Conventions on structural data

Version: 2.3
Publication: 04.04.2023

Introduction

The introduction describes general principles that apply to all entity groups (persons, publications, etc.). Each data object has its own label, which is given according to the conventions for the respective entity group.

The conventions on structural data (until 04/04/2023 "Conventions on metadata") describe the current practice. But there are still relics from earlier versions of the database in the République des Lettres database that deviate from the described standard. These are gradually being homogenised.

Data quality

The quality of an entire record is expressed by the "research status", or by "data quality". Compliance with the platform standards differs from entity to entity (see "Data quality" for persons and "Research status" for places, institutions and publications).

In the structural data, some data fields (especially for core data) are provided with additional attributes that describe the data quality/validity of the content in more detail. This information appears as a tooltip (asterisk symbol). The overview on the controlled vocabulary is here available.

For information entered in free text fields, never place a full stop at the end. For some fields, it is possible to specify the information as a comment (free text). In the frontend, these additions are displayed as a speech bubble symbol or a flag symbol.

Authority data

For the explicit identification of persons, institutions and publications, the identifiers of the authority databases GND for German-speaking areas, IdRef[^authority-data-1] for France and French-speaking Switzerland as well as the international VIAF[^authority-data-2]. Wherever possible, the data records of the place type "municipality" are provided with the identifiers of the free geographic database GeoNames.

In addition to more reliable identifiability, this enables networking with metadata aggregators and other services (see the technical implementation).

Sources of information

The aim of the information sources listed is to provide evidence of the information used in a data set, meaning that the intention is not to enumerate all available literature. Additional sources are only listed occasionally and marked as "not used". If the corresponding entity does not appear in the literature consulted, this is stated in comments.

When entering an information source, there is a standardised input template for the entities persons, institutions and publications. Any information on page numbers, volume numbers etc. and other comments are provided in the free text field "Pages".

WARNING

When referencing research literature after 1850, articles in periodicals or anthologies may generally be referenced. This means that the individual article does not have to be created as a separate entity. However, the specification in the comments field is mandatory (see the referencing of "Jahrbuch Schillergesellschaft").

Digital information resources are included as separate publication entities in the same way as printed resources. In the referenced publications, reference is made to the resource itself (general link). The link to the specific record, on the other hand, can be found directly within corresponding entity.

Since 2020, we rely primarily on the following information sources.

Subject indexes

The implementation of subject indexes is currently under development, but follows these basic principles:

There are several subject indexes with local character on the platform. It is explicitly not intended to create a global subject index for all data on the platform or to merge the existing subject indexes. However, subject headings from several subject indexes can be assigned to the same entity.
Subject headings and their application to selected entities are determined by a publisher or an edition. Their scope is limited to the respective reference area, recognisable as such. This means that the mixing of subject headings from different subject indexes is not permitted.
The subject indexes can be single or multi-level, but are limited exclusively to subject headings. Named entities, such as persons, places, institutions, publications, etc., are referenced in a different way.

Abbreviations

The structural data sometimes contains abbreviations in German, which will be resolved in future (see the German version of the conventions).

Persons

Core data

Label

The label always consists of "Surname, first name (date of birth-date of death)".

- Haller, Albrecht von (1708-1777)
- Koch, Johann Heinrich (1729-1760)
- Tschiffeli, Johann Rudolf (1716-1780)

Missing information with a question mark; exceptions: No question marks if the life data is missing completely or if only the surname is available. The name given in the label is based according to the respective national biography - also with regard to the language. An exception are the labels of kings and other territorial rulers. In these cases, the intuitively correct language is used and - except for popes - the territory is indicated.

- Baligha, Samuel (1728-?)
- Emmet, Robert (?-1802)
- Ludwig XV. von Frankreich (1710-1774)
- Georg III. von England (1738-1820)
- Benedikt XIV. (1675-1758)

abbreviation	meaning
ca.	approximately
a.	before (ante)
p.	after (post)
fl.	floruit
a. Chr.	before Christ (ante Christum)
p. Chr.	after Christ (post Christum)

The abbreviation "fl." is used for persons for whom only a year or a period of appearance is known. If several years of publication are known, there is no enumeration, but a period of time is given.

- Nurse (fl. 1731-1734) for the Altmann-Tillier family

The abbreviation "p. Chr." is only used for antique persons, usually in combination with "a. Chr.

- Ovidius Naso, Publius (43 a. Chr.-17 p. Chr.)

The title of nobility is usually indicated after the first name and refers to the first surname. The title of nobility before the second surname remains in front of it.

- Wattenwyl-May, Margarethe von (1736-1798)
- May-von Wattenwyl, Margarethe (1736-1798)
- Bonstetten-von Wattenwyl, Margarethe von Wattenwyl (1736-1798)

Identical labels are resolved by adding a, b, c, etc.; only the second equal label is separated by an "a" at the end. In contrast to the label for publications, where the letter directly follows the year, there is a gap between the name and the letter for persons. If a label with a letter (e.g. Müller a) is omitted, the other labels are not adjusted (Müller b remains Müller b).

- Abauzit, Firmin (1679-1767)
- Aepli (?-1770)
- Aepli, Johannes (n. 1700-1770)
- Aepli, Albrecht (ca. 1710-v. 1750)
- Ahlefeldt, Ludwig
- Miller
- Müller a
- Müller, B.

Name variant

Name variants that may be relevant in a certain context are recorded. For women, these always relate to the maiden name. Foreign-language name variants are recorded if they are not obvious. The name variants are organised in the same way as the labels, i.e. with life data.

Short characterisation

The short characterisation indicates briefly what the person concerned was best known for. It provides initial information and thus serves an important function on the platform as an identification aid. If it enhances comprehensibility, it may deviate from the contemporaneous description in the source textes.

The short characterisation names the best-known/highest position(s) and the corresponding places with a maximum length of one hundred characters. State names only appear in the following three cases: Either in connection with titles (e.g. French Ambassador, Prussian Court Councillor), or for personalities who were decisive for their language (e.g. Goethe, Schiller, Voltaire, Dante) as well as when a person's exact place of activity is not known, but the state most certainly is. Only the highest level of education or the highest position or the last position/function held before death is usually given, not the stations on the way there. If there are several well-known positions, functions and locations, these are listed in sequence. Generally, no more than three are listed.

Places are indicated in the intuitively correct language.

- Pastor in Spiez and Bolligen; private tutor to Haller's children in Roche and botanist
- Baker in Göttingen
- Professor of medicine in Florence, Naples and Genoa
- Salt director in Roche and military officer in Danzig

Relationships are only stated in exceptional cases. Exceptions are particularly the relationship to a main person of a collection (Haller, Scheuchzer, Gessner) or a lack of other biographical information. If the person referred to is already recorded in the database, only the abbreviation of the name is given: Further information is available through the linked entity. Otherwise, the full name with dates of birth and occupation is given. Women whose husbands held sovereign functions are designated by this function. This does not apply to the wives of magistrates.

- Son of Haller
- Mother of C. Bonnet
- Duchess of Brunswick

The term "magistrate" is used for members of the Federal Council in the Ancien Régime city republics. If it is unclear whether a "magistrate" is meant, the customary local term should be used. In this case, all offices are subsumed under this term. As an exception, bailiff's offices are also indicated.

- Zurich magistrate
- Magistrate in the three Bünden
- Bernese magistrate, bailiff in Aigle

Only authors of literary publications are considered "writers". All others are designated as publicists.

If the name of a person is not known but (s)he is nevertheless recorded in the database, the short characterisation consists of the activity and the employer.

- Employee of S.E. Altmann-Tillier (1703-1737)

The short characterisations of persons of ancient Europe (Rome/Greece etc.) are standardised and are given as follows: "X of ancient Rome" (see person_27349) or "X of ancient Greece" (see person_02813).

Place of birth and death

Only places of type "municipality" are referenced. If necessary, further details are given in a comment. See, for example, the comment on the place of death of Vitaliano Donati:

- Died at sea and was buried in Mangaluru

Title of nobility

No standardised vocabulary: Title of nobility in the relevant national language, any remarks in brackets or in the comment field. See, for example, the comment on ennoblement of Wilhelm Gottfried Werlhof:

- 1776 by Emperor Joseph II

Special case: Type of aristocratic title unknown: Comment in the field.

Denomination

Anglican Catholic Lutheran Reformed Jewish Muslim Varia

Specifications on religious currents are listed in the remarks on the field. If the category "Varia" is selected, a comment must be made.

- Category: Reformed; Comment: Close to Pietism 
- Category: Varia; Comment: Anabaptist

Authority data

See chapter Conventions in the introduction.

Activities

Education path

New universities are entered in oXygen in author mode in a new input field. In front-end, . - automatically appears to separate the different educational stations. For example, see the education path of Albrecht von Haller:

Studies in medicine at the University of Tübingen 1724-1725 - Studies in medicine at the University of Leiden 1725-1727 ( with H. Boerhaave (1668-1738) and B.S. Albinus (1697-1770)), Dr. med. 1727 - Studies in mathematics (Johann I Bernoulli (1667-1748)) Univ. Basel 1728-1729 - Dr phil. Göttingen 1738

Travel

No systematic entries and therefore no claim to completeness.

Grand Council/Small Council

Field for Swiss federal administrative bodies: Indication of the year of admission to the respective governing body. If the year of admission is not known, an "X" is entered to indicate membership.

Function

The field consists of the elements "function" as well as "place/institution" and "period". The description of the function is given close to that of the source. Insofar as it is useful for clarity, the source term for the function is also given between brackets in quotation marks.

- Librarian (Bern City Library 1735-1736)
- Councillor ("Rathausammann") (Bern 1753-1757)
- Bailiff ("lieutenant-ballival") (Lausanne 1754-1771)

Societies and memberships

For each person, every known membership in a society is recorded. Information on memberships originates from three potential sources: biographical literature, letters and the membership lists of the societies themselves. The biographical literature and letters are listed in the tab "Information sources".

INFO

A separate "Reference" field will soon be available for both published and unpublished membership lists.

Priority is given to information taken from the society's membership lists. If a person is named as a member in a letter or in literature but does not appear in the corresponding lists, the membership is considered invalid. In the absence of information on the year of admission or resignation, the year of publication of the membership list shall apply. The attribute cert="low" is used for uncertain information regarding years of admission and resignation.

There are three types of membership in a society:

Type	meaning
Ordinary member
Passive member	Membership limited to payment of the annual subscription (e.g. "Subscriber" or "Benefactor and Promoter" in the OeG Bern, "Membra honoraria" in the NFGZ)
Foreign member	corresponding member, honorary members (e.g. "foreign honorary members" in the OeG Bern)

If membership is not explicitly defined, no type is assigned. Generally, no year of resignation is indicated. This is only found in the case of explicit resignation or exclusion.

Periodicals / collective publications

Collaboration on periodicals / collective publications is systematically listed in the persons section. The reference is never made to the publication types "individual record" and "single title", but only to "periodicals / collective publications".

Interests / achievements

No systematic information and therefore no claim to completeness. Possibility to indicate specific achievements for which a person was/is known, important or simply interesting.

Further biographical information

No systematic information.

Analytical fields

The fields "social milieu", "places of activities" and "highest academic degree" are of an analytical character. They are derived from the basic prosopographic data in order to be analysed.

If something can be confirmed or assumed with more than 50% probability, it is recorded in the fields. Uncertainties regarding assignment to a place of activity or a social milieu are expressed in comments.

The social milieus and places of activity are entered in strict chronological order, starting with the most recent event. For this reason, certain "places of activity" and "social milieus" may appear more than once. The analytical fields are given in a source-centred manner, i.e. they are often limited to the time at which the corresponding person is mentioned in the documents. There is no claim to biographical completeness.

The field classifies a person according to their social milieu. The criteria are the way of earning a living and its social embedding in the traditional society, which is currently in transition to the modern age.

The field classifies a person according to their social milieu. The criteria are the way of earning a living and its social embedding in the traditional society, which was in transition to the modern age. The determining unit for categorisation is the household and not the individual. A person who is not gainfully employed (wives, children until marriage) is assigned to the milieu of the head of the household. This does not apply if there is a recognisable own gainful employment and thus a different milieu before marriage. If the head of the household dies, his/her milieu affiliation remains binding until remarriage or until an own breadwinning activity is recognisable.

Special cases:

If the milieu of a head of household changes, the milieus of the wives and dependent children must be adjusted.
Servants are not assigned to the milieu of the head of household but to the milieu "Domestic staff".

During, their life, a person may be assigned to several milieus, but never to more than one at the same time. It is therefore necessary to decide which social milieu should be favoured at a specific moment. When allocating a person to a milieu, it is important not to be too petty, i.e. if there are gaps in the functions, a person may continue to be allocated to the milieu to which they previously belonged, provided there are no compelling reasons to the contrary (resignation from a position within a specific year). Therefore, the last milieu is usually assumed until death. Not being petty also means not equating every change of function with a change of milieu. New functions can be added or replace old ones, but the important thing is in which milieu a person remains primarily positioned. Entries with a large number of milieus should be avoided unless this is a characteristic of the person.

There are several problems with categorisation: first, the term "milieu" describes two things, the thematic activity of a person and the type of institution in which a person is active. Institutions are associated with a particular milieu, for example a high school with the milieu "education" or a textile factory with the milieu "entrepreneurship". Second, both circumstances can be ambiguous. A field preacher might be thematically assigned to the "clergy" or the "military". By its institutional nature, a seminary for pastors could belong to both "clergy" and "education". The table below provides an orientation on how to decide in such ambiguous cases.

The categorisation is generally not nominalistic, i.e. it should not be based exclusively on the literal naming, as the same term can mean different things in different local, temporal and institutional contexts. Professors, for example, can be assigned to "science" as university professors or to "education" as secondary school professors. Adjuncts at universities are part of the "science" milieu, while those working at ecclesiastical institutions belong to the "clergy" milieu and those working at courts to the "administration" milieu. Likewise, notaries can be classed as "independent intellectual" or "administration" (see e.g. Hanz Franz Wyss), depending on the nature of their work. Seamen are an exceptional case: depending on their position, they are classed as "domestic staff", "trade and agriculture" or "administration" (senior officers). Captains are often considered "entrepreneurs", sometimes also in "science" (e.g. James Cook); captains and crews of military ships are assigned to the "military".

Standardised vocabulary:

Medical profession

This milieu is usually entered with the doctorate in medicine. An important criterion is the work on patients (e.g. private or alms doctor, sometimes also town and district physicians). More administrative work (e.g. medical councillor) means that the person counts as an administrator, magistrate or regent. As instructors at medical colleges, institutes or midwifery schools, doctors belong to the educational milieu. An exception is made if practising was of greater importance than teaching. Example: Although Jean-André Venel was head of the midwifery school, practising is the main focus of his CV.

Administration

Refers to people at a middle level of hierarchy (as opposed to domestic staff at the bottom and magistrates/entrepreneurs at the top) in both the public and private sectors. They generally attain a certain level of education. In the state sector often a preliminary stage to a magistral activity. The criterion of working with pen and paper rather than with one's hands is decisive in distinguishing them from tradesmen.

These are to be assigned: Salt factor, salt chamber copist, (private) secretaries, administrators/supervisors of (non-university) cabinets, libraries, gardens, bailiffs and judges from small towns without a territorial sovereignty (such as Thun, Brugg, Biel), advocate (office) if no other milieu is recognisable, royal reader. For officials in learned societies and scientific libraries, the transition between administration and science is fluid - employees can be classed more as administrative, directors more as scientific. If not in a mandate relationship (independent intellectual), engineers in the "street authority", experts and directors in the mining industry also count as representatives of the government (if not already magistrates). Councillors from small towns are only be classified as administration if no other milieu is recognisable.

Education

School teachers, private teachers, educators ("Hofmeister") as well as high school professors and rectors, knight academies, medical schools (Collegium, midwifery school) and other non-university educational institutions. Special case CH: Professors at high schools and academies are assigned to the "Education" milieu.

Book trade

Book printers, publishers, booksellers etc.

Surgery

Non-academic medical staff: surgeon, prosector, bather, midwife, obstetrician, oculist usually barber

Domestic staff

Servants of all kinds: farmhand, maid, gardener, cook, stable master, pedlar, ship's boy, etc. The social milieu of the household is irrelevant here; there may also be hierarchies.

Independent intellectual

Notary, lawyer, architect, engineer, experts (graduates of universities, mining schools, forestry academies, etc.), shareholder, etc. In contrast to the administration, the criterion for differentiation is that there is no employment, but at most a client relationship. However, anyone who is employed by a private company with a certain expertise can be classified as an independent intellectual.

Trade/agriculture

Farmer, baker, carpenter, independent gardener, watchmaker, etc. The main criterion is working with your hands (see above for differentiation from administration). To emphasise this milieu, tradesmen who were actually employed by the state are also included, such as gun and bell casters, machinists and town locksmiths.

Clergy

A person exercising a clerical role. This does not necessarily require a degree in theology. E.G: Pastor, deacon, clergyman, field preacher, treasurer/dean of the capital (sometimes incorrectly stated as "class" in the function) and also consistorial councillor. Popes, bishops and abbots, who held profane power at the same time, are nevertheless categorised as clergy. Clergymen who were also professors of theology are generally categorised as scientific unless it is clear that they earned their living primarily through their clerical position. Clergymen who had an educational function are considered to be educators. In contrast, holders of benefices (commendatorius, canon, prior) are counted as private individuals as long as no ecclesiastical duties were associated with their benefice.

Art, arts and crafts

Engraver, draughtsman, medallist, painter, composer, goldsmith, cartographer, etc.

Magistracy, regency

The main criterion is participation in governance: regents, grand councillors in federal republics, ambassadors, "ministers" in the modern sense. An indication of participation in governance is a) that the person was active in a centre of power (such as Bern, Paris) and/or b) was responsible for a large territory (of at least regional extent). "Magistrates" in micro-territories, such as those in the Holy Roman Empire in particular, are more likely to be regarded as administrative officials.

There is a need for clarification regarding the significance of various councils in the German territories. Privy councillors are generally to be considered magistrates, whereas a position as a court councillor or legation councillor is not sufficient. If there is an affiliation to another milieu, this usually predominates (e.g. science and the medical profession).

Special cases CH:

With admission to the Grand Council of a federal city in the Ancien Régime (Zurich, Bern, Geneva, but also the Council of 200 in Lausanne), a person becomes a magistrate and remains one until the end of the Ancien Régime in 1798. Exceptional case: If another activity clearly predominates (e.g. merchants, military, professors). For example, if a person works outside the Republic in another capacity for a long period of time (e.g. Albrecht von Haller as a professor in Göttingen), then the academic milieu is to be favoured.
Full-grown children (aged 20 and over) of deceased magistrates are only excluded from the magistracy if they do not reach this milieu at a later date.
Bailiffs in certain federal territories (e.g. Basel) are categorised as "magistrates" before they even join the Grand Council.
Major and minor councillors in small towns without a territorial sovereignity (Thun, Brugg) are categorised as administrative officials, provided no other source of income is evident.

Military

Active holder of a military grade (from soldier to general) usually in military service ("in French/English/Prussian service" etc.) and military contractor. This does not include captains in urban militias of the Confederation - exception: young men who were in urban militias and for whom the milieu of privateer is not appropriate due to a lack of family fortune.

Pharmacy

Pharmacist, royal pharmacist, town pharmacist

Person of private means

A person who earns a living from property income (rentier) or from the consumption of property. As a rule, scholars and holders of ecclesiastical benefices (commendatorius, canon, prior) are categorised here. Federal magistrates are generally categorised as person of private means before being admitted to the Grand Council.

Student

Student matriculated at a university (not a high school student) until promotion. Apprentices are assigned instead to the milieu in which they will later be gainfully employed.

Entrepreneurship

Banker, manufacturer, merchant, mine director who is at most in a tenancy relationship with the state (as opposed to a state-employed mine administrator), captains, etc.

The distinction to trade is particularly blurred for smaller entrepreneurs.

Science

The designation "professor" is not sufficient for this milieu - employment at a university or other research institution is required. The criterion is a paid position as a scientific researcher. In addition to university professors this also includes: head of expedition, head of bot. Garden (if recognisable as a research institution), private lecturer only if no other milieu is recognisable, adjuncts at universities, directors of libraries and paid members of societies and academies.

Places of activity

The place of activity is the place where the person has mainly been active in their designated milieu. This presupposes a certain quality of activity. Places of residence are therefore not considered places of activity. In cases of doubt, a consideration needs to be made, using the comments field to clarify any uncertainties.

Only locations with the type "municipality" are referenced.

Even though there are several potential places of activity at the same time, only one must be defined as the place of activity.

In addition, there is not necessarily a connection between the place of departure of the letter and the place of activity for correspondents, as travelling locations in particular are not considered places of activity.

If there are different places of activity within a calendar year, the most important one must be selected.

Special case: travelling: In the case of longer journeys with unclear/flat-rate places of residence (e.g. travelling to France on a Grand Tour/ expedition to Siberia lasting several years), the capital of the territory or the region is generally to be assumed (see e.g. Hebenstreit, Johann Ernst)

Further definitions and notes:

For (married) women, unless otherwise known, the husband's place of activity is indicated.
In the case of Bernese magistrates, Bern should generally be entered as the (main) place of activity and not a summer residence on a "Campagne" in the rural area. Exceptions are bailiff's posts or similar, where the place of activity shifts, as well as any other justifiable exceptions.
For persons in military service, the political centre of the paymaster is indicated. The political centre of the paymaster can be specified for persons in military service, unless otherwise known (e.g. Paris for military personnel in the service of the French king). For mercenaries in Savoyard service, the default place of activity is Turin, for those in Dutch service The Hague.
If a person can only be assigned to a "dominion" based on the limited information available, the main town of the respective "dominion" is given as the place of activity. This applies in particular to people from Ancient Europe (Rome/Athens etc.)
For magistrates/administrative officials in the bailiwicks south of the Alps: if it is not known exactly where they resided, Lugano is given. In the common dominions (bailiwicks south of the Alps, but also free counties), the period lasted generally for two years.

Ordinary members of the Naturforschende Gesellschaft in Zürich may be assumed to have been in Zurich at the time of their admission, unless there are convincing reasons against this.

Highest level of education (semi-normalised vocabulary)

This also concerns analytical data, which is derived from the existing fields of evidence (in this case normally education pathway). The decisive factor is the study programme and not the activity carried out in later life. In the 18th century in particular, there was often a subsequent change of discipline at university. If several equivalent titles were obtained in different disciplines or if the title is not meaningful enough for a degree programme with different specialisations, only the highest educational qualification is awarded. In exceptional cases, later employment may also be taken into account. Master's degrees are assigned to several categories. If the title alone is not further specified, the study programme is decisive.

The training of lawyers, notaries and advocates certainly did not take place at a university. In most cases, the title is known, but not the way in which the legal expertise was acquired.

Category	Title
Graduate of pharmacy school
Graduate of high school	This also includes graduates of Jesuit schools and knight academies
Graduate of cameral school / forestry school / mining academy
Advocate / notary	Advocate and notary
Phycisian with a university degree	Dr med. and Lic. med.
Graduate in the humanities	Dr phil., Mag. phil. and Lic. phil.
Clergyman with ordination	ord.; VDM and SMC
Lawyer with a university degree	Dr iur.
Natural scientist with a university degree	Dr phys. and Dr math.
Student (started studies, but no degree)	Stud.
Theologian with a university degree	Dr theol.
Unspecific university degree

Relationships

Here are links to further person records. The focus is on all known correspondents and (next) relatives (parents, children, siblings). Asymmetrical relationships (parent-child) are entered reciprocally. Acquaintances are not entered systematically as they are a difficult category to delimit and are best entered with a specification of the acquaintance.

Stepchild-stepparent relationships are recorded as parent-child relationships.

Sources of information

See chapter "Sources of information" in the introduction.

Data quality

In contrast to the other entities, where conformity with the platform standards is either designated as fulfilled or unfulfilled, a three-level system is used for persons, which describes the status of research and curation in a more differentiated way.

The data quality is not absolute, but refers to the time of mention in the source.

Data quality "low":

For this person, no research or curation effort has (yet) been made. The information provided is provisional and is only an initial indication without any guarantee of accuracy. These entities are not citable, which is why no citation suggestion appears in the front end (see Arnauld, Gabriel).

Data quality "medium":

The research and curation effort carried out is sufficiently to individualise the person and the information recorded is verified by information sources. The data quality therefore reflects the current status of data collection and is adequate for the entity to be published and cited. It could also be standardised in an authority file.

The difference to Data quality "high" is that the status does not correspond to the conventions of the platform although research and curation efforts have been made. This is the case for the following reasons:

The research carried out did not provide enough information for a recording in accordance with the convention (see. Appia a).
Persons who were recorded in the course of other research projects and transferred to the platform (e.g. Scheuchzer persons, OeG persons, etc.) may deviate from the platform's conventions despite the availability of comprehensive information, as they were curated according to other guidelines (see Thormann, Georg).
Persons active in the 20th and 21st centuries, who are generally authors of modern research literature, are recorded with biographical information limited to the core data. Because these are anchored via the assignment of authority data identifiers, no information is provided in the information sources (see Postman, Neil).

Data quality "high":

The person was curated according to the conventions of metadata and published on the platform. All information is verifiably documented in the information sources, which means that the entity is citable and could be standardised in an authority file.

Although the information is based on an efficient research and curation effort, there is no claim to a complete biographical characterisation, nor to a recording and continuous updating in accordance with the latest state of research. It is therefore possible that individual aspects (e.g. date of birth) could not be determined (see Dieck, Carl Wilhelm Ludwig).

Places

The focus is on the reference to present-day place names at municipality level. These are referenced with GeoNames. Here it is important to prioritise the GeoNames place type "populated place". Municipal districts, buildings, baths etc. are recorded as name variants of the municipality name if the information is relevant in the context of a source. Name variants are only listed where necessary/relevant; the aim is not to be exhaustive. If there are differences between current and historical places of birth, death or address in the metadata, the present-day place is displayed with a note about the historical place. (see for example John Strange (1732-1799): Birthplace New Barnet (actually Barnet, today part of New Barnet)).

In addition, other place types (see "Place types" within "Entity types") that can not be assigned to a present-day municipality must also be included. These places are not linked to geoNames.

Entity types

The distinction between the type municipality and the others is essential. Only the location type "municipality" is used within the database. Exception: Place of discovery in the Botany entity.

Place types:

Type	Description
Municipality	Municipality, district
Landscape	Continent, cultural area, also includes landscapes (e.g. valleys) that form a cultural area
Administrative unit	A unit used for state administration (historical)
Water bodies	Standing and flowing bodies of water
Well	Healing springs, acidulous wells etc.
Street, crossing	An element connecting several municipalities, e.g. passes, bridges, paths. Otherwise reference a municipality
Mountains	Also includes individual mountains and hills
Place of discovery	Refers to a place that cannot be precisely localised, usually of botanical specimens within a specific area. This area consists of a defined square of varying length (1-10 km).

Label

The current (municipality) name is used as the label. Places are labelled in the intuitively correct language.

If two identical labels are used at different spatial levels or of different types, the non-municipality type is specified in brackets. Before 1800, the term "canton" is avoided in the brackets to prevent confusion.

- Bern (Republik)
- Schwyz (Eidg. Ort)
- Neuenburg (Fürstentum)

Other fields

State (current)

The current citizenship does not always correspond to the historical citizenship, but helps to categorise the territories geographically. The corresponding country abbreviations (ISO 3166, ALPHA-2) shall be indicated together with the states.

Authority data

See chapter "Authority data" in the introduction.

Research level

For places with type "municipality", the research level is fulfilled if the entity is linked to GeoNames. For all other types, the search level is fulfilled if there is "any" equivalent outside the platform.

Institutions

Entity types

Type	Description
University institution	University, Accouchierhaus, faculty, anatomical Theatre
Educational institution	All educational institutions besides university: high school, parish school, academy (Swiss Confederation)
Botanical garden	Botanical garden, university garden, castle garden with botanical orientation, medical garden
Enterprise	Enterprise with o private sector focus: banks, trading house
Learned society	Societies, academies (except federal ones)
Lodge	(secret) lodge
Order	Order of merit
Book trade, bibliology	Publisher, bookshop, printing house, (university) library, book fair. There are often close connections between people and institutions of the publishing industry. Here, the institutions are usually recorded as an entity and linked to the publication.
Political institution	Grand/Little Council, guild, collegium medicum
Ecclesiastical institution	Reformed (church) congregation, ecclesiastical order
Association	Agricultural association, art association, gymnastics club

The classification is not always consistent with the wording:

In Swiss territory, parish schools were called academies and should therefore not be mistaken for European academies of science. The European academies of sciences rather belong to the type "learned society".
The agricultural society is considered an "association", while the Burghausen agricultural society is a "learned society".
Society can be an indicator for a "learned society" as well as for a publishing house in "book trade" (e.g. typographical society).

Label

The label basically consists of the contemporary name of the institution and the place, which is only given in brackets for the types " enterprise" and "book trade". The label of a publishing house, print shop, bookshop or enterprise therefore consists of the surname of the director or, if available, the organisation name followed by the location of the business in brackets. As a rule, the name of the institution is given in the intuitively correct language.

- Vandenhoeck (Göttingen)
- Ratsbuchdruckerei (Göttingen)
- Küner und Compagnie (Wien)

Special cases:

An abbreviated variant is used if this is apparent due to the length of the name. The full name is provided in the "Full name" field.
If the contemporary name is not common, the current name is used. Example: Herrenhäuser Gärten Hannover

Other fields

Name variants

Alternative spellings, the name of the institution in the original language, the names of the founders of institutions in the book industry, etc. are given as name variants.

Authority data

See chapter "Authority data" in the introduction.

Foundation and dissolution

Indication of the years in numerical format.

Sources of information

See chapter "Sources of information" in the introduction.

Research level

The requirements for an institution are not extensive as only the core data and information sources can be entered. The research level of an institution corresponds to the platform standard if at least the institution type is specified as well as an authority data identifier or a source of information is attached.

Publications

Publications are recorded as a (bibliographic) unit so the index is not inflated and remains easily searchable. This means that individual volumes are not included. Only the individual volumes in Haller's library have been recorded.

A special case are articles in journals and collections, which are not individually referenced as sources. However, they have been recorded as individual entities both in the Bibliographia Halleriana and in the research literature.

INFO

The conventions will be aligned even closer to those of the Bibliographia Halleriana, and the AuthorMode is still to be harmonised with the FrontEnd. Conventions for reviews and articles in journals will follow.

Basically, there are two types of recordings:

Contemporary publications: complete records (especially with referencing)
Research literature: rudimentary recordings (referencing only if entities already exist in the database. Publisher and series not necessary)

New online information sources are entered into the database if one of the following two criteria is met:

Trustworthiness of the publishing institution (universities, institutions such as the Ökonomisch Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft Bern (OGG) and similar organisations are considered trustworthy)
Controlled access to data generation

Wikipedia is therefore used as an aid to research and not as a source of information. In cases of doubt, please consult the person responsible for digital information sources.

Entity types

General

Most records belong to the type general. This includes all entities that are listed as such in contemporary library catalogues (Monti etc.) or in the Bibliographia Halleriana; these can also be individual volumes of collected works and periodicals.

ATTENTION: GGA (1739-1777) (publication_29863) is of general type; this is Haller's personal exemplar, which was in his library. However, except for the explicit mention of Haller's personal copy, the GGA is generally referenced as the type Periodicals/Collected Works (publication_34638).

Label

The label is made up of the author's surname and the year of publication in brackets. For publications by Haller, the title of the work is given in abbreviated notation, followed by the year of publication in brackets.

- Hintzsche (1947)
- Gerber/Schmocker (2002)
- *Emend. ad stirp. helv. (1759-1763)

If the name of the author of a publication is unknown, [NN] and the most meaningful word of the title are indicated as a label instead of the name.

- [NN] Seeds (1789)

For historic dissertations, both the respondent ("dissertant") and the praeses ("doctoral supervisor") are named. In the label, the praeses comes first, followed by the respondent.

- Segner/Oeder (1749)

If a person has published multiple titles in one year, the publications are differentiated by adding a, b, c, etc. Only the second entry is supplemented by an "a" at the end (without white space after the year).

- Engel (2019); Engel (2019a)
- Linné (1753); Linné (1753a); Linné (1753b); etc.

Resources that are only available online are not labelled with the year. Because they are often provided by institutions, the label usually consists of a short version of the title and the term "(online)".

- Royal Society (online) 
- Lumières Lausanne (online)
- Editions- und Forschungsplattform République des Lettres
- GJZ (online)
- Alfred Escher-Briefedition

For translations, the language is given in brackets after the year.

- *Preface Formey (1836, ital.)

The abbreviations of the languages follow the Bibliographia Halleriana.

Standard data

See chapter "Authority data" in the introduction.

Research level

The research level of a publication corresponds to the platform standard if a precise equivalent (entry in a catalogue, bibliography or digitised version) is available outside our platform. Only in exceptional cases, however, is this indicated in the information sources.

Person and role

Persons are generally referenced and their role specified (author, editor, illustrator, etc.).

In the case of dissertations, both the respondent and the praeses are referenced with their roles.

Institution and function

Institutions are referenced with their function and specified by their role (publisher, etc.).

Places and specification

Places are referenced and specified.

Edition

The first edition is never recorded. Later editions, on the other hand, are always listed.

For contemporary works, each additional edition is recorded as a new entry in the database.

Language

The language is recorded in a field with standardised vocabulary.

Source of information

Sources of information are not indicated for general type.

Digitised version

Generally, existing online digital copies are indicated.

Website

In the referenced publication entities, reference is made to the resource itself (general link). The specific link to specific content is provided in the information sources of the corresponding entities.

General remarks

If they differ significantly from the wording of the referenced entity, the original naming of persons, places and institutions involved is mentioned in the "general remarks" field.

INFO

In the future, it is planned to display these remarks as comments to the references.

- Original mention of a person: Carolus Linnaeus
- Original mention of a place: Holmia

Since no authorship or editorship is listed for digital resources, the funding organisation or similar can be indicated in the comments.

Research level

The research level is sufficient if the title and year of publication are listed exactly and the place of publication as well as the persons involved are referenced. This is adapted accordingly in the case of unknown authorship, place or year.

Periodicals/collections

This comprises abstracted recordings of entire historical periodicals or collected works.

- GGA (ab 1739) 
- Encyclopédie de Paris (1751-1780)

Generally, there is only one entry for a continuous periodical, even if its title has been changed (several times). The different titles are listed as title variants, if possible with dates.

GGA (ab 1739):
- Göttingische Zeitungen von gelehrten Sachen (1739-1752)
- Göttingische Anzeigen von gelehrten Sachen (1753-1801)
- Göttingische gelehrte Anzeigen (1802-)

When a long time has passed between the discontinuation and resumption of a periodical, several entities are created. Successor/predecessor periodicals can be specified in the "General remarks" field.

Label

For periodicals, the short title and the publication period in brackets are used as a label. If the periodical has been published until today, the period is introduced with "from". If the end of the publication is unclear, a question mark is used.

- The Gentlemens Magazine (1731-1914)
- Acta Societatis Medicae Havniensis (1777-?)
- GGA (from 1739)

For collections, the label usually consists of the editors and the publication period. If a title is well known and/or there are many contributors, the label may contain only the title.

- Hill (1748-1751)
- Encyclopaedia of economics and technology (1773-1858)
- Encyclopédie de Paris (1751-1780)

For translations, the language is given in brackets after the years.

- Abhandlungen AdS Paris (1748-1759, dt.)

The abbreviations of the languages follow the Bibliographia Halleriana.

Person and function

Persons are not referenced in the periodicals/collections record, but the periodicals/collections are referenced in the respective person record.

Institution and function

Institutions with a function are referenced in the periodicals/collections record.

Place and specification

Places are referenced and specified in the record of periodicals/collections (usually place of publication).

Place and specification

Places are referenced and specified in the record of periodicals/collective works (usually place of publication).

Source of information

In contrast to the other publication types, a source of information is usually specified here as a reference, which is labelled as "used". The reason is that a series rather than a single publication must be referenced. Further references are only listed selectively and labelled as "not used". If the periodical does not appear in the consulted, relevant literature, this is noted in the remarks.

For research aids, see the document Information sources.

Research level

The record complies with the platform standards if evidence (see source of information) is available.

Uniform title

The mention of a publication in the letters is often too general in order to be referenced to a specific edition of a work. The uniform title allows the publication to be labelled as such. The uniform title is therefore independent of specific editions or materialisations. It is possible to reference to a uniform title from a particular publication.

For the time being, only the indication of the first edition is used as an anchor in the general remarks. For Haller works, this is done according to the Bibliographia Halleriana. For ancient works where a "first edition" in the strict sense does not exist, a current edition is referred to.

Label

The label consists of the author's surname and a short title (usually in original language, sometimes Latinised) of the publication in brackets.

- Linné (Species Plantarum)

Special case: Haller's publications. Here the short titles of the Bibliographia Halleriana (incl. asterisk for Haller) are used without a year.

- *El. Physiol.
- *Gedichte
- *Alpen
- *Doris

Remarks

The first edition is indicated in the general remarks as follows

First edition: *Gedichte (1732)
First edition: Linné (1753i)

To determine the first edition, not only a single print but possibly also an anthology is decisive. For example, the first edition of "Die Alpen" is not *Alpen (1805), but *Gedichte (1732). The general remarks state: First printed under the title "The Alps" in: *Gedichte (1732)

Person and function

The authors are referenced in the function "Author".

GND & VIAF

Should be included where possible.

Haller's library

INFO

The complete details of Haller's library and its historical catalogues are yet to be added.

Letters

All senders and recipients of letters are recorded in the database. Besides persons, these may also be institutions or both may appear together as author or recipient (see letter_01167, letter_19150, letter_21938).

If a person is not identifiable, reference is made to person_01237 (see letter_17436).

Date

A standardised vocabulary is used to specify whether the date was drawn from the letter (cf. letter_00001), taken from G.E. Haller's catalogue of letters (1785) (cf. letter_00085) or completed in some other way - e.g. by references in other documents (cf. letter_00078).

Letters dated according to a different calendar are recorded with both the original and a calendar-standardised dating (Gregorian calendar). The latter always comes first and is also shown in the label (see letter_18054).

If the exact date of dispatch is unknown, you can specify whether a letter was sent before or after a certain date (see letter_04266). By combining two dates, a time period within which the letter was sent is defined (see letter_00432).

The comments field can be used for comments on the date.

Place of dispatch and address place

All places of despatch and addresses of letters are recorded in the database. As the places of address were not systematically recorded when the repertory was being compiled, they are added to on an ongoing basis. A standardised vocabulary is used to define whether the information on the respective location originates from the letter or has been added elsewhere.

Original spelling of the place of dispatch

If the place and spelling of the sending or receiving location is not identical to the referenced location, the original spelling is noted in a separate field (see letter_01240).

Language

A standardised vocabulary is used to define the language in which the letter is written. Multiple languages can be recorded per letter.

Location and signature

While the location is indicated by a reference to the repository institution (e.g. BB Bern), the signature is entered as free text according to the institution's specifications.

Copies of letters that are not preserved in their original form do not have their own signature; the signature field remains empty in these cases.

For letters from the Burgerbibliothek Bern, the old signature was also recorded.

Address

This field is used to specify whether an address is attached to the letter (see letter_00059) or not.

If the matter has not yet been clarified, no specification is made. The same applies to letters that are only available as duplicates.

Salutation

A salutation is considered to be present if the addressee is addressed by name in the salutation at the beginning of the letter (e.g. "To the honourable Minister Münchhausen").

If the matter has not yet been clarified, no specification is made. The same applies to letters that are only available as duplicates.

Page number

The page number indicates the number of pages written in a contemporary hand, excluding enclosures. The page with the address is not counted.

The information is always given in whole numbers, whereby marginally annotated pages are also counted.

The field remains empty if the subject matter is unknown. Insofar as the page number of the original is not explicitly noted, the same applies to letters that have only survived as a duplicate or in an edition.

Enclosures

Describes the number of pages as enclosures; the counting method is the same as for the page number.

Catalogue of letters by G.E. Haller (1785)

This indicates whether or not a (Haller) letter was mentioned in the letter catalogue by G.E. Haller (1785-1788).

Repertory (2002)

Describes whether a (Haller) letter was listed in the Repertory (2002) or not.

Database mutations

Changes to already published corpora of letters (reallocation of letters, removal from a correspondence, etc.) must be documented, especially if they concern letters recorded in the repertory.

For changes to the repertory, the note " Addition to the repertory" and a keyword (assignment, page number, date, deduplication, address) are used to specify the type of change before the description (see letter_02159).

General comments on the processing status

Free comments in connection with the processing status of the letter are entered here.

Collections

INFO

The descriptions of the collections are continuously updated.

Typology of collection objects

DE	FR	EN	Terme associée
Tier Allgemein	Animal général	Animals general	Poisson, empreinte de poisson
Waffen	Armes	Arms
Landkarten	Cartes géographiques	Maps
Conchylien	Conchyliens (Coquillages)	Conchylia	Coquille, limaçon, peigne, corail, production marine et de la mer
Exotika	Exotica	Exotica	Animaux des indes, divers lieux à l’étranger
Fossilien	Fossiles	Fossils	Oryctologie, animaux pétrifiés, bois pétrifiés, ambre, poisson imprimé
Insekten	Insectes	Insects	Papillon
Instrumente	Instruments	Instruments
Bücher	Livres	Books	Bibliothèque
Manuskripte	Manuscrits	Manuscripts	Bibliothèque
Mineralien	Minéraux	Minerals	Oryctologie, Pyrite, Or, Argent, cristallisation, volcanique
Münzen	Monnaies	Coins	Médaille
Archäologische Fundstücke	Objets archéologiques	Archaeological finds
Kunstobjekte	Objets d'art	Objects of art	Diverses antiques, estampe
Vögel	Oiseaux	Birds
Gesteine	Pierres	Stones	Pierre, Marbre, Cailloux, Agates, astroïtes, hystérolithes, priapolithes, astroïtes, marcassite, cristallisation, cristaux, encrinite
Pflanzen	Plantes	Plants	Lithophite, herbier
Varia	Varia	Varia

Competitions

INFO

to follow

Illustrations

INFO

The image database is under construction.

The following principles are incorporated.

Label

Maximum variant:

Specific image content (region, object, person portrayed, etc.)
Name (surname + first letter of first name) of the person related to point 1. Only surnames of the main persons in a collection (Haller, Gessner, Scheuchzer etc.)
Surname of all artists involved in the work (e.g. Dunker/Aberli)
Year(s) (e.g. 1742/48)
Language (only for publications)

Content by collection

"Comprehensive":

Portrait, sculpture
Correspondent
Objects, instruments
Event
Place, region
Other

Collection Haller:

Place of activity
Family
Medicine
Botany
Literature
Other part of the oeuvre

Collection Oekonomische Gesellschaft:

Labour scene, agriculture
Statutes, organisation
Place of investigation, place of activity
Member
Plants

Collection "Scheuchzer":

Place of activity
Family

Gessner" collection:

Place of activity
Family

Illustrations: Contents

Portrait, sculpture
Correspondent (name in label)
- Also oeuvre, letter or house of the correspondent
Objects, instruments
Event
- No private events

Place, region

Family
Literature
- Medicine
- Poems & philosophical works
- Work Restl.
Labour scene, agriculture
Statutes, organisation
Member
- Can also be the member's oeuvre, letter or home.
Other

Illustrations: Technology

Print type
- As soon as the printed letters characterise the image (e.g. title pages).
Printing process (without engravings)
Photography
- Only what did not previously exist as an image
Paintings (excluding oil paintings)
Manuscript
Copperplate engraving
Object
Oil painting
Drawing (all drawing techniques)

Illustrations: Artist

Sculptor
Ebonyist
Engraver
Publisher
Lithographer
Painter
Etcher
Engraver
Illustrator

Research literature

Further specific research literature on the topics of the platform is listed below.

General
Bern. Vaud
Biographical
Epistolary culture, communication, networks, transfer
Republic of Scholars, Enlightenment
Göttingen
Palatinate Electorate
OeG Bern and context
History of science
- History of science/botany
- History of science/medicine
Zurich, cultures of natural science

Conventions on structural data ​

Introduction ​

Data quality ​

Authority data ​

Sources of information ​

Subject indexes ​

Abbreviations ​

Persons ​

Core data ​

Label ​

Name variant ​

Short characterisation ​

Place of birth and death ​

Title of nobility ​

Denomination ​

Authority data ​

Activities ​

Education path ​

Travel ​

Grand Council/Small Council ​

Function ​

Societies and memberships ​

Periodicals / collective publications ​

Interests / achievements ​

Further biographical information ​

Analytical fields ​

Social milieu (standardised vocabulary) ​

Social milieu (standardised vocabulary) ​

Places of activity ​

Highest level of education (semi-normalised vocabulary) ​

Relationships ​

Sources of information ​

Data quality ​

Places ​

Entity types ​

Label ​

Other fields ​

State (current) ​

Authority data ​

Research level ​

Institutions ​

Entity types ​

Label ​

Other fields ​

Name variants ​

Authority data ​

Foundation and dissolution ​

Sources of information ​

Research level ​

Publications ​

Entity types ​

General ​

Label ​

Standard data ​

Research level ​

Person and role ​

Institution and function ​

Places and specification ​

Edition ​

Language ​

Source of information ​

Digitised version ​

Website ​

General remarks ​

Research level ​

Periodicals/collections ​

Label ​

Person and function ​

Institution and function ​

Place and specification ​

Place and specification ​

Source of information ​

Research level ​

Uniform title ​

Label ​

Remarks ​

Person and function ​

GND & VIAF ​

Haller's library ​

Letters ​

Conventions on structural data

Introduction

Data quality

Authority data

Sources of information

Subject indexes

Abbreviations

Persons

Core data

Label

Name variant

Short characterisation

Place of birth and death

Title of nobility

Denomination

Authority data

Activities

Education path

Travel

Grand Council/Small Council

Function

Societies and memberships

Periodicals / collective publications

Interests / achievements

Further biographical information

Analytical fields

Social milieu (standardised vocabulary)

Social milieu (standardised vocabulary)

Places of activity

Highest level of education (semi-normalised vocabulary)

Relationships

Sources of information

Data quality

Places

Entity types

Label

Other fields

State (current)

Authority data

Research level

Institutions

Entity types

Label

Other fields

Name variants

Authority data

Foundation and dissolution

Sources of information

Research level

Publications

Entity types

General

Label

Standard data

Research level

Person and role

Institution and function

Places and specification

Edition

Language

Source of information

Digitised version

Website

General remarks

Research level

Periodicals/collections

Label

Person and function

Institution and function

Place and specification

Place and specification

Source of information

Research level

Uniform title

Label

Remarks

Person and function

GND & VIAF

Haller's library

Letters