Switchboard database
The page details a first proposal for the database of the switchboard for translated scientific articles. The current version is only for the data sheets. We will also need to store information for user management, moderation, etc. That will come later.
The data sheets can be split up in three groups. 1) data on articles for which we can link to the translation. 2) data on libraries where a translation may be. 3) data on translation journals.
To make the system as open as possible, we should also store versioning information, like a Wiki, so that any problems can be easily corrected.
Article to translation
- Link sheet
- Original ID, translation ID, date. That is this sheet contains two internal database ID numbers and a date for when the entry was made. Sometimes it may not be clear what is the translation and what the original. In that case two entries in both directions should be made as the search for originals will only be made on the data sheet for the original.
- Original sheet
- Original ID, language, bibliographic entries, ID of Forum/talk page, classification). Language will use the ISO standards. It is likely a good idea to use the same items as CrossRef for the bibliographic information. Inspired by the Talk Pages of Wikipedia, every original article should get a page where people can talk about it (what are the best translations, can we organize finishing a partial translation, is there spam, etc.). To allow a search by category there also needs to be a column classifying the topic of the article.
- Translation sheet
- Translation ID, language, bibliographic entries, DOI, URL, report ID or reports sheet, a boolean value for whether there are translator notes, translation type, translation quality. Translation type can be: full, partial, summary or related work (e.g. the PhD thesis of the first author on the same topic as an article). When there are multiple translations into the same language it would be helpful to have an indication of the quality and list the best ones first. Often there may not be an online copy available, but we do know a report number of a translation journal and a library that likely has this translation journal. The translator should be part of the bibliographic entries. Include information on who added the data to the database as a small acknowledgment?
Article to library
Information on translation journals is stored in two sheets. There is one sheet with the report numbers and the libraries they may be at. There is a second sheet with information on the library.
- Report sheet
- Report numbers, OCLC symbol (and ID for libraries), sub-level Libraries, e.g. for Library of Congress), notes. For the library ID we will use, if possible, the OCLC symbol. For large libraries there is sometimes information on sub-level libraries. Notes can be used, e.g., to communicate whether someone successfully retrieved the article.
- Library information
- Library ID, contact information, link to the homepage. In most cases a library will have a contact homepage, if not the column for contact information is used to provide information on who to contact whether a translation is available.
Translation journals
Also when we do not have information on the article level, people may know the ISSN of the journal the original appeared in and there are tables of corresponding translation journals. This part of the database requires two sheets. There is one for the pure link between original and translation journal ISNN. There is a second sheet that helps in case journals changed and got a new ISSN.
- Journal ISSN sheet
- Journal ISSN, translation journal ISSN, relationship (full, partial, abstract), period for this relationship.
- Journal ISSN changes sheet
- Journal ISSN one, journal ISSN two, year of change.
Users and moderation
This section is not a complete database description yet. Just some thoughts.
- Users (ID, password, institution, rights)
- People can edit their own entries
- Approval by experienced users
- Admin who can give rights (e.g. that libraries do not need approval)
