datos.bne.es: A library linked dataset

We describe the datos.bne.es library dataset. The dataset makes available the authority and bibliography catalogue from the Biblioteca Nacional de España (BNE, National Library of Spain) as Linked Data. The catalogue contains around 7 million authority and bibliographic records. The records in MARC 21 format were transformed to RDF and modelled using IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations) ontologies and other well-established vocabularies such as RDA (Resource Description and Access) or the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set. A tool named MARiMbA automatized the RDF generation process and the data linkage to DBpedia and other library linked data resources such as VIAF (Virtual International Authority File) or GND (Gemeinsame Normdatei, the authority dataset from the German National Library)

BIBFRAME Development

The Library of Congress has been exploring “linked data” for over 10 years. The genesis of this development goes back to the W3C projects in the late 1990s on SGML, then XML, HTML, and finally a linked data oriented format RDF. In 2007 the Library of Congress organized a community inquiry into the “future of bibliographic control,” that became a catalyst for exploration and change. A wide ranging report was written and some major recommendations were made. Some have been acted upon, others are still on the table such as a rethinking of subject vocabularies. But two technical recommendations were ideally suited for exploration using the emerging linked data framework of the W3C: the use of technology to get broader use of library curated vocabularies and the replacement of the MARC format with a data interchange framework that makes library data more readily available on the web. The Library was investigating the linked data framework for standards and models for exposing its vocabularies such as the LCSH. Accordingly, LCSH was made publicly available as linked data in 2009 followed by name authorities, countries, languages, and many other controlled lists used in bibliographic standards such as MARC, MODS, and PREMIS. This project became the Library of Congress Linked Data Service. Its aim is to establish stable identifiers in URI form for entities and concepts that are useful for description of cultural heritage material. Then in 2011 the Library of Congress announced the start of the Bibliographic Framework Initiative (subsequently labelled “BIBFRAME”) to respond to the second major technical recommendation of the future of bibliographic control report: to replace MARC for interchange and to make library resources more visible on the web. The Library of Congress, with the library community, is tackling the challenges described above and this paper looks at main aspects of that development.The Library of Congress has been exploring “linked data” for over 10 years. The genesis of this development goes back to the W3C projects in the late 1990s on SGML, then XML, HTML, and finally a linked data oriented format RDF. In 2007 the Library of Congress organized a community inquiry into the “future of bibliographic control,” that became a catalyst for exploration and change. A wide ranging report was written and some major recommendations were made. Some have been acted upon, others are still on the table such as a rethinking of subject vocabularies. But two technical recommendations were ideally suited for exploration using the emerging linked data framework of the W3C: the use of technology to get broader use of library curated vocabularies and the replacement of the MARC format with a data interchange framework that makes library data more readily available on the web. The Library was investigating the linked data framework for standards and models for exposing its vocabularies such as the LCSH. Accordingly, LCSH was made publicly available as linked data in 2009 followed by name authorities, countries, languages, and many other controlled lists used in bibliographic standards such as MARC, MODS, and PREMIS. This project became the Library of Congress Linked Data Service. Its aim is to establish stable identifiers in URI form for entities and concepts that are useful for description of cultural heritage material. Then in 2011 the Library of Congress announced the start of the Bibliographic Framework Initiative (subsequently labelled “BIBFRAME”) to respond to the second major technical recommendation of the future of bibliographic control report: to replace MARC for interchange and to make library resources more visible on the web. The Library of Congress, with the library community, is tackling the challenges described above and this paper looks at main aspects of that development

Into the future: FRBR, the Semantic Web, and possible applications for music cataloging

This paper presents a detailed literature review and an exploratory study of practical models examining the application of FRBR and Semantic Web technologies on traditional music cataloging. Four research questions determined the positive and negative ramifications of changing traditional music records to FRBRized records. Results indicate that FRBR's ability to collocate items makes it an attractive option for music-oriented displays. Three additional research questions explored how music catalogers might prepare for Semantic Web technologies, investigated how FRBR and Semantic Web technologies could align in the future, and assessed how Semantic Web technologies might positively and negatively affect music records. Results further indicate that migrating to XML-based authority records, applying controlled-vocabulary tools such as Simple Knowledge Organizations Systems (SKOS) to LCSHs and LCCNs, and merging FRBR records with Semantic Web technology might allow music catalogers to begin harnessing the many potential benefits of the Semantic Web

Describing Scholarly Works with Dublin Core: A Functional Approach

This article describes the development of the Scholarly Works Application Profile (SWAP)—a Dublin Core application profile for describing scholarly texts. This work provides an active illustration of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) “Singapore Framework” for Application Profiles, presented at the DCMI Conference in 2007, by incorporating the various elements of Application Profile building as defined by this framework—functional requirements, domain model, description set profile, usage guidelines, and data format. These elements build on the foundations laid down by the Dublin Core Abstract Model and utilize a preexisting domain model (FR-BR—Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records) in order to support the representation of complex data describing multiple entities and their relationships. The challenges of engaging community acceptance and implementation will be covered, along with other related initiatives to support the growing corpus of scholarly resource types, such as data objects, geographic data, multimedia, and images whose structure and metadata requirements introduce the need for new application profiles. Finally, looking to other initiatives, the article will comment on how Dublin Core relates to the broader scholarly information world, where projects like Object Re-use and Exchange are attempting to better equip repositories to exchange resources

Report of the Stanford Linked Data Workshop

The Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources (SULAIR) with the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) conducted at week-long workshop on the prospects for a large scale, multi-national, multi-institutional prototype of a Linked Data environment for discovery of and navigation among the rapidly, chaotically expanding array of academic information resources. As preparation for the workshop, CLIR sponsored a survey by Jerry Persons, Chief Information Architect emeritus of SULAIR that was published originally for workshop participants as background to the workshop and is now publicly available. The original intention of the workshop was to devise a plan for such a prototype. However, such was the diversity of knowledge, experience, and views of the potential of Linked Data approaches that the workshop participants turned to two more fundamental goals: building common understanding and enthusiasm on the one hand and identifying opportunities and challenges to be confronted in the preparation of the intended prototype and its operation on the other. In pursuit of those objectives, the workshop participants produced:1. a value statement addressing the question of why a Linked Data approach is worth prototyping;2. a manifesto for Linked Libraries (and Museums and Archives and …);3. an outline of the phases in a life cycle of Linked Data approaches;4. a prioritized list of known issues in generating, harvesting & using Linked Data;5. a workflow with notes for converting library bibliographic records and other academic metadata to URIs;6. examples of potential “killer apps” using Linked Data: and7. a list of next steps and potential projects.This report includes a summary of the workshop agenda, a chart showing the use of Linked Data in cultural heritage venues, and short biographies and statements from each of the participants

Semantic MARC, MARC21 and the Semantic Web

The MARC standard for exchanging bibliographic data has been in use for several decades and is used by major libraries worldwide. This paper discusses the possibilities of representing the most prevalent form of MARC, MARC21, as RDF for the Semantic Web, and aims to understand the tradeoffs, if any, resulting from transforming the data. Critically our approach goes beyond a simple transliteration of the MARC21 record syntax to develop rich semantic descriptions of the varied things which may be described using bibliographic records. We present an algorithmic approach for consistently generating URIs from textual data, discuss the algorithmic matching of author names and suggest how RDF generated from MARC records may be linked to other data sources on the Web

Volume 36, Number 1, March 2016 OLAC Newsletter

Digitized March 2016 issue of the OLAC Newsletter

2010 New England Technical Services Librarians Spring Conference: Crosswalks to the Future: Library Metadata on the Move

Report on the 2010 New England Technical Services Librarians (NETSL) Spring Conference, held on April 15, 2010 at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts