1. Developing Linked Open Data
Nuno Freire
The European Library Annual Meeting
Amsterdam, September 2013

2. Outline
 Challenges in developing LOD at The
European Library
• Which data to publish as LOD?
• Which data model to follow?
• Linking metadata
 Current status
 Next steps

3. 3
Challenges in Developing LOD
at The European Library
 Bibliographic Data arrives in several data
models
 Different levels of data detail:
• From detailed MARC data to simple Dublin
Core data
 Different definitions of ‘restricted metadata’
by partner libraries
 Some libraries already publish their data
as LOD

4. 4
Which data to publish as
LOD?
 Data about the member libraries and other
organizations contributing data to The European
Library
 Descriptions of all the collections available
in The European Library Portal
 The bibliographic resources
• Including metadata enrichments performed at The
European Library
 Multilingual Access to Subjects MACS
(currently under consideration)

5. 5
Which data model to follow?
 Many options are available:
• RDA, ISBD, FRBR element sets and
vocabularies from the Open Metadata
Registry
• CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model and
FRBRoo
• Bibliographic Framework Initiative -
BIBFRAME
• Europeana Data Model

6. 6
Linking Metadata (1/2)
 Linking bibliographic data is already being done
for the portal:
• Persons, Organizations are linked to VIAF
• Places are linked to Geonames
• Subject Heading linked to MACS
• Bibliographic records are linked within The European
Library collection
• At manifestation level
• At work level
• ... but linking for information retrieval is different from
linking for LOD
• Links need to be accurate
• Linking methods need to be adapted for LOD

7. 7
Linking Metadata (2/2)
 External dataset priorities for linking
• Library of Congress Linked Data Service
• Subject headings, languages, countries, relator
codes, cultural heritage organizations, ...
• Subject Heading Systems / Authority Files
• RAMEAU, The Gemeinsame Normdatei,
Library of Congress Subject Headings
• Publication of MACS as LOD is being
considered
• LOD data sets at partner libraries

8. 8
Outcomes for Libraries
 Provides a presence in the Web of Data
• For those already present:
• Provides additional links to their LOD data sets
• Provides extra links and metadata enrichments
provided by The European Library
 Provides a mechanism for sharing with
libraries any metadata improvements
performed by The European Library

9. 9
Current Status (1/2)
 Linked Data Platform is in place
• Data dumps
• Portal and data.theeuropeanlibrary.org support LOD
Content Negotiation according to W3C Linked Data
Platform 1.0
• ... SPARQL endpoint may not be possible to provide
 Only a minor part of the data aggregated by The
European Library is available
• Around 6 million bibliographic resources
• Publication of more data is pending on the
Partnership Agreements to be ready

10. 10
Current Status (2/2)
 Current LOD implementation follows a data model based on
the Europeana Data Model
• This model based in the analysis of library data in the context of
EDM (Europeana Libraries project)
• The model uses classes and properties from the following
vocabularies:
• Europeana Data Model
• RDA Group 2 Elements
• Dublin Core / Dublin Core Terms
• SKOS Simple Knowledge Organization System
• WGS84 Geo Positioning
• OAI ORE Terms
• FOAF
• ISO 639-2 Languages
• Multilingual Dictionary of Cataloguing Terms and Concepts

11. 11
Next Steps
 Conduct discussions within the Technical Working
Group:
• Identify existing LOD data sets from partners
• Elaboration of the data model
• Identify external data sets for linking to
• Work with interested libraries in validating the
implementation
• Identify other data oriented services that TEL may provide
to libraries
• ISNI, Subject Headings (MACS)
 At The European Library
• Prepare the LD platform for the ‘restricted metadata’
definitions received from libraries
• Prepare the next pilot release for December 2013

12. Thank you for your
attention
Contact:
nuno.freire@kb.nl