Imagines 12
The 12th issue of the Uffizi Galleries' Magazine. Dedicated to the Study Conference “Per verba ad astra: how to navigate among documentary universes of Museums, Archives, Libraries with the help of the New Subjectbook” (National Central Library of Florence 11 June 2024).
Introduction
The Nuovo soggettario is the Italian indexing tool by subject created by the National Central Library of Florence for the entire Italian library system. The Uffizi Galleries also contribute to the realization of the “Thesaurus” with its own catalog consisting of the set of terms used to classify documents and data entered into the computer.
An opportunity for meeting, a shared reflection
Anna Lucarelli
An introduction to the workshop, with reference to the role played by the National Central Library of Florence in the development of semantic indexing tools and open data for the Nuovo Soggettario. These tools have enabled the implementation of functionalities that facilitate dialogue between digital resources from museums, archives, and libraries, thereby offering an increasingly broad audience access to the cultural heritage that these institutions are responsible for preserving and making available. The event was conceived as an opportunity to assess these developments, to compare experiences among institutions already involved in the project, and to engage others that may be interested. The ultimate aim is to enhance forms of interoperability that will benefit the research community as well as museum, archive, and library users.
Interoperability between the Nuovo Soggettario and the digital collections of the Galileo Museum: experiences and new developments
Stefano Casati, Elena Cencetti, Adele Pocci
The collaboration between the digital library of the Galileo Museum and the National Central Library of Florence initially began as an experiment to explore the potential of the Nuovo Soggettario Thesaurus in the semantic description of scientific museum collections. Over time, this cooperation expanded and, eventually formalised through an official agreement, led to the development of various projects that employed the Nuovo Soggettario language for the indexing of scientific iconography. The experiences described in this paper serve as an example of how the Nuovo Soggettario Thesaurus can be utilised by specialised digital libraries, enhancing access to resources and improving their quality. This approach not only supports users in acquiring knowledge but also strengthens interoperability with other contexts—an aspect that constitutes the true value of any information heritage.
The MAB Toscana experiment on standardising the names of historical-scientific artifacts
Anna Giatti
The Linguaggi working group of MAB Toscana has been actively engaged in exploring the integration possibilities of the standards used in archives, museums, and libraries for describing documents, books, and museum artifacts. Since 2015, the participation of the Fondazione Scienza e Tecnica, which preserves and promotes historical-scientific heritage, has driven an experimental project on using the Nuovo Soggettario Thesaurus for terminological control over the names of historical scientific instruments. This experiment has yielded concrete results, including the addition of new entries in the Thesaurus and the establishment of links between its terms and cataloguing resources for museum objects. Moreover, it has provided a valuable opportunity for reflection, study, and interaction among professionals from different fields.
National Central Library of Florence and the Uffizi Galleries: converging goals and expertise for data interoperability and shared heritage
Cinzia Manco, Elisabetta Viti
This paper presents a collaborative project between the Research and Semantic Indexing Tools sector of the National Central Library of Florence (BNCF) and the Cataloguing and Digitalisation Department of the Uffizi Galleries. The initiative aims to enhance semantic and technical interoperability between the Nuovo Soggettario Thesaurus' linked open data and the Uffizi’s catalogue records describing museum objects. The goal is to increase the visibility of both institutions' heritage while enabling users, researchers, and scholars to navigate seamlessly across objects, books, and various resources. The study is based on practical case analyses, highlighting the specific characteristics of each context, institution, resource, and practice, while also identifying both benefits and challenges.
Linking the Egyptian Museum of Turin and the National Central Library of Florence through open data from the Nuovo Soggettario: a chronicle of an experiment
Tiziana Deluca, Caterina Sansone
As part of its commitment to sharing knowledge organisation tools, the National Central Library of Florence continues to expand collaborations with other institutions to enhance the functionalities of the Nuovo Soggettario. In this context, a potential partnership with the Egyptian Museum of Turin has been explored to establish links between the terminologies used by both institutions to describe ‘subjects’ and ‘objects’ in their respective catalogues. This initiative would represent the first experiment in interoperability between the multidisciplinary Thesaurus of the Nuovo Soggettario and a museum dedicated to a specific ancient civilisation. The paper details the methodological approach taken to this potential collaboration, including the analysis of Egyptological terms already present in the Thesaurus, the semantic evaluation of terms used by the Egyptian Museum for its collections, the identification of specialised sources for terminological control, and the prototype activation of the first links.
Enriching and aligning the Nuovo Soggettario with the classification and indexing terms of the DoGi – Dottrina Giuridica Database
Lorenzo Bacci
This article describes the work carried out as part of a long-standing collaboration between the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) and the National Central Library of Florence, which has only recently reached full maturity in terms of results. This partnership began over ten years ago between the former ITTIG-CNR (Istituto di Teoria e Tecniche dell’Informazione Giuridica) and the library staff responsible for the development and maintenance of the Nuovo Soggettario. The project aimed, on the one hand, to enrich the Thesaurus with legal domain terminology and, on the other, to develop interoperability between databases by aligning the Nuovo Soggettario terms with the classification and indexing entries of the DoGi – Dottrina Giuridica database.
The Nuovo Soggettario index in the Italian WebDewey
Piero Cavaleri
This article explores the relationship between the Nuovo Soggettario and the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC).These two systems are complementary: while the DDC provides a general structure for organising collections, the Nuovo Soggettario allows for more specific subject-based searches. The introduction of corresponding DDC notations for interdisciplinary numbers within the Nuovo Soggettario has enabled the import of these elements into WebDewey, leading to the creation of a dedicated index within the system. The article highlights the benefits of further integrating these two systems by expanding the relevant index within the DDC and strengthening connections with terms from the Nuovo Soggettario.
An example of linking archives and libraries: exploring music-related resources with the Nuovo Soggettario terminology
Valeria Luti, Elisabetta Viti
This paper presents the development of a collaborative project between the Research and Semantic Indexing Tools sector of the National Central Library of Florence (BNCF) and the Archivio Storico Ricordi (ASR). The initiative focuses on achieving semantic and technical interoperability between the Nuovo Soggettario Thesaurus (Thesaurus NS) and the Collezione Digitale database of the Archivio Storico Ricordi.
The collections of objects preserved in the historical archives of the European Union
Andrea Becherucci
This article provides an overview of the collections of artefacts held within the fonds of the Historical Archives of the European Union in Florence. It aims not only to describe the extent of these collections but also to place them within the broader context of scholarly interest in this emerging category of historical sources.
Terms, data, and links: ‘conversations’ between the Nuovo Soggettario Thesaurus and Wikidata
Elena Cencetti, Camillo Carlo Pellizzari di San Girolamo, Elisabetta Viti
This paper offers an overview of the collaboration between the National Central Library of Florence (BNCF) and Wikimedia Italy, with a particular focus on the project aimed at achieving semantic and technical interoperability between the Nuovo Soggettario Thesaurus and Wikidata.
An analysis of these two tools - different in nature, structure, and context - reveals challenges arising from semantic misalignment, which has led to an ongoing review of both databases to refine terms and meanings.
The differing approaches in the construction of these knowledge bases have encouraged dialogue and mutual growth, benefiting not only the tools themselves but also the expertise of the professionals involved in their development and implementation. These advancements lay the groundwork for continuing the experimentation and expanding the working group.
Nuovo Soggettario ‒ Methods for implementing interoperability
Maria Grazia Pepe
The Nuovo Soggettario Thesaurus was designed as a collaborative project. The technology used to implement interoperability with other knowledge organisation tools has often served as a starting point for fostering partnerships among cultural organisations and institutions. The adoption of linked open data technology has significantly expanded collaboration opportunities, making their implementation more effective.