citereste

Citereste is a term used in information science to describe a standardized approach to managing quotations and citations within text generation, scholarly writing, and knowledge graphs. It centers on linking quotes and paraphrases to verifiable sources, while preserving the original context and provenance throughout edits and translations. The goal is to improve transparency, attribution, and reproducibility in both human- and AI-assisted writing.

Origin and scope: The concept emerged in discussions about AI transparency and reproducibility in the early 2020s. It is not tied to a single product but rather describes a family of models, protocols, and data schemas that can be adopted by publishers, tools, and platforms. Citereste emphasizes machine-readable provenance and interoperable citation practices.

Core components: A metadata schema records Source (with identifiers such as DOIs or URLs), Quote or Paraphrase, Context (location in the source), Provenance (history of edits and versions), and Confidence (assessed reliability). A citation registry maps each quote to sources and supports provenance graphs. Interoperability is achieved through formats like JSON-LD, RDF, or existing citation standards. The framework also supports multi-source quotes, quotes within quotes, and translations.

Applications: In AI writing assistants to maintain source attribution, in academic publishing pipelines to auto-tag quotes, and in digital libraries for traceable quotations. Citereste enables more precise source tracking, easier auditing, and better reproducibility of quoted material across languages and formats.

Reception and critique: Advocates argue that citereste enhances integrity and accountability; critics note the complexity of maintaining provenance and licensing constraints. Adoption depends on tool support, standardization, and community agreement on metadata practices. See also: Citation, Quotations, Provenance, Knowledge graph.