Evidence layers across the LUX archive · 10 source families explained
Sources & Evidence
LUX Light Archive draws on many kinds of evidence. This page explains how sources are organized, what each family can support, and where reviewed bibliographic records are exposed publicly.
How LUX knows what it knows
Lighthouse heritage rarely survives in one source. A tower may be documented in an official light list, a lens in a museum catalogue, a vanished structure in postcards, a location in a chart, and its human memory in an archive or community account. LUX keeps these forms of evidence distinct and traceable so readers can see not only what is known, but why it is believed.
Evidence for relationships
Sources may support reviewed relationships such as installed at, removed from, transferred to, displayed at, restored by, function transferred to, or predecessor/successor.
Two entities appearing in the same source does not by itself prove a governed relationship. The archive reviews what the source establishes, which identities it connects, the relevant period, and whether that explanation is fair for public display.
Read the Method / Evidence Policy for selection and publication gates, and Preserving Historical Readability for the wider reason these distinctions matter.
Source families
Explanatory overview only. This is not a complete normalized source catalogue.
Published and historical evidence
Books and bibliographies
Used for: Published lighthouse histories, regional catalogues, and specialist bibliographies that anchor narrative context and cross-check names, dates, and technical detail.
Can support: Page-level citations, reading lists, corroboration of record summaries, and links between archive records and published scholarship.
Must not infer: Automatic field-level truth for coordinates, operational status, or legal protection without separate field evidence or reviewer acceptance.
15 reviewed bibliographic source records
Historical maps and charts
Used for: Nautical charts, admiralty sheets, coastal surveys, and historical map extracts that locate lights, harbors, and vanished stations.
Can support: Place context, historical siting, route interpretation, and evidence for lost or moved lights.
Must not infer: Current operational status or sub-metre coordinates without a reviewed geolocation claim.
12 geolocation source classes in policy registry
Official and institutional evidence
Official light lists and navigation records
Used for: Hydrographic offices, coast guards, and national aids-to-navigation publications that document operational lights, characteristics, and official identifiers.
Can support: Navigation identifiers, active/inactive status leads, focal height, range, and alignment with Admiralty, NGA, or national list numbers.
Must not infer: Heritage interpretation, keeper biography, or museum custody without separate evidence.
48 trusted lighthouse source families in reviewer policy
Heritage registers and institutional records
Used for: Protected-building lists, national heritage inventories, institutional archives, and official designation records.
Can support: Legal protection status leads, structure identity, and institutional stewardship context.
Must not infer: Navigation characteristics or current light operation without a navigation-list source.
Heritage register aggregates are not yet exposed in the public preview.
Identity, linkage, and reuse
External identifiers and linked-data references
Used for: Wikidata, OpenStreetMap, ARLHS/WLOL, Admiralty, NGA, and other stable external IDs used as provenance alignments.
Can support: Cross-archive linking, discovery, reconciliation, and transparent external reference tables on record pages.
Must not infer: That an external ID replaces LUX identity or creates field claims automatically.
External identifier aggregates are not yet exposed in the public preview.
Media attribution and rights sources
Used for: License metadata, creator attribution, institutional rights statements, and reuse conditions for images and media used in the archive.
Can support: Public attribution blocks, rights labels, citation-ready media credit, and publishing-boundary checks.
Must not infer: Copyright status for unrelated files or permission to republish third-party material outside stated license terms.
1003 attributed media items in archive QA public preview
How evidence is separated in LUX
Heritage Journey evidence tables currently reference 121 journey-level source links across accepted case studies.
Source families used by the archive
The broad evidence ecosystem LUX draws on when researching lighthouse heritage — explained above, not exhaustively indexed as one catalogue.
Reviewed bibliographic records currently exposed publicly
Accepted book and publication records with reusable source pages and linked lighthouse citations.
Field-level evidence links
Claims attached to specific record fields with provenance, confidence, and review status visible on record and trust panels.
Media attribution
Creator, license, and institutional credit carried with images and heritage journey visuals.
External identifier alignments
Stable external IDs and URLs stored as provenance links, not as replacements for LUX identity.
Open questions / needs review
Explicit uncertainty, stale links, missing ISBNs, and research prompts kept visible rather than hidden.
Reviewed bibliographic sources currently exposed as reusable source records
These are accepted book and publication records with public source pages. They are page-level references, not a claim that every field in the archive is bibliographically verified.
Continue with trust and reuse guidance