Harmonizing and modelling a bibliographic ontology of imperial diplomas within the OntoVE Knowledge Base

In this paper, I discuss the modelling of an ontological module for imperial diplomas relating to Veneto territories with the goal of adding value to the resources, by formalizing the contents to make the relationship between the diplomas and Veneto searchable through a dedicated User Interface. The harmonization of different bibliographic ontological models lies at the centre of our practice, and will enable a better description of the entities, thereby enhancing the subsequent interrogations of the ontology. The modelling is guided by the Knowledge Base competency questions, the nature of the sources and the context of production. The modelling approach described here aims to harmonize already established ontological models within the LOD community, such as FRBRoo and Bibframe. I will argue that this approach has several advantages, since it allows to keep CIDOC-CRM event-centric model through FRBRoo classes, and to enrich the module with finer-grained classes and properties as described in Bibframe, which also constitutes a standardized vocabulary for bibliographic description. I will propose a modelling of the contents of the diplomas as a performative act, to which information about the actors involved and the places is attached. In order for the users to locate the relevant diplomas, also the places mentioned in the diplomas are modelled as subjects of it. I will argue that reusing already existing ontologies and harmonizing them, rather than creating ad hoc classes, constitutes a more economic practice, which enhances interoperability of the module with already established standards.