Application of the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) to Music

This paper describes work applying the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) model to music, as the basis for implementing a fully FRBRcompliant music digital library system. A detailed analysis of the FRBR and Functional Requirements for Authority Data (FRAD) entities and attributes is presented. The paper closes with a discussion of the ways in which FRBR is gaining adoption outside of the library environment in which it was born. This work benefits the MIR community by demonstrating a model that can be used in MIR systems for the storage of descriptive information in support of metadata-based searching, and by positioning the Variations system to be a source of robust descriptive information for use by third-party MIR systems. 1. THE FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORDS (FRBR) Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) is a conceptual model released in 1997 by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). FRBR provides a “framework that would provide a clear, precisely stated, and commonly shared understanding of what it is that the bibliographic record aims to provide information about, and what it is that we expect the record to achieve in terms of answering user needs” [9] (p. 2). In short, FRBR provides a model for the “bibliographic universe” by describing the entities and attributes that make up library metadata. FRBR entities are divided into three groups. Group 1 entities are the “products of intellectual or artistic endeavour,” and include Work (“a distinct intellectual or artistic creation”), Expression (“the intellectual or artistic realization of a Work”), Manifestation (“the physical embodiment of an Expression of a Work”) and Item (“a single exemplar of a manifestation”), as seen in Figure 1 [9] (p. 13). The FRBR Group 2 entities are those that create or act upon Group 1 entities: Person and Corporate Body. FRBR Group 3 entities are the subjects of Works: Concept, Object, Event, and Place. The application of FRBR to music has been described (though mostly in passing) at past ISMIR conferences [4][8][18][19][22][23]. More in-depth studies of FRBR for musical materials appear in the library and information science literature. LeBoeuf performs a semiotic analysis of FRBR for musical works, raising crucial questions regarding the boundaries of Works and proposing revised definitions for the FRBR Group 1 entities [12]. Miller and LeBoeuf [14] analyze the application of the FRBR Group 1 entities to live events of performing arts, focusing on mixed-media works including drama or choreography. Vellucci, in the most systematic published analysis to date, considers what the Work and Expression entities and their various attributes mean for music [25]. Figure 1. The FRBR group 1 entities [9] (p. 14) FRBR has also served as the underlying conceptual model for a small number of music digital libraries, most notably MusicAustralia [1] and the evolving Probado system at the Bavarian State Library [4]. While research reports from some of these initiatives are available, specific details needed as a guide to local FRBR adoption efforts are generally more difficult to obtain. Despite the work that has been done to study and test implementation of FRBR in music digital libraries, it is still not clear how the model should be applied to a newlydeveloped system. Even taking into account the move of some FRBR implementations for music towards production-level systems, the music library and MIR communities’ understanding of FRBR exists largely at a theoretical rather than a practical level. The work presented in this paper represents a significant step forward in demonstrating how this theory can be turned into practice.