[Koha] Experimenting with Authorities LinkerOptions and Elasticsearch

[Katrin Fischer]

Hi Myka,

thank you for sharing your findings on the list! Haven't dived deeper
into the authority linker settings yet, but probably will have to at
some point.

 From what I know at the moment there is no automated linking
implemented within the editor - it always requires a 'search and pick'.
But I assume linking can be done in the background later by the cronjob.
We are using a different workflow, so that's just what I picked from
bugs over time and I might be mistaken.

Some good information might be found here:
https://bywatersolutions.com/news/authorities-town-hall-recap

And there are also some interesting bugs in this context:

*Bug 11299*
<https://bugs.koha-community.org/bugzilla3/show_bug.cgi?id=11299> - Add
a button to automatically link authority records in cataloguing (AJAX)

*Bug 11300*
<https://bugs.koha-community.org/bugzilla3/show_bug.cgi?id=11300> - Add
a new authority linker which searches for authority links on a Z39.50 server

I'd love to have some more testing on those happen.

Best wishes,

Katrin

On 12.12.19 19:07, Myka Kennedy Stephens wrote:
> Hello again,
>
> I may have partially answered my own questions after countless tests of all
> sorts of authorities. Here are my findings, in brief:
>
> I think the difference in behavior with manually searching and linking
> authorities in the basic editor vs. advanced editor is a bug. I've
> submitted it to Bugzilla:
> https://bugs.koha-community.org/bugzilla3/show_bug.cgi?id=24226
>
> With Elasticsearch and broader_headings enabled, the linker is behaving
> differently based on authority record type. It works best with Meeting Name
> and Geographic Name. Topical Term also works well except when the heading
> includes parentheses. The ones with more linking problems are Uniform
> Title, Personal Name, and Corporate Name.
>
> I am still interested to hear from someone, anyone!, who is actively using
> the linker with broader_headings enabled. I think it might also be helpful
> to speak with someone who is doing deep authority work and still using
> Zebra to compare notes about linker behavior based on record type. You're
> welcome to reply off-list, if you prefer.
>
> Thanks,
> Myka
>
> On Sun, Dec 8, 2019 at 9:29 PM Myka Kennedy Stephens <
> mkstephens at lancasterseminary.edu> wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>>
>> I'm doing some testing/refining of authority record mapping in
>> Elasticsearch and thought that I would also try the broader_headings
>> setting for LinkerOptions as described here:
>> https://wiki.koha-community.org/wiki/Bug7284_authority_matching_improvement
>>
>> I'm noticing some strange things and inconsistencies. Could someone who is
>> more familiar with using broader_headings in LinkerOptions tell me if this
>> is unusual or normal?
>>
>> 1. When adding a bibliographic record: the linker did not automatically
>> link on a broader heading (i.e., it didn't strip the free-floating
>> subdivision to find a match); it worked when there was an exact match.
>> 2. When editing the bibliographic record with the basic editor and
>> clicking the link icon next to the heading that didn't automatically link:
>> the authority search box comes up with the entire heading + free floating
>> subdivision; removing the free-floating subdivision and performing the
>> search finds the authority record for the broader heading. Select the
>> heading to link and the heading + syntax remains the same in the basic
>> editor. Save changes and the heading is now linked to the authority record
>> for the broader heading. (Without broader_headings in LinkerOptions, the
>> free-floating subdivision disappears when I try this.)
>> 3. When editing the record with the advanced editor and using
>> ctrl+shift+L: do an authority search same as above. Selecting the heading
>> to link will change the syntax in the advanced editor, stripping the
>> free-floating subdivision and punctuation.
>>
>> I'm testing this using Koha Testing Docker on master with ES enabled.
>>
>> It seems that broader_headings is partially working (see observation from
>> action #2), but I'd really like it to link automatically on the broader
>> heading. Is it supposed to? If so, is it not working for me because of ES
>> or perhaps something else? I think the behavior I'm seeing with linking in
>> the advanced editor (#3) is a separate issue.
>>
>> Thanks for your help,
>> Myka
>>
>> --
>> Deaconess Myka Kennedy Stephens, MDiv, MSLIS
>> Seminary Librarian and Assistant Professor of Theological Bibliography
>> Lancaster Theological Seminary
>> 555 West James Street
>> Lancaster, PA 17603
>> 717-290-8704
>> mkstephens at lancasterseminary.edu
>> https://library.lancasterseminary.edu
>>
>>