Introducing Objectification:
James Cummings
Newcastle University
james.cummings@newcastle.ac.uk
@jamescummings
when is an <object> a <place>?
New elements from TEI P5 3.5.0
- <objectName> contains a proper noun or noun phrase used to refer to an object
- <object> contains a description of a single identifiable physical object (real or fictional)
- <listObject> contains a list of descriptions, each of which provides information about an identifiable physical object
- <objectIdentifier> groups one or more identifiers or pieces of locating information concerning a single object
What makes up an <object>?
- <object> provides a method of providing a detailed description of any identifiable physical object (real or imagined)
- It is a more generalised form of <msDesc> and <object> includes:
- <objectIdentifier> provides an identification
- <msContents> (still to be replaced) documents intellectual contents of the object
- <physDesc> records physical description
- <history> documents the <origin>, <provenance> and <acquisition> of the <object>
- <additional> provides additional <adminInfo> etc.
Also, changed element descriptions
TEI P5 3.4.0 <history> element:
TEI P5 3.5.0 <history> element:
La Biblioteca Central de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
What are the limits of <object>?
- Objects are made of objects, so <object> can self-nest
- Objects can be of any size imaginable.
- An <object> describes a single, physical, identifiable object. (There is no requirement that it is a human-made object, it may be naturally occurring, it may be real or fictitious.)
- So what is the boundary between an <object> and a <place>?
- Where a description of an object is being provided in terms of physical identification, physical characteristics, or history, then an <object> element may be preferred.
- Where metadata is being recorded about the geo-political location, population, or similar traits, then the <place> element may be better suited.
Work remaining includes...
- <msContents> and <msItem> still need to be replaced to be non-manuscript specific
- Should this just become <objectContents> and <objectItem>?
- Or some general-purpose <contents>?
-
<msItem> is a single item of intellectual content
(e.g. one mosaic on UNAM central library)... How should this be modelled for non-bibliographic items?
- Open issue: https://github.com/TEIC/TEI/issues/1851
Introducing Objectification:
James Cummings
Newcastle University
james.cummings@newcastle.ac.uk
@jamescummings
when is an <object> a <place>?
Introducing Objectification: when is an <object> a <place>?
By James Cummings
Introducing Objectification: when is an <object> a <place>?
The TEI Guidelines recently (as of TEI P5 version 3.5.0, January 2019) added elements for describing objects and encoding the names of objects. These elements include: , , , as well as changes to many other elements to loosen their descriptions slightly. This paper will introduce these new elements to TEI users who many not have had the chance to use them yet, as well as introduce potential uses for the encoding of object descriptions in TEI files. The paper will not, however, merely introduce these elements, but will also look at changes still to be done in the TEI Guidelines to fully support the description of objects. For example, much of the description content model is taken wholesale from that for describing manuscripts. The was based on the (with some important changes), and still has elements like in its content model. There are many changes that are still needed and this paper actively seeks to involve the community in designing these changes.
