As libraries prepare to shift away from MARC to a linked data framework, new convergences in the metadata production activities of our libraries' technical services units, special collections, and digital libraries are becoming possible. In September 2015, the Canadian Linked Data Initiative (CLDI) was formed to leverage the existing collaboration between the Technical Services departments of Canada’s top 5 research libraries and the Library and Archives of Canada. Working cooperatively, our objective is to provide a path to linked data readiness for our institutions and leadership for the adoption of linked data by libraries across Canada. To achieve this goal, partner libraries are working across departments and institutions to create new workflows and tools and adapt to a new conceptual understanding of descriptive metadata. This presentation is a preliminary report on the progress made in five key areas of interest: digital collections, education and training, MARC record enhancement, evaluation of linked data tools and vendor supplied metadata. Building on existing initiatives, the CLDI is investigating the potential of integrating linked data elements into digitized collections, as well as MARC-based bibliographic and authority records, with the aim of fostering new and interesting pathways for resource discovery. To strengthen and expand the professional knowledge of staff, partner institutions are collaborating in the production of educational and training materials related to linked data principles and practices. The evaluation and potential development of linked data tools is another area of concentration. Finally, with the goal of changing workflows upstream, the CLDI is working to engage publishers and vendors in the linked data conversation. In addition to reporting on the work undertaken in the first year of the project, this presentation will also cover lessons learned and outline some of the new opportunities gained from working on a collaborative project that spans across multiple boundaries. Marlene van Ballegooie, Metadata Librarian, University of Toronto Juliya Borie, University of Toronto Libraries Andrew Senior, Coordinator, E-Resources and Serials, McGill University

1. The Canadian Linked Data Initiative:
Charting a Path to a Linked Data Future
Marlene van Ballegooie | Juliya Borie | Andrew Senior
NASIG 2016

2. Outline
• Library linked data context
• Formation of the Canadian Linked Data
Initiative
• Working group activities
• Current challenges and
opportunities
• Looking forward

3. Changing Course in Technical Services
• After many years of cataloging according to
AACR2 and MARC, real change is in sight
– LC announced the Bibliographic Framework
Transition Initiative in October 2011
– BIBFRAME draft released November 2012
– Early BIBFRAME experimentation
• No longer a question of if
the MARC standard will be
replaced, but when

4. Linked Data Becomes More ‘Real’
• Library of Congress Pilot (2015)
• Forty LC catalogers tested BIBFRAME for
bibliographic description
• Created BIBFRAME descriptions for multiple
formats and languages
• Aim of the project
–What works and what doesn’t
–Suggest enhancements
–Provide feedback

5. Linked Data for Production (LD4P)
• Aims to transition technical
services production
workflows to ones based in
Linked Open Data (LOD)
• Multi-institutional
–Stanford, Harvard, Columbia,
Cornell, Princeton, Library of
Congress
• Andrew W. Mellon funded

6. BIBFLOW Project
• BIBFLOW = BIBframe + workFLOW
• UC Davis University Library and Zepheira
• Funded by the Institute of Museum and
Library Sciences (IMLS)
• Investigating models for migrating essential
library workflows to a BIBFRAME/LOD
ecosystem

7. Pivotal Moment
• ALA Technical Services Directors of Large
Research Libraries (Big Heads) 2015
–Discussion focused on Linked Data initiatives
–Three Canadian top 25 ARLs
–No Canadian institution could contribute
substantially to the conversation
• Canadian initiatives
were small and dispersed
• A coordinated Linked Data
effort was needed

8. Call to Action
• Access Conference, Toronto, September 2015
• Day long meeting with invited experts
• Top 5 Canadian Research Libraries
– University of Toronto
– University of British Columbia
– McGill University
– Université de Montréal
– University of Alberta

9. Meeting Outcomes
• Agreement to collaborate
• Communication plan
• Development of working
groups to focus on various
aspects of Linked Data training
and production
• Addition of Library and Archives Canada,
Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du
Québec and Canadiana.org to the initiative

10. Why the Canadian Linked Data
Initiative?
• Recognition that no one institution can do it
alone
• Nationally advancing knowledge and practice
• Benefit from the strengths of each institution
• Canadian institutions
have a long tradition
of collaboration

11. Working Groups

12. Re-Thinking What We Do…

13. …and how we do it

14. Steering and Planning Committee
• Associate University Librarians and working
group chairs provide overall guidance and
leadership
• Shared web space for
documentation
• Monthly conference
calls
• Vision and enthusiasm

15. Grants Working Group
• Working towards obtaining funding for a
Linked Data Summit
• SSHRC Connections grant application
• Linked Data Summit planned for October 2016
in Montreal

16. Education and Training Working
Group
• Aims to explore the theory and practice of
linked data, with the goal of creating a
collaborative environment in which to
develop and share training opportunities and
resources.

17. • Resource gathering on linked data teaching
sessions:
– Linked Data Training Documentation
– Bibliography
• Core concepts in Linked Data
– Connecting – vocabularies/ontologies from other
communities
– Linking – URIs
– Opening – through RDF
• Following LC Linked data training:
– https://www.loc.gov/catworkshop/bibframe
Education and Training Working
Group

18. • Learning together, collaboration (with each
other and with other group), sharing, training
• Zepheira “Practical Practitioner”
training for some sites
At the University of Toronto:
• Presentations to staff and senior management
• BIBFRAME Interest Group (to stimulate
conversations and awareness amongst staff)
Education and Training Working
Group

19. Education and Training Working
Group
• Future goals:
– Develop a set of best practices for linked data
– Design basic session plans for institutions to use
– Compile content for online modules
– Investigate possibility of
interactive components
to go along with modules
(i.e. videos, quizzes)

20. Digital Projects Working Group
• To explore possibilities for collaboration
around Linked Data for digital projects
–Student publications
–Theses and dissertations
–Historical postcards
• Investigating building a
collaborative digital
collection around the
theme of Canada’s 150th

21. Groupe de travail Francophone
• Articulating the need for French language
documentation
–Assistance in translation of Linked Data
documentation
• Identify the specific needs of the
francophone community with regards to
authorities and identifiers

22. Identifiers Working Group
• Group aims to tackle projects related to the
enhancement of legacy data with URIs
• Metadata enhancement will lead to a better
transformation into a Linked Data in the
future
• Focused on both
MARC and non-MARC
metadata

23. • Reconciliation of authorities with external
datasets
• University of Toronto
– To date, 2.8 million authorities matched to 6.3
million URIs
– Addition of URIs to MARC authorities
• Université de Montréal
– Adding URIs to authority records for faculty
members
– Exploring how to push data to discovery layer
Identifiers Working Group
Projects

24. • Experimenting with URIs in MARC $0
• Enhancement and translation using BIBFRAME
tools
• Closely following work of the PCC Task Group
on URIs in MARC
– https://www.loc.gov/aba/pcc/bibframe/TaskGrou
ps/URI-TaskGroup.html
Identifiers Working Group
Projects

25. Identifiers Working Group
Projects
• Retrofitting digital collection metadata with
Linked Data elements
• Discovery and Early Development of Insulin
collection
–Reconciliation of authors,
subjects, format, place names,
language, dates
–Using OpenRefine with RDF
extension to transform into
Linked Data

26. Identifiers Working Group Projects
• Explore how tools can be incorporated into
metadata production workflows
• Linked Data Tools:
– OpenRefine
– MARCEdit BibNext Tools
– Catmandu
– Karma
– RIMMF

27. BIBFRAME Editor Working Group
• Creating data, where to start?
• What tools available to create sample data?
• Working group struck in September 2015 to
investigate options, particularly Library of
Congress developed BFE (BIBFRAME Editor)
• Watched developments from
LC test pilot and participating
library testbed
http://www.loc.gov/bibframe/

28. BIBFRAME Editor Working Group
• BIBFRAME Editor - Code published on GitHub
https://github.com/lcnetdev/bfe
• Public demo site http://bibframe.org/tools/editor/#
• Communication and advice from LC
• Began creating sample data
• Triplestore? SPARQL endpoint?

29. BIBFRAME Editor Working Group
• BIBFRAME Scribe developed by Zepheira
– https://github.com/zepheira/bibframe-scribe
• Public demo site:
– http://editor.bibframe.zepheira.com/static/

30. BIBFRAME Editor Working Group
Steps forward, steps backward...
• Leveraging Uniform Resource Identifiers
• BIBFRAME Editor and local installation
–No out-of-the-box data saving functionality
–Format of presentations
–Connecting to a triplestore (Fuseki)
–Developer assistance

31. BIBFRAME Editor Working Group
Fuseki

32. BIBFRAME Editor Working Group
• Watching new BIBFRAME 2.0 Vocabulary
– http://www.loc.gov/bibframe/docs/index.html
• Future enhancements wish list:
– French interface
– Adding other BIBFRAME “Profiles” and lookups for
Canadian authority datasets

33. What is Missing?
• IT Working Group
– Integration of Linked Data into digital repositories
– Development of programming expertise in a
Linked Data environment
– Connection between metadata creation and
consumption
• User Experience Working Group
– How does Linked Data impact
user experience?

34. Opportunities and Challenges

35. Opportunities
• Cross institutional knowledge sharing
– Breaking out of institutional bubble
– Strengthen the relationships between institutions
• Splitting into working groups
– Cover more ground than you
can on an individual basis
• More prepared for the future
– Technical services as a whole

36. Big Picture Challenges
• How do we get all units of the library on
board?
• How do we scale this project across 9000 km,
multiple cultural institutions, and in two
languages?
• How do we fund this transformation in
Canada?

37. Individual Challenges
• Time
– How do we make this experimentation part of
“what we do”?
– Making the mental shift to a linked data way of
thinking
• Managing expectations
– There is no quick fix…it is going to be a lengthy
journey
• Overcoming knowledge gaps
– Steep learning curve

38. Where We Want to Be

39. On the Radar
• Working in coordination with other library
units and vendors
– System migrations
– Digital collection creation
– Archives
– Vendor systems and
metadata

40. Enriching Discovery
• Addition of Linked Data elements in discovery
interfaces
• Leveraging the richness of our metadata
• Connecting library
data to the open
web in meaningful
ways

41. Constantly Learning
• Building a culture of learning
• Roll out modules for staff education
• Keep the blue sky thinking happening...
stimulates imagination and creativity
• Planning a Linked Data
Summit in Montreal
October 24-26, 2016

42. m.vanballegooie@utoronto.ca
juliya.borie@utoronto.ca
andrew.senior@mcgill.ca