Erik T. Mitchell - Library Linked Data: Research and Adoption

Library Technology Reports

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Volume 49, Number 5

Library Linked Data: Research and Adoption

ISBNs: (print) 978-0-8389-5896-4; (PDF) 978-0-8389-5897-1; (ePub) 978-0-8389-5898-8; (Kindle) 978-0-8389-5899-5.

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Copyright 2013 Erik T. Mitchell

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About the Author

Erik Mitchell, PhD, is the associate university librarian for digital initiatives and collaborative services at the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to studying information technology adoption and use in libraries, Erik examines metadata issues and professional development in library and information science. Before joining the University of California, Berkeley, Erik was an assistant professor at the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland (20112013), and served as the assistant director for technology services in the Z. Smith Reynolds Library at Wake Forest University (19992011). Erik is a columnist for the Journal of Web Librarianship as well as Technical Services Quarterly and has published and presented on library IT, metadata use, and pedagogical approaches. He holds a PhD in information and library science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a masters in library science from the University of South Carolina, and a bachelor of arts in literature from Lenoir-Rhyne College.

Abstract

Library Technology Reports (vol. 49, no. 5) Library Linked Data: Research and Adoption by Erik T. Mitchell, examines the advances in metadata in libraries, considering also the work done in the archival and museum communities. It looks at linked open data and linked open vocabularies through the lens of five building blocks of metadata: data model, content rules, metadata schema, data serialization, and data exchange. The report includes three case studies of current projects: the Europeana digital library, museum, and archive; the Digital Public Library of America; and the BIBFRAME initiative, guided by the Library of Congress.

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Contents

Chapter 1

Abstract

This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 49, no. 5) Library Linked Data: Research and Adoption focuses on research and practice related to library metadata. In order to more fully understand this world, we also need to consider the work being done in the archival and museum communities. In , we lay the foundation for our exploration in libraries, archives, and museums (LAM) and consider the role and impact of this work in the broader world of the Semantic Web, linked data, and data-rich web services. This chapter starts by introducing a model for understanding the component parts of metadata systems and concludes by outlining the process for creating and publishing linked data.

This issue of Library Technology Reports (LTR) builds on previous work in this series, including the LTR issue by Coyle on the Semantic Web as well as Witts issue on the Open Archives Initiative Object Reuse and Exchange (OAI-ORE) standard, and it touches on topics referenced in Breedings 2009 issue on web services and SOA as well as Nagys 2011 case study analysis of library uses of next-generation discovery platforms. In that issue, Eden explored current metadata issues and asked what information organization might look like in the coming years. At the time, Library 2.0 and web services were newly emerging terms in library and information science literature, and while there was a vision for what library metadata and information systems might become, there were not many examples in the field.

Much has happened between these LTR issues, not the least of which has been the funding and creation of new national and international organizations whose goal is to bring together and publish the collections of cultural heritage and memory institutions. Since 2007, LAM (libraries, archives, and museums) communities have developed new cataloging and archival processing frameworks (e.g., RDA, DACS, and CCO) and are keenly interested in exploring the impact of new information systems on user needs. In the library world, this discussion has led to the BIBFRAME initiative and a focused effort to implement the Resource Description and Access (RDA) specification. In museum communities, the International Council of Museums has updated the CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CIDOC-CRM) as well as the Cataloging Cultural Objects (CCO) specification. In archives, standards like Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS), and Encoded Archival Context (EAC) have taken hold, and new information systems like ArchivesSpace are emerging to serve archival metadata and object management needs.

ArchivesSpace

www.archivesspace.org

The definition of new standards and development of systems across LAM and publishing communities are focused on defining techniques, standards, systems, and services that meet the changing information sources and needs of LAM patrons. The patrons information requirements are grounded both in a need for physical and digital information artifacts and also in a community of practice in which making connections among information sources is as important as discovering information resources. While part of the LAM profession focuses on literacy and information engagement issues, the metadata community typically focuses on exploring how information systems and structures support these needs and enable cross-community and cross-repository access and aggregation.