This document discusses challenges with Europeana's data aggregation process. It notes that while Europeana has developed tools like the Unified Ingestion Manager and Europeana Data Model to help with aggregation, setting up efficient and transparent data workflows is still difficult. Issues discussed include the complexity of the data model, challenges with data enrichment and validation, and persisting unique identifiers. The document also provides background on the scale of Europeana's collection which includes over 50 million items from thousands of cultural heritage institutions across Europe.

1. Aggravated by Aggregation
The Europeana case
Valentine Charles | EuropeanaTech 2018

2. Building aggregation
Theory and…...practice
EuropeanaTech 2018
CC BY-SA
Europeana aggregation
infrastructure
Europeana| CC BY-SA

3. EuropeanaTech 2018
CC BY-SA
The Scream, Edvard Munch
The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design,
CC-BY-NC

4. Data management
• A mix of “manual” practices that technology needs to
accommodate
• OAIS can help to structure data workflows but a lot of
definitions are open for interpretation
• Persistence of identifiers remains a big issue.
• Europeana mints its own URIs for every described entities
• But is the recipe the right one?
• https://www.europeana.eu/portal/en/record/2063612/NO
_280_002.html
EuropeanaTech 2018
CC BY-SA

5. Build data workflows
• Setting-up data aggregation is
difficult especially if you want to
combine efficiency, transparency
and ease of use.
• We thought we were solving the
issue with our Unified Ingestion
Manager but instead we built a
black box.
EuropeanaTech 2018
CC BY-SA

6. Data model too complex?
• Europeana and its community developed the Europeana Data
Model (EDM) to capture different semantics and accommodate
domain specificities.
• While a core implementation is now supported in Europeana,
how can it be tailored to specific applications?
• Managing and implementing data mappings is a necessary pain.
EuropeanaTech 2018
CC BY-SA

7. Love and care our data
• We still underestimate the challenges brought by data
• Data enrichment, validation are important but how to do it
right?
EuropeanaTech 2018
CC BY-SA

8. But let’s not forget
• Europeana gathers over 50 million
paintings, books, newspapers,
audio recordings, etc.,
• from more than 35 European
countries
• ~3,500 galleries, libraries,
archives and museums
• and in more than 40 languages.
EuropeanaTech 2018
CC BY-SA
Танц | Ilia Beshkov
Central Library of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, CC-BY

9. Panel questions
• How to make aggregation more efficient but still a transparent
process?
• Should we take more advantage of standardisation?
• Who is responsible for making sure it is used?
• How to create a virtuous circle?
EuropeanaTech 2018
CC BY-SA

10. 15 May 2018