3. www.bl.uk 3
The British Library
• Receives a copy of every
publication available in UK
• Collection includes over 150
million items:
• 14 million books
• 920,000 journal & newspaper titles
• 3 million sound recordings & much
more…
• Operates the world's largest
document delivery service
4. www.bl.uk 4
Metadata Provision
The BL Act records our role as
“national centre for… bibliographical & other
information services”
BL Metadata Services:
• Originally offered priced services
• Evolved through many technologies
• Began to offer open data in 2010
5. www.bl.uk 5
New Landscape – New Expectations
• The Web fuelled expectation
information should be open
• Government requirement for
open public data has grown
• The Open Data agenda now
covers:
• Transparency
• Economic growth
• Research
6. www.bl.uk 6
BL Open Metadata Strategy
We offer metadata to
promote:
• Innovation – by removing
unnecessary barriers
• Migration from local formats -
to cross domain standards
• Collaboration - with new user
communities
7. www.bl.uk 7
BL Open Metadata Strategy
Includes offerings for:
• Libraries - MARC21 & Z39.50
• Researchers - RDF/XML & .CSV
• Linked Data Users - RDF &
SPARQL
8. www.bl.uk 8
Results
• 1090 user organisations in
105 countries
• Collaborations with
Microsoft, UK Government
& developers on technical, standards
& licensing challenges
• Linked Open BNB
• Cabinet Office exemplar & selected for
UK National Information Infrastructure
• 2 million transactions monthly
• 95% Satisfaction Rating
9. www.bl.uk 9
Why Work on Linked Open Library Data?
• Concept of open &
connected information - fits
well with libraries
• Participation in the new
landscape – improves access to
knowledge & culture
• The promise of a reusable
global data pool – should
enable libraries to add unique value
10. www.bl.uk 10
Why Choose the BNB for LOD?
Reusable publications
dataset - not unique catalogue
Permissive License – CC0
Includes: People, Places,
Dates, Subjects
Consistent over 60 years
Underlined our commitment
11. www.bl.uk 11
Linking
To give data broader
context we linked to:
• General resources:
• GeoNames
• Lexvo
• RDF Book
Mashup
• Library resources:
• LCSH
• VIAF
• Dewey.info
12. www.bl.uk 12
How?
MARC21 to RDF Conversion Workflow
Process
• Selection
• Character set conversion
• Pre-processing
• URI generation
• Data transformation
• Create & load triples
• Produce VoiD descriptions
Tools
• Catalogue Bridge Utilities
• MARC Global/MARC Report
http://www.marcofquality.com/
• Jena Eyeball
http://jena.sourceforge.net/Eyeball/
13. www.bl.uk 13
Access Options
.
BNB 1950-2012
3.5 Million Records
98 Million Unique Triples
• bnb.data.bl.uk/sparql
• thedatahub.org/dataset/bluk-bnb-basic
• www.bl.uk/bibliographic/download.html
• bnb.data.bl.uk
14. www.bl.uk 14
Lessons Learned - Linked Data
• Use the opportunity to
review & remodel your data
• Plan for service support &
identifier persistence
• Try to move beyond data
dumps & silo sites
15. www.bl.uk 15
Lessons Learned – Communication
• Expertise & abilities vary - new user
groups require new communication
methods
• Clearly explain data & its uses – via
examples
• Document your data – e.g. identify
entities (places, people, dates etc.)
• Partner with researchers &
developers – learn together & build
communities of interest
16. www.bl.uk 16
Lessons Learned - Data
• You understand your data – but
need to show its relevance to others
• Offer samples for comment –
identify user needs & continually improve
• Conversions highlight old
issues - & often create new ones
• Actively license derived data -
to support linked open services
17. www.bl.uk 17
Lessons Learned – Expectations
• One size doesn’t fit all –
different users = different needs
• How to capture usage, value
& attribution – to maintain
funding
• Need to ensure evolving
expectations are met –
Community, libraries, Government etc.
FreeFree
OfferingOffering
18. www.bl.uk 18
Lessons Learned - Efficiencies
• Flexibility of linked data store
• Improved visibility of unique
material
• New perspectives on your
data – e.g. Controlled fields
• Better return on investment -
via increased utility & flexibility
“Linking Open Data cloud diagram, by Richard
Cyganiak and Anja Jentzsch. http://lod-cloud.net/”
19. www.bl.uk 19
Final Thoughts
Linked Library Data:
• Can reach a wider audience
- offering greater value
• Isn’t a ‘magic bullet’ – but can
be a valuable tool
• May not be ultimate solution
– but libraries can learn much &
contribute valuable experience
20. www.bl.uk 20
Final Thoughts
• Better web integration of
our resources increases
visibility to new groups -
Wider utility = wider relevance
• Linked Data offers libraries
new opportunities - authority,
persistence & stability being key to
the emerging infrastructure
See: http://vimeo.com/36752317
21. www.bl.uk 21
For More Information Visit…
http://www.bl.uk/bibliographic/datafree.html
http://bnb.data.bl.uk/faqs
http://bnb.data.bl.uk/getting-started
http://bnb.data.bl.uk/docs
http://twitter.com/#!/BLMetadata
metadata@bl.uk
http://www.bl.uk/bibliographic/datafree.html
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