The document discusses the Datahub project, which aims to create a shared datahub architecture for museums in Flanders to store and provide access to their collection data. The goals of the project are to lower barriers for museums to connect their data to modern technologies, make data more flexible and reusable, and improve accessibility of museum data. The project will develop an open source datahub framework and deploy a reference implementation in three Flemish art museums in Phase 1 from 2016-2017. Phase 2 will expand the community and integrate four contemporary art museums. The datahub will store collection metadata and make it available through APIs and other technologies to enable new uses of the data.

1. COLLECTION DATA
Descriptive, technical,
administrative (meta)data
stored in and managed
through collection
management systems,
DAM’s, URL resolvers, API’s,
use case
PERSISTENT
URI’s
DATAHUB FOR MUSEUMSMatthias Vandermaesen
matthias.vandermaesen@vlaamsekunstcollectie.be
DATA MANAGER
•Acts as a gatekeeper.
•Maintains collection
data.
•Responsible for the
publication of collection
data.
RESTful API’sRESTful API’s
objectname
http://vocab.getty
.edu/aat/3000337
99
use case
NEW INSIGHTS
THROUGH
VISUALISATIONS
use case
DIGITAL MIND-SET
IN MUSEUMS
artwork
http://collectievlaam
segemeenschap.be/
collectie/work/id/185
6
data
http://kmska.be/colle
ctie/work/data/1856
image
http://kmska.be/colle
ctie/work/representa
tion/1856
image
http://lukasweb.be/c
ollectie/work/represe
ntation/1856
data
http://collectievlaam
segemeenschap.be/
collectie/work/data/1
856
creator
http://viaf.org/
viaf/312406452/
place
http://www.geona
mes.org/2797656
/
DATAHUB
use case
ENRICHMENT THROUGH
LINKED DATA
DATA INGEST
DATA RETRIEVAL
use case:
TARGET SPECIFIC AUDIENCES
THROUGH END-USER
APPLICATIONS
use case:
SHARE DATA THROUGH
EXTERNAL AGGREGATORS
LOCKED DATA
•Cultural institutions as drivers for
the expansion of knowledge and
creativity.
•Accessible data and innovative on
line technologies are a key
condition.
•But! Lack of an overall digital
mind-set.
•Vast quantities of contextual data
remain locked in repositories.
Phase 1 (2016)
•Design of an universal model architecture for a datahub.
•The development of an open source datahub framework
package.
•Foster a community of developers and users of the
software.
•The deployment of a reference implementation in the
three Flemish fine art museums.
COLLABORATION
•Collaboration is a good
strategy.
•Sharing knowledge and
resources enrich the scope of
complex digital projects.
•A practical hands-on and
cross-disciplinary approach
further ensures meeting
project goals.
THE DATAHUB PROJECT
•In 2013 Flemish Art Collection and
Contemporary Arts Heritage Flanders,
asked PACKED to analyze the data
flows in seven museums Ghent,
Antwerp, Ostend and Bruges.
•A mutual workplan was drafted to
shape current architecture of services
and systems.
•In 2015 the partners started to work
on the last phase of this trajectory: a
joint datahub architecture scheduled
to be released as an open source
project.
PROJECT IMPACT
•Lower the bar for museums to connect their data with modern technologies in
a durable fashion.
•Flexible reuse of collection data when targeting a diverse, international
audience or specific niches.
•Give museums fine-grained control based on a transparent licensing model.
•A major improvement in accessibility of data curated by Flemish museums.
•Close the gap between software developers and the cultural heritage domain.
RICH REUSABLE
DATA IN OPEN
FORMATS (LIDO XML,
JSON, …)
RICH REUSABLE
DATA IN OPEN
FORMATS (LIDO XML,
JSON, …)
DISH 07.12.2015
Alina Saenko
alina@packed.be
Phase 2 (2017)
•Community driven improvement of the software
package.
•Expanding the community on an international level.
•Establish durable maintenance of the software.
•Integrate 4 Flemish contemporary art museums in a
datahub implementation.
PROJECT PLAN 2016 – 2017:
RESOLVER SERVICE
External authorities
•Wikidata
•RKDartists
•VIAF
•Iconclass
•GeoNames
•Getty Vocabularies: LOD