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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LITMUS (Linked Irish Traditional Music Project)

Teaser

Summary

The LITMUS (Linked Irish Traditional Music) project focused on the development of the first linked data ontology specifically to address the needs of Irish traditional song, instrumental music & dance (abbreviated as ITM), & by extension serve as a reference point for other linked data projects involving orally-based music traditions. The project\'s overall aim is to improve searching & access to web-based Irish traditional instrumental music, song, & dance resources. The Linked Irish Traditional Music Ontology developed as part of the project provides the means to describe ITM & dance, & fills a gap in currently-available ontologies to describe traditional or folk practices. In addition, the three bi-lingual thesauri are the first bi-lingual linked data tools to represent tune types found in ITM as well as instruments played in contemporary traditional music. Resources mapping English language terms to Irish language terminology contributes to the Irish language semantic web. In creating these tools, the project overcame challenges related to documenting traditional Irish music & dance as linked dataâ€”namely, relationships & terminology made more difficult due to the informal nature of oral transmission.

LITMUS objectives are to: facilitate improved semantic web-based descriptions of, & access to, Irish music & dance materials such as those found in the ITMA; further applied & theoretical research in music information access, the semantic web, & cultural heritage informatics; &, increase wider audiences\' understanding of ITM & unique considerations for orally-based music traditions in both non-academic & academic sectors.

Work performed

\"Project work involved research on linked data best practices, digital cultural heritage, & ITM and dance terminology. The researcher worked with the secondment host to better understand ontology design best practices. Opportunities to engage with researchers working in linked data & cultural heritage projects at conferences, & training opportunities, positively impacted LITMUS results.

The LITMUS ontology, an extension of the widely-used FRBRoo ontology specific to Irish traditional music and dance, is based upon the considerations of oral transmission. LITMUS employs unique terminology used by traditional musicians and dancers to describe & relate concepts, & reflects the richness and diversity found within ITM. The conclusion of the LITMUS project resulted in 38 new classes and 77 new properties (relationships) to extend FRBRoo, as well as 3 bi-lingual SKOS (Simple Knowledge Organization System) thesauri to describe Irish traditional instruments and tune types. The Linked Data Pilot applied the LITMUS ontology & thesauri to a dataset of culturally-important & nationally / internationally recognised traditional musicians & dancers. These performances are sourced from the Gradam Ceoil (music awards) by TG4, Ireland\'s Irish-language television broadcaster. The ontology & thesauri are published in accordance with linked open data best practices for FAIR data - findable, accessible, interoperable, & re-usable data. As a FRBRoo extension, the LITMUS ontology is interoperable with other ontologies built upon FRBRoo & also the ontologies used to construct FRBRoo: FRBR & CIDOC-CRM. All project publications, tools, & data are published at the ITMA website and within the project\'s Zenodo repository: https://www.zenodo.org/communities/litmus-750814

Project results have been widely disseminated using conference presentations, social media, website, blog, project videos, a project launch presentation, & postcards & leaflets handed out at music festivals, cultural heritage events, visiting tours to ITMA, & conferences. The researcher gave 13 conference presentations (2 of which were invited presentations resulting from project dissemination activities), gave 5 public talks, authored 2 publications, wrote 4 blog posts, promoted project activities using #litmusH2020, developed 3 project videos, & developed postcards & leaflets to distribute project information & results. Conference presentations engaged appropriate audiences in musicology/ethnomusicology, digital humanities, digital cultural heritage, libraries & archives, & linked data. 2 videos were promoted within Facebook & Twitter, increasing their combined reach to over 1/2 million people. Project postcards & leaflets were distributed within ITMA to its visitors & users. In addition, project result leaflets were distributed to all attendees of the LIBER 2019 conference, where the conference theme centred on data & linked data. Presentations & publications for academic & non-academic audiences increased wider understanding of ITM & dance.

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Final results

LITMUS developed new tools to describe, organise, & enable important cultural heritage materials to be more accessible across the web. While tailored to Irish traditional music, this project provides a working model for other European & non-European traditional musics with similar considerations. The LITMUS ontology\'s properties (relationships) can be re-used to describe traditional/folk musics outside the Irish tradition, as the phrases useful for describing relationships in Irish traditional music & dance extend to other European & non-European folk/traditional musics. Importantly, LITMUS is poised to enable greater access to ITMAâ€™s collections and, eventually, global collections of ITM. The Library of Congress, USA is using the ontology & thesauri to express their collections of ITM & dance resources as linked data.

Tools developed as part of the LITMUS project allow ITMA to describe collections in even greater detail, & can make explicit information outside current catalogue records. Using LITMUS, we can account for renderings of the same or similar melody across many different forms of music, & even into related dance forms. We can account for similarities in personal repertoire between musicians & dancers, such as one singer knowing the same version of a song sung by another. This empowers our library & archival cataloguing work with the means to describe what occurs within traditional music & dance, giving ITMAâ€™s users new connections between resources.

As the first linked data ontology focused on orally-based music traditions, LITMUS will therefore impact European & non-European intangible cultural heritage. LITMUS\' linked data tools directly support & provide the means for public engagement with digital heritage, increased access to heritage data, & development of practical information infrastructures for digital heritage. The resulting tools were designed with flexibility & adaptability in mind, & may be expanded upon to suit ITMA\'s future needs. With the development of LITMUS ontology & thesauri using established standards, the project developed applied research tools in line with Horizon Europe\'s priorities for European cultural heritage, including societal engagement with digital cultural heritage, European-wide investment in intangible & tangible heritage, & building sustainable information pathways to enable greater access to cultural heritage data. The LITMUS project has furthered the linked data communityâ€™s work in cultural heritage, enhancing the potential for quality research & innovation contributing to Europe\'s competitiveness & growth.