Re: [Refdb-users] frbr

[Bruce D'A. <bd...@fa...>]

On Jan 16, 2004, at 5:45 PM, Markus Hoenicka wrote:

> Thanks, but... could you explain this in words that an average PhD
> understands?

Am not sure ;-)

It essentially adds a meta-concept of a work, which is an abstraction 
that allow you to group together related items.  This is most clear 
when dealing with things like music.  A Beethoven symphony is a work; 
it has a creator and title.  A performance by some symphony is an 
expression, while an LP album, a CD release, and a later CD remaster of 
the performance are all manifestations.

This is less relevant for personal reference management (thought the 
Pybliographer people want to implement those ideas), but you can 
imagine the utility in a large catalog.  A search would return all of 
those manifestations as part of the same Beethoven symphony, instead of 
say 100 separate records.

Bruce