FRBR: Application of the Model to Textual Documents

The FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records) model was a revolutionary development that presented a new view of the bibliographic universe. Although FRBR has been widely accepted and extensively studied, actual implementations have been limited. This can be partly attributed to: (1) the vague and controversial definitions of the group 1 entities—work, expression, manifestation, and item, (2) that various types of information resources pose different issues, and (3) the rapid digitization of information. The various definitions of information resources are identified and reviewed here. To simplify the modeling, this study is limited to a single type of information resource: textual documents consisting of a sequence of words that may include non-textual material in the form of tables, symbols, equations, and/or illustrations. The FRBR model is analyzed in the context of textual documents with particular emphasis on digital documents to better understand the group 1 entities. An overview of the problematic aspects of the FRBR model is discussed and possible solutions are proposed.