), is probably an original title (but might be the title of a
> translation...).
>
> WorldCat entries are cross-referenced to ''all editions and formats' -
> and that includes multiple copies, differing editions, and translations,
> but translations are only linked IF they have the same title as the
> original (or partly the same). So the English translation of Kristeva's
> "Hannah Arendt" biography is linked to the Japanese and Polish
> translations, but not to the French original.
>
> Index Translationum, started in 1932 by the League of Nations, now run
> by UNESCO, keeps a record of all the world's literary translations. Its
> records could be used to cross-check links, perhaps?
>
> Just an idea..!
>
> Tom
>
> Dr Tom Cheesman
>
> Reader in German
>
> College of Arts and Humanities
>
> Swansea University
>
> SA2 8PP
>
> T: +44 (0)1792 205678 x 4030
>
> M: (+)(0)7736408064
>
> Institution: www.swansea.ac.uk/staff/academic/ArtsHumanities/cheesmant/
> <http://www.swansea.ac.uk/staff/academic/ArtsHumanities/cheesmant/>
>
> Version Variation: www.delightedbeauty.org
> <http://www.delightedbeauty.org> /and/ www.delightedbeauty.org/vvv
> <http://www.delightedbeauty.org/vvv>
>
> Asylum: www.swanseabassgroup.org <http://www.swanseabassgroup.org>
>
> Publishing: www.lulu.com/hafan <http://www.lulu.com/hafan>
>
>
>
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> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/open-bibliography
>

-- 
Karen Coyle
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