Language Log » Google Books: A Metadata Train Wreck

That were published before 1920 turns up 66 hits, of which 46, or 70 percent, are misdated. I'd be surprised if that proportion of errors or anything like it held up in general for books in that range, and dating errors are far denser for older works than for the ones Google received from publishers. But even if the proportion is only 5 percent, that suggests hundreds of thousands of dating errors. In discussion after my presentation, Dan Clancy, the Chief Engineer for the Google Books project, said that the erroneous dates were all supplied by the libraries. He was woolgathering, I think. It's true that there are a few collections in the corpus that are systematically misdated, like a large group of Portuguese-language works all dated 1899. But a very large proportion of the errors are clearly Google's doing. Of the first ten full-view misdated books turned up by a search for books published before 1812 that mention "Charles Dickens", all ten are correctly dated in the catalogues of the Harvard, Michigan, and Berkeley libraries they were drawn from. Most of the misdatings are pretty obviously the result of an effort to automate the extraction of pub dates from the OCR'd text. For example the 1604 date from a 1901 auction catalogue is drawn from a bookmark reproduced in the early pages, and 

In his response on the panel, Dan Clancy said that here, too, the libraries were to blame, along with the publishers. But the libraries can't be responsible for books mislabeled as "Health and Fitness" and "Antiques and Collectibles," for the simple reason that those categories are drawn from the BISAC codes that the book industry uses to tell booksellers where to put books on the shelves, not from any of the classification systems used by libraries. And inasmuch as BISAC classifications weren't in use until about 20 years ago, only Google could be responsible for their misapplications on books published earlier than that: the 1904 edition of But whether it gets the BISAC categories right or wrong, the question is why Google decided to use those headings in the first place. (Clancy denies that they were asked to do so by the publishers, though this might have to do with their own ambitious to compete with Amazon.) The BISAC scheme is well suited to organizing the shelves of a modern 35,000 foot chain bookstore or a small public library where ordinary consumers or patrons are browsing for books on the shelves. But it's not particularly helpful you're flying blind in a library with several million titles, including scholarly works, foreign works, and vast quantities of books from earlier periods. For example, the BISAC "Juvenile Nonfiction" subject heading has almost 300 subheadings, including separate categories for books about "New Baby," "Skateboarding," and "Deer, Moose, and Caribou." By contrast, the "Poetry" subject heading has just 20 subdivisions in all. That means that Bambi and Bullwinkle get a full shelf to themselves, while Schiller, Leopardi, and Verlaine have to scrunch together in the lone subheading reserved for "Poetry/Continental European." In short, Google has taken the great research collections of the English-speaking world and returned them in the form of a suburban mall bookstore. , though the details of the process leave me baffled.

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Press Release - Angara: Baler 400 in books, photographs and ...

Senator Edgardo J. Angara yesterday lead opening of Baler 400 in books, photographs and manuscripts exhibit at the National Library with Baler Mayor Arthur Angara, NCCA Chair Dr. Vilma Labrador, National Artist Cecile Guidote Alvarez and National Library Director Prudenciana Cruz, as part of the year-long celebration of the 400th year of foundation of Baler. The exhibit showcased photos of late President Manuel Quezon valuable selection of books, serials, photographs and manuscripts on Baler - some dating back to mid-19th century.

"We must continue to promote and popularize our nation's rich historical and cultural heritage and resources as well as our artistic creations" said Angara.

He added, "Baler is a treasure trove of history and culture, which makes this town so special not only to its own people but to our very nation's life story. It is the birthplace of Manuel Luis Quezon, Baler's foremost son and the nationalist leader of the American period who became the first president of the Philippines. It is also the site of the historic Siege of Baler, from which we drew the inspiration for Philippine-Spanish Friendship."

Baler and the rest of Aurora are associated with rugged attractions, lushness and pristine beauty. Visitors find Aurora's forests and beaches alluring. The famous nine-foot waves of Baler Bay, a contiguous segment of the Pacific Ocean, are just one of the town's tourism assets, attracting hundreds of surfers in February for the coveted Aurora Cup.

The town is also known for its rare flora and fauna. Baler is home to the Millennium Tree - the oldest balete tree in Asia, the sabutan, the indigenous deer and unique marine life. Two plant species have also been named after Baler: a wild duhat (Sygium balerense) and rattan (Calamus balerensis).

In Baler, there are steps to teach the young about the town's history and cultural heritage through the Museo de Baler. Recently an exhibit on the life and career of Manuel L. Quezon, as well as an exhibit dedicated to Aurora's indigenous peoples, the Ilongots and Dumagats were held. The museum holds artifacts, mementoes, and historical records dating back to the Spanish period.

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Jessica's Guide To Dating on the Dark Side

Book Trailer for Beth Fantaskey's book "Jessica's Guide To Dating on the Dark Side."

Josh Harris on "I Kissed Dating Goodbye"

In this clip, part of a larger DVD from Multnomah Publishers, I discuss my first book, "I Kissed Dating Goodbye."