Modeling a Domain Ontology for Cultural Heritage Resources: A User-Centered Approach

The use of primary source materials is recognized as key to supporting history and social studies education. The extensive digitization of library, museum, and other cultural heritage collections represents an important teaching resource. Yet, searching and selecting digital primary sources appropriate for classroom use can be difficult and time-consuming. This study investigates the design requirements and the potential usefulness of a domain-specific ontology to facilitate access to, and use of, a collection of digital primary source materials developed by the Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During a three-phase study, an ontology model was designed and evaluated with the involvement of social studies teachers. The findings revealed that the design of the ontology was appropriate to support the information needs of the teachers and was perceived as a potentially useful tool to enhance collection access. The primary contribution of this study is the introduction of an approach to ontology development that is user-centered and designed to facilitate access to digital cultural heritage materials. Such an approach should be considered on a case-by-case basis in relation to the size of the ontology being built, the nature of the knowledge domain, and the type of end users targeted.