Linked Data for Libraries: Why Should We Care? Where Should We Start?

Linked data has the potential to transform every aspect of how we create, acquire, and discover information. By creating simple assertions in Resource Description Framework (RDF) and linking them together, a semantic web of data is created. Current library metadata encoded in Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC) is an ideal place to begin this transformation. Its consistency and quality will immediately enrich the Semantic Web and position our data where people are now searching for it.

Linked data is poised to replace MARC as the basis for the new library bibliographic framework. For libraries to fully benefit from linked data, they must learn about it, experiment with it, demonstrate its usefulness, and take a leadership role in its deployment. The eXtensible Catalog Organization (XCO) facilitates these activities by providing open-source software for libraries that is “linked-data-ready”. XC software prepares MARC and Dublin Core metadata for exposure to the Semantic Web using a platform based upon the OAI-PMH protocol, incorporating registered vocabularies for Resource Description and Access (RDA) elements and roles, and enabling the creation of linked data that represents Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) Group 1 entities. XC can play a key role in transitioning libraries from their current record-based system infrastructure to linked data by facilitating the repurposing of metadata, without disrupting existing business processes.

This presentation will include a software demonstration, proposed software architecture for creation and management of linked data, a vision for how libraries can migrate from their current metadata environment to linked data, and an update on XCO progress toward linked data goals.

http://www.eXtensibleCatalog.org

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