Showing papers in "Journal of Library Metadata in 2013"

Library Marc Records Into Linked Open Data: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract: Today researchers search for books in various ways. Once discovered, a variety of Web technologies can be used to link to related resources and/or associate context with a book. This environment creates an opportunity for libraries. The linked open data (LOD) model of the Web offers a potential foundation for innovative user services and the wider dissemination of bibliographic metadata. However, best practices for transforming library catalog records into LOD are still evolving. The practical utility on the Semantic Web of library metadata transformed from MARC remains unclear. Using a test set of MARC21 records describing 30,000 retrospectively digitized books, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Library explored options for adding links, transforming into non-library specific LOD-friendly semantics, and deploying as RDF to maximize the utility of these records. This paper highlights lessons learned during this process, discusses findings to date, and suggests possible avenues for furt...

Leading to Linking: Introducing Linked Data to Academic Library Digital Collections

Abstract: This article introduces the concepts of linked data within the context of digital collections, outlines the rationale for beginning work in linked data for digital collections, provides an overview of a focused linked data project, discusses technologies adopted for transforming metadata into linked data, and reports lessons learned to date

Integration or Disintegration: Where Is Discovery Headed?

Abstract: This exploratory essay examines current Web-scale discovery service (WSDS) literature to glean directions, integration or disintegration, of resource or information discovery manifested by WSDSs. How effective, intelligent, or smart is searching on this very large yet limited scale? A metadata lens is used to probe quality and WSDS effectiveness as reflected in the literature and associated discovery and metadata initiatives.

The Linked Open Data Landscape in Libraries and Beyond

Abstract: For many in the library field, linked open data (LOD) is both a common and an enigmatic phrase. Linked data has been the topic of many articles, books, conference presentations, and workshops in recent years. The topic, however, is one that many are still working to understand. This article is a brief primer and survey of the current LOD landscape for those who are either new to LOD or wish to reacquaint themselves with LOD. The article will start with a basic introduction to LOD, including some of the standards and formats involved. The second half will describe some of the major LOD projects and efforts in various fields, including libraries, archives, and museums, and provide links to selected resources for those who want to learn more.

Libraries’ Metadata as Data in the Era of the Semantic Web: Modeling a Repository of Master Theses and PhD Dissertations for the Web of Data

Abstract: This study argues that metadata of library catalogs can stand autonomously, providing valuable information detached from the resources they point to and, therefore, could be used as data in the context of the Semantic Web. We present an analysis of this perception followed by an implementation proposal for a Master's thesis and PhD dissertation repository. The analysis builds on the flexibility of the Resource Description Framework (RDF) and takes into account the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) and Functional Requirements for Authority Data (FRAD) in order to reveal the latent academic network by linking its entities to a meaningful and computationally processable set. Current library catalogs retrieve documents to find answers, whereas in our approach catalogs can provide answers that could not be found in any specific document.

Tagging for Libraries: A Review of the Effectiveness of Tagging Systems for Library Catalogs

Abstract: Early literature on tagging has been enthusiastic about the potential that it holds for libraries. Theorists have thoroughly analyzed the nature of tags, as well as the benefits and the problems for libraries: the positives and the negatives of tags compared to subject headings, how tagging can help libraries increase the findability of documents, what the benefits from user-created vocabulary are, and so on. However, there is a gap in the knowledge of how tags actually work within the professional context of libraries. More evidence is needed if the library community is to understand whether tags present an exciting opportunity for libraries. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature regarding the implementation of the tagging process primarily in library catalogs. The aim is to document evidence regarding this particular service within the range of library services provided to users.

Exposing MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data As Linked Data With Provenance

Abstract: The library community has been using the MARC 21 standard to exchange library data for decades and all the information processed seems to be successful. However, due to the proliferation of tools and technologies, people started anticipating the data to be easily available for their use. But this is only possible by standardizing the data representation formats and sharing data on the Web. The MARC 21 standard has no possibility of distributing library metadata outside the library community. Besides, these standards focus only on data representation and storage, which causes the semantics of data to be hidden for machines. This paper presents an approach on transitioning the MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data into RDF triple representation based on the linked data principles. The linked data principles proposed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee state how the data alone can be shared and linked with each other regardless of the documents they are enclosed in and formulating the web as a Web of Data. Further, an au...

Authority Control in a Digital Repository: Preparing for Linked Data

Abstract: In an effort to identify an automated means of updating and standardizing metadata within a digital collection, the University of Utah's Marriott Library and Backstage Library Works partnered to develop a service that would replicate the benefits of an automated MARC21 authority control project for digital library metadata. This paper will discuss how the process to update MARC21 bibliographic records was adapted to update data encoded in XML. Future directions for this project will include taking a close look at how it can be used to link URIs with strings of data in order to prepare for a linked data environment.

Perceptions of Librarians Regarding Semantic Web and Linked Data Technologies

Abstract: In recent years, a growing level of attention has focused on Semantic Web technology and its potential application to the library catalog. Despite growing interest in the topic, it is unclear where perceptions currently are regarding the Semantic Web and linked data in the academic library community. This paper aims to ascertain levels of understanding of key concepts and attitudes regarding the Semantic Web and its role in the library catalog, with the hope of highlighting directions to move forward for advocates of the technology. To find the attitudes and perceptions of academic librarians, a survey of academic library catalogers and technical services professionals was created and distributed online. This paper found that an understanding of key terms and interest in the development of a Semantic Web catalog are high among the queried group, but barriers such as financial scarcity and lack of Semantic Web best practices may slow future development.

Developing a Premodern Manuscript Application Profile Using Dublin Core

Abstract: Librarians and catalogers, particularly at small repositories, often do not have the training or access to experts to fully describe a medieval manuscript for cataloging, much less digital access. But some descriptions must be available to attract researchers to work with the materials, which are often considered institutional treasures. Approaching manuscripts can be daunting for metadata specialists and catalogers. The Dublin Core Premodern Manuscripts Application Profile (PMAP), currently under development, is designed to be an educational and simple tool for medievalists with little knowledge of metadata and librarians with little knowledge of manuscript studies to facilitate discovery of manuscripts in little-known collections.

Navigating the Intersection of Library Bibliographic Data and Linked Music Information Sources: A Study of the Identification of Useful Metadata Elements for Interlinking

Abstract: The Metadata Vocabulary Junction project is a research endeavor that aims to help libraries and archives enhance their data through the use of Linked Data (LD). This article reports on one of the subprojects of this research, which focused on how libraries can augment access to information sources via relevant linked datasets through their RDF vocabularies (in other words, the schemas those datasets have used). One of the key tasks of the project was to find linkable elements from library bibliographic data that would allow library data to be linked with those available music information sources. The research team mapped the fields, subfields, and relator codes of the MARC format to the classes and properties of the Music Ontology, a vocabulary that has come to serve as the basis for many other application profiles for music information sources. Relevant elements in MARC records were identified and tested using a representative sample of MARC records that encompasses various genres of music. The team also...

Moving Our Data to the Semantic Web: Leveraging a Content Management System to Create the Linked Open Library

Abstract: While migrating their website and digital library content to the Drupal content management system, the Smithsonian Libraries saw an opportunity to not only improve the management and presentation of their content, but also tomake it available for reuse by its own site and others by publishing it as linked open data 1(LOD). Leveraging the core functionality of Drupal 7 to produce RDF, it embarked on two projects. The first will publish bibliographic data taken from the library catalog as part of its digitization program and present it as RDFa. The second will create LOD from a much-cited botanical reference work.

Whose Data Is It Anyway? Legal Risks and Burdens Faced by Librarians in the New Bibliographic Universe

Abstract: The new era of online data places librarians in a potentially perilous legal position. Information and data, which have been ruled by decades-old concepts of intellectual property, have become unbound from their traditional physical constraints. Currently, American libraries operate under the “fair use” exception to the Copyright Act of 1976, which grants rights to both libraries as institutions and their users; however, the law remains in a state of flux regarding such rights in the digital environment. A host of legislation, such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008, could potentially subject libraries as institutions to liability for copyright infringement in certain circumstances. In particular, libraries that do not take particular care with their data and metadata could risk liability as intermediaries to copyright infringement. The ...

Improving Discovery of and Access to Digital Repository Contents Using Semantic Web Standards: Columbia University's Academic Commons

Abstract: This article describes the progress made towards developing Academic Commons (AC), Columbia University's digital repository, as an interoperable repository, through the use of RDF and non-RDF Semantic Web technologies. Approaches taken include the implementation of microdata to add semantic markup to HTML content; a collaboration with Oregon State University's (OSU) digital repository, ScholarsArchive@OSU (SA@OSU), to implement an application that indexes RDF data from OSU for use in AC; as well as an exploration of the recently released MODS RDF.

Linked Data—The Right Time?

Abstract: When Tim Berners-Lee introduced linked data (2006), he emphasized that it was not just concerned with getting things up on the Web, but it was about making links between things so that people could...

Parliamentary Metadata Language: An XML Approach to Integrated Metadata for Legislative Proceedings

Abstract: The article discusses a new XML schema, Parliamentary Metadata Language (PML), which has been devised to integrate diversely located records of legislative proceedings. The schema is designed to integrate with preexisting standards such as MODS and METS within an XML environment. It is discussed in the context of the LIPARM (Linking Parliamentary Records through Metadata) project within which it was devised: the project has also constructed a series of controlled vocabularies, encoded in MADS, to allow semantic integration across collections, and has designed a Web-based interface to PML records created from two substantial collections.

A Case Study of a Semantically Enhanced Public Health Digital Collection

Abstract: A historic public health digital collection, developed by the Ruth Lilly Medical Library's Digital Initiatives Group, includes full-text public health bulletin issues; historic photos, drawings, and images; and a vital statistics database. Each content component resides in its own digital space and each has to be separately searched. This paper will discuss the development of a prototype system that integrates and relates digital content within a dispersed collection using Semantic Web technologies. The search result sets are presented as a collection of interrelated content on a scatter graph that spatially indicates the degree of contextual relevancy.

Enhancing an OAI-PMH Service Using Linked Data: A Report from the Sheet Music Consortium

Abstract: This article discusses the metadata records aggregated by the Sheet Music Consortium using the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting. The consortium's website serves as a union catalog for more than a quarter of a million records, harvested from 27 providers. During a recent period of revision, the consortium decided to experiment with normalizing data and publishing authority data related to sheet music. A pilot project focused on sheet music publishers is discussed and the results are presented.

Informational Facts and the Metainformation Inherent in IFacts: The Soul of Data Sciences

Abstract: Books, archives, and media contain information and meaning, and much of what librarians and information scientists focus on are these information vessels. Metadata is normally assigned to such vessels to assist in organizing and retrieving the information vessels. Facts are often derived from these information vessels through text mining, but facts may be directly produced from observations. A particular kind of fact, an informational fact (IFact), describes the information from the observation of an information producing process. Such IFacts will become a major part of future data libraries. Metainformation, a kind of metadata, is associated with these IFacts, describing the empirical characteristics of the observation that produced the IFact. This metainformation is inherent in informational facts, and is critical in the use of scientific datasets and “big data.” The differences between regular facts and informational facts are examined, as well as between metadata and metainformation.

Can Viewshare Be Used as a Research Network Visualization Tool? A Case Study Based on STEM Departments at Texas A&M University

Abstract: The use of open source platforms based on Linked Data principles allows for data collection, manipulation, and visualization of bibliographic information, and, in particular, authoritative authorship data. Viewshare was utilized to discover authorship patterns and trends among faculty members of the science, geoscience, and engineering colleges at Texas AM patterns in hiring trends over time; and coverage of Texas A&M University faculty members in the National Authority File. These results demonstrate how librarians can utilize Linked Data platforms, such as Viewshare, for assessment of research patterns and productivity, thereby supporting campus analysis of institutional effectiveness. They also provide data useful for library operations, including creation of authority records and refining collection development approaches.