Category: Data Liberate

BIBFRAME Dilemmas for Libraries: Challenges and Opportunities

Posted on by Richard Wallis

I recently attended the 2024 BIBFRAME Workshop in Europe (BFWE), hosted by the National Library of Finland in Helsinki. It was an excellent conference in a great city! Having attended several BFWEs over the years, it’s gratifying to witness the continued progress toward making BIBFRAME the de facto standard for linked data in bibliographic metadata. BIBFRAME was developed and is maintained by the Library of Congress to eventually replace the flat record-based metadata format utilised by the vast majority of libraries – MARC (a standard in use since 1968). This year, Sally McCallum from the Library of Congress shared significant …

Library Metadata Evolution: The Final Mile

Posted on by Richard Wallis

When Schema.org arrived on the scene I thought we might have arrived at the point where library metadata  could finally blossom; adding value outside of library systems to help library curated resources become first class citizens, and hence results, in the global web we all inhabit.  But as yet it has not happened.

Surfacing at Semtech San Francisco

Posted on by Richard Wallis

So where have I been?   I announce that I am now working as a Technology Evangelist for the the library behemoth OCLC, and then promptly disappear.  The only excuse I have for deserting my followers is that I have been kind of busy getting my feet under the OCLC table, getting to know my new colleagues, the initiatives and projects they are engaged with, the longer term ambitions of the organisation, and of course the more mundane issues of getting my head around the IT, video conferencing, and expense claim procedures. It was therefore great to find myself in San …

Is Linked Data DIY a Good Idea?

Posted on by Richard Wallis

Most Semantic Web and Linked Data enthusiasts will tell you that Linked Data is not rocket science, and it is not.  They will tell you that RDF is one of the simplest data forms for describing things, and they are right.  They will tell you that adopting Linked Data makes merging disparate datasets much easier to do, and it does. They will say that publishing persistent globally addressable URIs (identifiers) for your things and concepts will make it easier for others to reference and share them, it will.  They will tell you that it will enable you to add value …

A Video Conversation

Posted on by Richard Wallis

Today I share a conversation with my good friend and former colleague Paul Miller of Cloud of Data. Paul is a prolific podcaster, but had yet to venture in to the world of the video conversation.  This conversation was therefore a bit of an experiment.  Take a look below and see what you think.   For those that prefer audio only, Paul has helpfully included an mp3 for you to listen to. At the end of this post you will also find a link to a short survey which has posted to ascertain how successful this format. In the conversation itself …