Annual Bliss Classification Association Lecture: using faceted browsers in the DH

The Bliss Bibliographic Classification is a fully faceted classification scheme that provides detailed classification for use in libraries and information services of all kinds, with a broad and detailed structure and order. Last week, I was invited to give a talk at the annual Bliss Classification Association Lecture, held in London at UCL.

The Talk: Faceted Browsers in Digital Humanities

These are the slides from my talk, titled "Exploring highly interconnected humanities data: are faceted browsers always the answer?"

The presentation explores a fundamental question in digital humanities: when working with complex, interconnected datasets, are faceted browsers the optimal solution, or do certain scenarios call for different approaches?

About the Research

This talk is a revised version of the paper I presented a couple of years ago at the Digital Humanities conference in Stanford. The core focus is on the concept of pivoting in faceted browsers—the ability to shift perspectives and explore data from different angles—and how these tools are being applied in digital humanities research.

Key Topics Covered

• The mechanics of faceted browsing and how it differs from traditional search
• The concept of "pivoting" as a way to explore multidimensional data
• Practical challenges when applying faceted browsers to humanities datasets
• When faceted browsing excels and when it falls short
• Real-world examples using DJFacet

DJFacet

The examples draw on my work with DJFacet, a customizable faceted search engine implementation written in Python/Django. DJFacet was designed to handle the specific challenges of humanities data, which often involves complex relationships, multiple hierarchies, and datasets that don't fit neatly into traditional database structures.

The Slides

Why This Matters

Faceted browsing has become ubiquitous in e-commerce and library catalogs, but applying it to humanities research data presents unique challenges. Unlike product catalogs with relatively stable attributes, humanities data often involves ambiguous relationships, contested classifications, and evolving interpretations. Understanding when and how to use faceted browsers effectively is crucial for creating useful digital humanities tools.

The Bliss Classification Association was a perfect audience for this discussion, given their deep expertise in faceted classification systems and their ongoing work in making complex information accessible and discoverable.