Exposing the history of Europe: the creation of a structure to enable time-spatial searching of historical resources within a European framework

摘要

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a knowledgebase supporting arnprototype Europe-wide time-spatial search interface for historical resources. It discusses how thisrnstructure could be used to access other types of digital heritage content.rnDesign/methodology/approach - By using a relational database with spatial capabilities, arnmulti-lingual search structure has been created which supports a temporal map and a facettedrnbrowser, collaborative facilities and a heritage resource viewer, with links to online catalogues.rnFindings - Combining data from three states with very different histories identified the strengthsrnand weaknesses of the approach. The framework's flexibility means it could easily be re-purposed tornsupport front ends to other types of cultural content.rnResearch limitations/implications - Due to the variability in the administrative unit source data,rnits initial integration required significant manipulation to achieve consistency; however, the benefits ofrndata assimilation ensure the base framework is as efficient as possible.rnPractical implications - Usage levels of on-line cultural resources will be far higher if ordinaryrnusers can access them via access routes which have meaning for them, such as by locality/place.rnOntology-based geographical frameworks are much easier to search by place name than arernconventional GIS systems, and vastly more accessible to search engines.rnOriginality/value - This interface demonstrates the potential for integrating data from any numberrnof different national organisations into a single user tool. It also highlights the potential for utilisingrnthe underlying structure in multiple contexts.