linked library data

Linked Library Data

Tuning Library Metadata for the [Semantic] Web

Presented 2011-03-16ALCTS RDA Webinar Series Corey A Harper

Harper - Linked Library Data - RDA Webinar SeriesHosted by the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services 22011-03-16

Topical Overview

Semantic Web & RDF Intro Linked Open Data [Linked] Library Data Resource Description and Access (RDA)

Beyond MARC As RDF Vocabularies

Broader Interoperability Small steps forward…


Semantic Web

TBL’s original vision“Weaving the Web” – 1999

Then: Focus on Machine Reasoning Scientific American Article

Now: Focus on things & linksReasoning & Inferencing less central


Semantic Web

Originally:Metadata standard built on XMLMetadata about “Web” things (documents)

Eventually:Metadata about all sorts of thingsAnd about relationships between things

What are the “things”?


Semantic Web Terminology

Resource: Any “thing” Class: Abstraction of a type of thing Individual: An instance of a class Property: An attribute of an individual Statement/Triple:

A Resource (subject) A Property (predicate / verb) A Value (object) - Nodes

Graph: Visual Representation of statements Ontology: A domain specific collection of classes and

properties


Semantic Web Terminology

Nodes: The Subjects and Objects in a Graph Arcs: The Predicates in a Graph Domains and Ranges: Constraints on Nodes

Domain: What things can be subjects Range: What things (or strings) can be objects

Literals: Values as strings rather than things Named Graphs: Graphs with URIs treated as

nodes.


Linked Open Data

Use URIs as names for things Use HTTP URIs so that people can look

up those names. When someone looks up a URI, provide

useful information. Include links to other URIs. so that they

can discover more things. http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/LinkedData.html


Data in the Cloud

Hubs in the May 2008 Version: FOAF DBPedia

Myriad Sources coming online: Thompson Reuters New York Times British Broadcasting Corporation Government Data (UK, US and more) Google and Facebook More and More Library, Archive and Museum Data

Geonames MusicBrains


DBpedia

Structured Wikipedia Data Genres, Influences, External Links Multi-lingual / Multi-script labels Rich Semantics Many linkages to other datasets

http://wiki.dbpedia.org/Interlinking


DBpedia Model

Partial basis in data entry conventions InfoBox’s, and InfoBox Templates Metadata Entry Format Partial source of Ontology

Class StructureVocabulary Design


DBpedia

3.4 Million “things” described Ontology based on “infoboxes”

1.5 million things classifiedhttp://wiki.dbpedia.org/Ontology

Approx. 50,000 “Properties”Approx. 1,200 defined in ontology


What *things* are in our data???

…Librarydata is extremelycomplicated


Library Metadata

Rich stores of MARC, MODS, &c. Robust Controlled Vocabularies

Subject Heading listsCode listsThesauri

Emerging data model in FR*


Bibliographic Vocabs

Bibliographic Ontology (Bibo)Zotero, Omeka, EPrints and Others

FRBR – unofficialAnd now Official (Thank you IFLA!)

ISBD Resource Description and Access (RDA)


Linked Library [Archive, Museum] Data LIBRIS (Swedish Union Catalog) Library of Congress (LCSH, OSI) German National Library Hungarian National Library British Library Europeana Archives Hub & LOCAH


Library Authority Data

“Include links to other URIs. so that they can discover more things.”

Short of providing and linking to URIs, this *is* authority data.

This is what our authority files are for.


Library Controlled Vocabularies: Benefits Reputation - Trusted Tradition Mature - Time tested and carefully

developed General & Comprehensive - Cover large

knowledge spaces


SKOS

Simple Knowledge Organization System Properties and Classes for describing

Controlled Vocabulary Heavily used in Linked Library Data

id.loc.govVirtual International Authority File (VIAF)

bibo:bookskos:primaryTopic

skos:subject


Other Vocabularies

Thesaurus for Economics French Subject Headings Swedish Subject Headings IconClass (not on web yet) OCLC Terminology Services Dewey Decimal Classification Virtual International Authority File Metadata Authority Description Schema (MADS)


Resource Description and Access Current focus on MARC

Much criticismWithin MARC, not a tremendous changeDifferent problems outside of MARC

Possible focus outside of MARCRDA as realization of FRBRRDA as Metadata VocabulariesRDA as related to Bibo


RDA as Metadata Vocabularies

RDA elements, roles and vocabularies have been provisionally registered

IFLA FRBRer and ISBD elements and vocabularies have been officially registered

Discussions about long term maintenance of both RDA and the vocabularies

Effort to create multi-language RDA Vocabularies

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Metadata Registries

Formerly NSDL Registry Now “Open Metadata Registry” Managing Vocabularies Providing Vocabulary Services

RDA – Now adding translations IFLA Work

FRBR, FRAD, FRSAD, ISBD


RDA as realization of FRBR

What will this look like? Probably *won’t* be stored in MARC Overly constrained by FRBR?

Properties have FRBR domains & rangesUnofficial “Generalized” properties

Non-FRBR metadata Similar to DCMI’s range constraints…


Support Free Range Metadata!

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ciwf/3217378769/


BIBO and RDAVocab

Open question re: alignment Simplified view of Bib Data is useful

Interlinking with more general data Interlinking with non-library domain data

FRBR as internal model for library domain Examples


Why Does This Matter?Our descriptions no longer stand alone!Connect our data with the rest of the WEBAllow others to reuse more easily

FOAF, Geonames DBPedia MusicBrains New York Times, Thomson Reuters Government Data - data.gov British Broadcasting Corporation Other Library, Archive and Museum Data


Conclusions

Distributed bibliographic control environment Linking Data Focus on identification over description

“In short, by treating values as non-literal resources and assigning URIs to them we give ourselves (and others) the hooks on which to hang further descriptions.” - Andy Powell


Future Work

“Records” in Linked Library Data Vocabulary Alignment and Interoperability

DCMI planning in this space

General Metadata Interoperability Application Profiles?

Archival Data for *context* - (EAC-CPF)


W3C Linked Library Data Incubator Collecting, Curating and Clustering over

50 Use Cases Mining use cases for functional

requirements and design patterns Recommendations to W3C

Should lead to Working Groups http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/lld/


Other Activities

ALCTS/LITA Linked Library Data IG IFLA Semantic Web IG

https://wiki.d-nb.de/x/vA10Ag Open Knowledge Foundation

http://okfn.org/ CKAN Linked Library Data Group:

http://ckan.net/group/lld


Thanks!

[email protected]

212.998.2479

@chrpr

Questions?

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