Thesaurus as Semantic Core of Research and Reference Tools of Chernobyl Scientific and Information Collection of Ethnocultural Heritage

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to determine the functional role and scientific and methodological principles of compiling a thesaurus as a key part of the scientific and reference apparatus of the Chernobyl Scientific and Information Collection for Ethnocultural Heritage. The research methodology is based on the consolidation approach of the LAM (Library, Archive, Museum) concept. The main guidelines for the formation of the research and reference tools are conceptual models of cultural heritage object metadata based on an ontological approach. At each stage of the development of the ethnocultural heritage thesaurus, special methods from various fields of knowledge (source studies, knowledge engineering, linguistic semantics, applied lexicography) were used. Scientific novelty. An analysis and model of the subject area to be covered by the scientific and reference apparatus of the Chernobyl Scientific and Information Collection are presented. It is substantiated that the main structural elements of the organisation of thematic search for information resources are a thematic rubricator and a terminological thesaurus. The stages of creating an industry thesaurus are determined. It has been established that a distinctive feature of the subject area under study is the indication of the geographical origin of dialectal synonyms. Six main categories of objects to be represented in the thesaurus have been identified: concept, topographic object, settlement, personality, institution, expedition. An original structure of the frame-prototype of a descriptive article of the sectoral thesaurus of ethnocultural heritage has been developed. To organise effective information retrieval, each descriptive record in the information retrieval system will have a subject definition block that will specify the thematic search image of the document in classification and descriptor information retrieval languages. Conclusions. It has been proven that the developed original multidisciplinary structural model of the subject area and the defined scientific and methodological principles of forming the research and reference tools made it possible to: consolidate information resources according to thematic principles; create a knowledge base based on the expert opinions of scientists and specialists, which will reproduce the picture of ethnic life in the Ukrainian Polissia region affected by the Chernobyl disaster; ensure convenient natural language access to information resources. The results obtained can be used to develop linguistic support and organise intellectual access to digital historical and cultural collections of territories affected by man-made disasters or military actions.