Blue Mountain Heads - pulibrary/BlueMountain GitHub Wiki

The Use of Heads in the Blue Mountain Project

The Use of Heads in the Blue Mountain Project

The typography used in the Blue Mountain texts varies enormously. Some of the typographical variety comes from avant-garde impulses – the wish to break rules, to shock, to reimagine the function of type and art on the page. But not all of the typography is avant-garde: much of it follows the conventions of newspaper and magazine printing.

This memo is not a general introduction to typography; what I want to examine is the way the printers and designers of the magazines we are digitizing used heads to organize content, to make it easier for docWorks operators to understand how to zone and process the Blue Mountain magazines.

Heads are Layout

Printers have long used typography to organize content on a page. Sometimes they use horizontal or vertical lines of various widths (these are called rules); sometimes they use decorations (sometimes called printer’s ornaments or dingbats); sometimes they use variation in the spacing between lines and columns; and sometimes they use special text elements, called heads.

It is very useful to think of heads this way, as layout and not as content. Heads are used to organize content. If you think of heads as typographical elements, just like rules and printer’s ornaments, then you will be less disturbed by the large variety of heads and the promiscuous way they are employed, both within a single publication and across publication designs.

Heads indicate the beginning of something – that’s why they are called heads. Sometimes they indicate the beginning a new magazine constituent – an article, a poem, or a section, for example. These heads are sometimes called headlines or major heads. They are intended to draw the reader’s eye to the beginning of something, so they are often printed in larger type, or in a bold font, or centered on the page or on a column, or separated from preceding and succeeding text with space or rules, or some combination of these.

Headlines are often mistaken for titles: headlines are not titles. Headlines are typographical elements (having to do with layout); titles are textual elements (having to do with meaning). So a headline may be used to print a title, but it is not the title. DocWorks implements rules that associate headlines (layout) with titles (text) to make it easier to extract constituent metadata (data about the constituent, like who wrote it and what it’s called), but not all heads are titles.

Designers often use heads to indicate hierarchical relationships among blocks of text. For example, a designer may indicate that one block of text is part of a larger block of text by printing a smaller head at its top. These smaller heads are sometimes called subheads, which is short for subordinate heads, because they are subordinate to a larger head.

This is where things get difficult.

Text blocks are composable: that is, they may be combined to form larger text blocks: a sequence of paragraphs may form an article, for example, and a sequence of articles may form a section. Heads are often used as markers for composition (rules and printer’s ornaments may serve the same function).

The problem arises when you try to pin down the kind of relationship that exists among a set of text blocks. The head at the beginning of a poem may be the headline of the poem, but also a subhead of a magazine section called “This Week’s Poetry.” In docWorks, should that head be zoned as headline or as subheadline? It is not always easy to make a definitive, consistent determination. The task is made easier, though, if we refine our understanding of text blocks by classifying them as constituents or components.

Constituents and Components

Constituents

If a text block can stand on its own, it is a constituent. Examples of constituents:

  • Articles
  • Poems
  • Full-page illustrations
  • Many blocks of music
  • Many (but not all) partial-page illustrations with captions
  • Magazine sections
  • Items that appear in the table of contents, if there is one

In the Blue Mountain docWorks processing workflow, constituents will end up being represented as <relatedItem type=’constituent’> elements in the MODS record, and as <div TYPE=’TextContent’> in the METS logical structMap. Constituents may have headlines and bylines, but neither is required.

Components

If a text block cannot stand on its own – that is, if it is just a part of a larger block – then it is a component. Components may have heads, but it is not required.

Examples

A Simple Constituent

Le Grand Événement by Paul Fort (L’Elan, 15 April 1915)

In docWorks, I believe this would look like this:

  • Chapter
    • Heading
  • Headline Le Grand Événement
  • Byline Paul Fort
    • Content

    In the logical structMap, it would be represented like this (edited for brevity):

    <div ID="L.1.1.2.5" TYPE="TextContent" ORDER="5" DMDID="c005" LABEL="LE GRAND ÉVÉNEMENT">
  <div ID="L.1.1.2.5.1" TYPE="Head">
    <fptr>
      <area BETYPE="IDREF" FILEID="ALTO00005" BEGIN="P5_TB00001"/>
    </fptr>
  </div>
  <div ID="L.1.1.2.5.2" TYPE="Byline">
    <fptr>
      <area BETYPE="IDREF" FILEID="ALTO00005" BEGIN="P5_TB00002"/>
    </fptr>
  </div>
  <div ID="L.1.1.2.5.3" TYPE="Copy">
    <div ID="L.1.1.2.5.3.1" TYPE="BodyContent">
      <div ID="L.1.1.2.5.3.1.1" TYPE="Paragraph" ORDER="1">
        <div ID="L.1.1.2.5.3.1.1.1" TYPE="Text">
          <fptr>
            <seq>
              <area BETYPE="IDREF" FILEID="ALTO00005" BEGIN="P5_TB00003"/>
              <area BETYPE="IDREF" FILEID="ALTO00005" BEGIN="P5_TB00007"/>
              <area BETYPE="IDREF" FILEID="ALTO00005" BEGIN="P5_TB00009"/>
              <area BETYPE="IDREF" FILEID="ALTO00005" BEGIN="P5_TB00006"/>
              <area BETYPE="IDREF" FILEID="ALTO00005" BEGIN="P5_TB00008"/>
              <area BETYPE="IDREF" FILEID="ALTO00005" BEGIN="P5_TB00004"/>
              <area BETYPE="IDREF" FILEID="ALTO00005" BEGIN="P5_TB00005"/>
            </seq>
          </fptr>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

    And in the MODS, it would be represented like this:

    <relatedItem type="constituent" ID="c005">
  <titleInfo lang="fre">
    <nonSort>Le</nonSort>
    <title>Grand Événement</title>
  </titleInfo>
  <name type="personal">
    <displayForm>Paul Fort</displayForm>
    <role>
      <roleTerm type="code" authority="marcrelator">cre</roleTerm>
    </role>
  </name>
  <typeOfResource>text</typeOfResource>
  <language>
    <languageTerm authority="iso639-2b">fre</languageTerm>
  </language>
  <part>
    <extent unit="page">
      <start>5</start>
    </extent>
  </part>
  <genre type="CCS">TextContent</genre>
</relatedItem>

A Constituent with Components

Von Dichtern (Der Sturm, 19 August 1911)

  • Chapter
    • Heading
  • Headline Von Dichtern
  • Byline Trust
    • Content
  • Subheadline Begas
  • Paragraph
  • Paragraph
  • …
  • Subheadline Das neue Dichterterzett
  • Paragraph
  • Paragraph
  • …
  • Subheadline Der Musikkritiker
  • Paragraph
  • Paragraph
  • …

    In the MODS, it would look like this:

    <relatedItem type="constituent" ID="c005">
  <titleInfo lang="ger">
    <nonSort>Von</nonSort>
    <title>Dichtern</title>
  </titleInfo>
  <name type="personal">
    <displayForm>Trust</displayForm>
    <role>
      <roleTerm type="code" authority="marcrelator">cre</roleTerm>
    </role>
  </name>
  <typeOfResource>text</typeOfResource>
  <language>
    <languageTerm authority="iso639-2b">ger</languageTerm>
  </language>
  <part>
    <extent unit="page">
      <start>580</start>
      <end>581</end>
    </extent>
  </part>
  <genre type="CCS">TextContent</genre>
</relatedItem>

A Constituent Containing Other Constituents

2 Poèmes Nègres (Dada, December 1917)

  • Chapter
    • Heading
  • Headline 2 Poèmes Nègres
  • Byline Tr. Tzara Loritja
    • Content
  • Chapter
    • Heading
      • Headline en ouest des nuages végétant
    • Content
      • text …
  • Chapter
    • Heading
      • Headline La Chanson du Serpent
    • Content
      • text …

      The MODS looks like this:

      <relatedItem type="constituent" ID="c016">
  <titleInfo lang="fre">
    <title>2 POÈMES NÈGRES</title>
  </titleInfo>
  <name type="personal">
    <displayForm>Tr. Tzara</displayForm>
    <role>
      <roleTerm type="code" authority="marcrelator">trl</roleTerm>
    </role>
  </name>
  <name type="personal">
    <displayForm>Loritja</displayForm>
    <role>
      <roleTerm type="code" authority="marcrelator">att</roleTerm>
    </role>
  </name>
  <typeOfResource>text</typeOfResource>
  <language>
    <languageTerm authority="iso639-2b">fre</languageTerm>
  </language>
  <part>
    <extent unit="page">
      <start>15</start>
      <end>17</end>
    </extent>
  </part>
  <genre type="CCS">TextContent</genre>

  <relatedItem type="constituent" ID="c018a">
    <titleInfo lang="fre">
      <title>[en ouest des nuages végétant]</title>
    </titleInfo>
    <name type="personal">
      <displayForm>Tr. Tzara</displayForm>
      <role>
        <roleTerm type="code" authority="marcrelator">trl</roleTerm>
      </role>
    </name>
    <name type="personal">
      <displayForm>Loritja</displayForm>
      <role>
        <roleTerm type="code" authority="marcrelator">att</roleTerm>
      </role>
    </name>
    <typeOfResource>text</typeOfResource>
    <language>
      <languageTerm authority="iso639-2b">fre</languageTerm>
    </language>
    <part>
      <extent unit="page">
        <start>15</start>
        <end>17</end>
      </extent>
    </part>
    <genre type="CCS">TextContent</genre>
  </relatedItem>

  <relatedItem type="constituent" ID="c018">
    <titleInfo lang="fre">
      <nonSort>LA</nonSort>
      <title>CHANSON DU SERPENT</title>
    </titleInfo>
    <name type="personal">
      <displayForm>Tr. Tzara</displayForm>
      <role>
        <roleTerm type="code" authority="marcrelator">trl</roleTerm>
      </role>
    </name>
    <name type="personal">
      <displayForm>Loritja</displayForm>
      <role>
        <roleTerm type="code" authority="marcrelator">att</roleTerm>
      </role>
    </name>
    <typeOfResource>text</typeOfResource>
    <language>
      <languageTerm authority="iso639-2b">fre</languageTerm>
    </language>
    <part>
      <extent unit="page">
        <start>17</start>
      </extent>
    </part>
    <genre type="CCS">TextContent</genre>
  </relatedItem>
</relatedItem>

      The METS logical StructMap:

           <div ID="L.1.1.2.10" TYPE="TextContent" ORDER="10" DMDID="c016" LABEL="2 POÈMES NÈGRES">
 <div ID="L.1.1.2.10.1" TYPE="Head">
  <fptr>
   <area BETYPE="IDREF" FILEID="ALTO00015" BEGIN="P15_TB00003"/>
  </fptr>
 </div>
 <div ID="L.1.1.2.10.2" TYPE="Byline">
  <fptr>
   <area BETYPE="IDREF" FILEID="ALTO00015" BEGIN="P15_TB00004"/>
  </fptr>
 </div>
 <div TYPE="TextContent" DMDID="c018a" ORDER="1" LABEL="[en ouest des nuages végétant...]">
  <div ID="L.1.1.2.10.4" TYPE="Copy">
   <div ID="L.1.1.2.10.4.1" TYPE="BodyContent">
    <div ID="L.1.1.2.10.4.1.1" TYPE="Paragraph" ORDER="1">
     <div ID="L.1.1.2.10.4.1.1.1" TYPE="Text">
      <fptr>
       <area BETYPE="IDREF" FILEID="ALTO00015" BEGIN="P15_TB00005"/>
      </fptr>
     </div>
    </div>
    <div ID="L.1.1.2.10.4.1.2" TYPE="Paragraph" ORDER="2">
     <div ID="L.1.1.2.10.4.1.2.1" TYPE="Text">
      <fptr>
       <area BETYPE="IDREF" FILEID="ALTO00017" BEGIN="P17_TB00001"/>
      </fptr>
     </div>
    </div>
   </div>
  </div>
 </div>
 <div ID="L.1.1.2.11" TYPE="TextContent" ORDER="2" DMDID="c018" LABEL="LA CHANSON DU SERPENT">
  <div ID="L.1.1.2.11.1" TYPE="Head">
   <fptr>
    <area BETYPE="IDREF" FILEID="ALTO00017" BEGIN="P17_TB00002"/>
   </fptr>
  </div>
  <div ID="L.1.1.2.11.2" TYPE="Byline">
   <fptr>
    <area BETYPE="IDREF" FILEID="ALTO00017" BEGIN="P17_TB00003"/>
   </fptr>
  </div>
  <div ID="L.1.1.2.11.3" TYPE="Copy">
   <div ID="L.1.1.2.11.3.1" TYPE="BodyContent">
    <div ID="L.1.1.2.11.3.1.1" TYPE="Paragraph" ORDER="1">
     <div ID="L.1.1.2.11.3.1.1.1" TYPE="Text">
      <fptr>
       <area BETYPE="IDREF" FILEID="ALTO00017" BEGIN="P17_TB00004"/>
      </fptr>
     </div>
    </div>
   </div>
  </div>
 </div>
</div>

Guidelines

How do you know when to zone a head as a headline and when to zone it as a subheadline? Here’s a general rule of thumb:

  • Examine the head and its context.
  • If the text block below it is a constituent,
    • then zone the head as headline.
  • If the text block below it is a component,
    • then zone the head as subheadline.

Deciding whether a text block is a constituent or a component can sometimes be difficult.

  • Looking at the table of contents can often provide a clue: if the head appears in the table of contents, then it is certainly a headline and the text block below it is a constituent.
  • If the head does not appear in the table of contents, look to see if it is followed by a byline, or if a byline appears at the end of the text block it is associated with. If a byline is present, the head should be zoned as a headline and the text block treated as a constituent.
  • Otherwise, you should probably treat the text block as a component, and zone the head as a subheadline.

A Difficult Example: Poussières, in L’Elan, January 1916

Is this a single constituent, with the headline Poussières, containing two components, one with the subheadline florilège cherfilial no. VI and the other with the subheadline défense & illustration de la presse française? Or is it a constituent with two subconstituents?

There is no table of contents for this issue of L’Elan, so that’s no help. There are no bylines, either for the text block headed by Poussières or for the other two beneath it, which suggests that those two subsidiary blocks are components of a single constituent, and that their heads should be zoned as subheadlines. That is a perfectly reasonable conclusion, and we would accept it.

However, there is a clue that suggests another answer. The first “subhead” is numbered: it is florilège cherfilial number 6. That suggests it is part of a series, and indeed, if we look in L’Elan from 15 December 1915 we find florilège cherfilial no. V, and florilège cherfilial no. IV in the 1 July 1915 issue. We also see that défense & illustration de la presse française is repeated in several issues.

When a subsection repeats like this, from issue to issue, it is probably better to treat it as a subconstituent, with an entry in the MODS record and a label in the METS structMap, so readers who want to follow the series can locate it more easily. So it would probably be better to zone this example as a first-level constituent with the headline Poussières, containing two second-level constituents, one with the headline florilège cherfilial no. VI and the other with the headline défense & illustration de la presse française.

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