TOWARD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE

MAPPING A TEXT CORPUS USING TEI AND RDF

Nathan P. Gibson Vanderbilt University Syriaca.orgFunding for Syriaca.org was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities

(NEH) and other institutions. The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of Vanderbilt University, the NEH, or any other participating institutions.

SYRIAC LITERATURE ON PARCHMENT AND PAGEASSEMANI TO ZANETTI

Photo Credit: BNF Syr. 27, f. 92r from Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département des Manuscrits, Syriaque 27 (719 CE) Image in the public domain

AS MANUSCRIPT DISCOVERY

Photo: citydesert.wordpress.com

AS LITERATURE HISTORIES AND MANUSCRIPT CATALOGUES

AS PAGE SCANS AND DATABASES

CENTRAL QUESTION

How can a cyberinfrastructure help overcome problems of access and accident in Syriac literature?

SYRIAC LITERATURE IN ANGLE BRACKETSCYBERINFRASTRUCTURES

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DEFINITIONS

WHAT IS A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE?

DEFINITIONS

WHAT IS A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE?

“The material systems whereby we exchange the objects of our intellectual labor and ourselves internalize these objects”

(Crane, Seales, Terras 2009)

DEFINITIONS

WHAT IS A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE?

“The material systems whereby we exchange the objects of our intellectual labor and ourselves internalize these objects”

(Crane, Seales, Terras 2009)

tangible: network, storage, software, data) + intangible: expertise, best practices, standards, tools, collections, collaborative environments)

(ACLS 2006 in Babeu 2011, 221)

DEFINITIONS

WHAT IS A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE?

“The material systems whereby we exchange the objects of our intellectual labor and ourselves internalize these objects”

(Crane, Seales, Terras 2009)

tangible: network, storage, software, data) + intangible: expertise, best practices, standards, tools, collections, collaborative environments)

(ACLS 2006 in Babeu 2011, 221)

“Anything that is needed to connect more than one person, project, or entity is infrastructure. Anything used exclusively by a project is not.”

(Rockwell 2010 in Babeu 2011, 221)

DEVELOPMENT

WHAT IS A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE?

Greek & Latin

Inspired by Voss and Procter 2009 in Babeu 2011, 222

DEVELOPMENT

WHAT IS A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE?

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (COMPUTING)

Greek & Latin

Inspired by Voss and Procter 2009 in Babeu 2011, 222

DEVELOPMENT

WHAT IS A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE?

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (COMPUTING)

PHYSICAL RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

Greek & Latin

Inspired by Voss and Procter 2009 in Babeu 2011, 222

DEVELOPMENT

WHAT IS A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE?

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (COMPUTING)

PHYSICAL RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

Greek & Latin

Inspired by Voss and Procter 2009 in Babeu 2011, 222

DEVELOPMENT

WHAT IS A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE?

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (COMPUTING)

PHYSICAL RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE

Greek & Latin

Inspired by Voss and Procter 2009 in Babeu 2011, 222

DEVELOPMENT

WHAT IS A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE?

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (COMPUTING)

PHYSICAL RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE

Greek & Latin Syriac

Inspired by Voss and Procter 2009 in Babeu 2011, 222

DEVELOPMENT

WHAT IS A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE?

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (COMPUTING)

PHYSICAL RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (COMPUTING)

Greek & Latin Syriac

Inspired by Voss and Procter 2009 in Babeu 2011, 222

DEVELOPMENT

WHAT IS A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE?

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (COMPUTING)

PHYSICAL RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (COMPUTING)

PHYSICAL RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

Greek & Latin Syriac

Inspired by Voss and Procter 2009 in Babeu 2011, 222

DEVELOPMENT

WHAT IS A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE?

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (COMPUTING)

PHYSICAL RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (COMPUTING)

PHYSICAL RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

Greek & Latin Syriac

Inspired by Voss and Procter 2009 in Babeu 2011, 222

DEVELOPMENT

WHAT IS A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE?

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (COMPUTING)

PHYSICAL RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (COMPUTING)

PHYSICAL RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES (COLLECTIONS)

CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE

Greek & Latin Syriac

Inspired by Voss and Procter 2009 in Babeu 2011, 222

EXAMPLES

WHAT IS A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE?

Perseus + Perseus Catalogue + Perseids

PURPOSE & GOALS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

PURPOSE & GOALS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

Needs:

PURPOSE & GOALS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

Needs:• There is no clavis (catalogue/inventory) of Syriac works to date.

PURPOSE & GOALS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

Needs:• There is no clavis (catalogue/inventory) of Syriac works to date. • Therefore no uniform titles for library cataloguing, and …

PURPOSE & GOALS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

Needs:• There is no clavis (catalogue/inventory) of Syriac works to date. • Therefore no uniform titles for library cataloguing, and …• No URIs for digital identification.

PURPOSE & GOALS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

Needs:• There is no clavis (catalogue/inventory) of Syriac works to date. • Therefore no uniform titles for library cataloguing, and …• No URIs for digital identification.

The New Handbook of Syriac Literature aims to fill the need for a Syriac clavis in a digital context, primarily through providing identifiers (URIs) for Syriac works.

PURPOSE & GOALS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

Needs:• There is no clavis (catalogue/inventory) of Syriac works to date. • Therefore no uniform titles for library cataloguing, and …• No URIs for digital identification.

The New Handbook of Syriac Literature aims to fill the need for a Syriac clavis in a digital context, primarily through providing identifiers (URIs) for Syriac works.

PURPOSE & GOALS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

Needs:• There is no clavis (catalogue/inventory) of Syriac works to date. • Therefore no uniform titles for library cataloguing, and …• No URIs for digital identification.

The New Handbook of Syriac Literature aims to fill the need for a Syriac clavis in a digital context, primarily through providing identifiers (URIs) for Syriac works.

Goals:

PURPOSE & GOALS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

Needs:• There is no clavis (catalogue/inventory) of Syriac works to date. • Therefore no uniform titles for library cataloguing, and …• No URIs for digital identification.

The New Handbook of Syriac Literature aims to fill the need for a Syriac clavis in a digital context, primarily through providing identifiers (URIs) for Syriac works.

Goals:• Not an entire cyberinfrastructure but working toward core features of one

PURPOSE & GOALS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

Needs:• There is no clavis (catalogue/inventory) of Syriac works to date. • Therefore no uniform titles for library cataloguing, and …• No URIs for digital identification.

The New Handbook of Syriac Literature aims to fill the need for a Syriac clavis in a digital context, primarily through providing identifiers (URIs) for Syriac works.

Goals:• Not an entire cyberinfrastructure but working toward core features of one• Serving multiple audiences: researchers, archivists, and heritage communities

METHODOLOGICAL DECISIONS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

METHODOLOGICAL DECISIONS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

• Entities:

METHODOLOGICAL DECISIONS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

• Entities: • authors/editors (http://syriaca.org/person/…)

METHODOLOGICAL DECISIONS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

• Entities: • authors/editors (http://syriaca.org/person/…)• works & literary traditions (http://syriaca.org/work/…)

METHODOLOGICAL DECISIONS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

• Entities: • authors/editors (http://syriaca.org/person/…)• works & literary traditions (http://syriaca.org/work/…)• bibliographic items (http://syriaca.org/bibl/…)

METHODOLOGICAL DECISIONS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

• Entities: • authors/editors (http://syriaca.org/person/…)• works & literary traditions (http://syriaca.org/work/…)• bibliographic items (http://syriaca.org/bibl/…)

• Formats:

METHODOLOGICAL DECISIONS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

• Entities: • authors/editors (http://syriaca.org/person/…)• works & literary traditions (http://syriaca.org/work/…)• bibliographic items (http://syriaca.org/bibl/…)

• Formats: • TEI —> HTML + RDF

METHODOLOGICAL DECISIONS

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

• Entities: • authors/editors (http://syriaca.org/person/…)• works & literary traditions (http://syriaca.org/work/…)• bibliographic items (http://syriaca.org/bibl/…)

• Formats: • TEI —> HTML + RDF• TEI —> MADS/EAC?

DATA SOURCES

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

DATA SOURCES

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

• Digital manuscript catalogues

DATA SOURCES

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

• Digital manuscript catalogues• Wright, British Library

DATA SOURCES

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

• Digital manuscript catalogues• Wright, British Library• Hill Museum & Manuscript Library

DATA SOURCES

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

• Digital manuscript catalogues• Wright, British Library• Hill Museum & Manuscript Library• etc.

DATA SOURCES

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

• Digital manuscript catalogues• Wright, British Library• Hill Museum & Manuscript Library• etc.

• Existing print and digital inventories

DATA SOURCES

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

• Digital manuscript catalogues• Wright, British Library• Hill Museum & Manuscript Library• etc.

• Existing print and digital inventories• Comprehensive Bibliography of Syriac Christianity

DATA SOURCES

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

• Digital manuscript catalogues• Wright, British Library• Hill Museum & Manuscript Library• etc.

• Existing print and digital inventories• Comprehensive Bibliography of Syriac Christianity• eKtobe

DATA SOURCES

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

• Digital manuscript catalogues• Wright, British Library• Hill Museum & Manuscript Library• etc.

• Existing print and digital inventories• Comprehensive Bibliography of Syriac Christianity• eKtobe• claves of subjects/authors

TEI + RDF MODEL

WHAT WOULD A CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR SYRIAC LITERATURE BE?

https://github.com/srophe/srophe-app-data/blob/dev/data/works/tei/nhsl/tei/2501.xml

SYRIAC LITERATURE IN FUTURE RESEARCH

1.Authorship 2.Chronological Trends & Geographical Trends 3.Significant Works 4.Test Case: Syriac Biblical Material

Experimental data. Not for citation.

Four Gospels (Peshitta)

Epistles of Paul

Catholic Epistles

Experimental data. Not for citation.

Experimental data. Not for citation.

Experimental data. Not for citation.