GLAMorous
Linked Data
Dr. Barry Norton,
Development Manager, ResearchSpace*
The British Museum
* supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
National Gallery of Art,
Washington DC
April 2014
Agenda
• Ten years… where’s the ‘Semantic Web’?
!
• OK, but… isn’t this just about the Web?
!
• If we give away our precious data, won’t people
make untrue claims?
Semantic Web?
• 13 years since this article
• 13 years ago, a young PhD
student is glamorised by
meeting TimBL
• 8 years ago, teaching alongside
Jim… to European PhD students
• 2 years ago teaching in Berkeley
every Summer, switch to training
BBC, Wiley, British Museum…
Wait… what?
… what?
… what?
“40% decline in traffic when the
structured data was broken”

BBC
What changed?
• Stopped trying to build Semantic Web as precursor
to people wanting to use it
• Starting putting data out there so people could
incrementally build clever things
!
!
Two datasets
http://collection.britishmuseum.org
http://linkedbrainz.org
Back to the Web
but…
Back to the Web
More on the Web
!
!
!
!
!
• This is (was?) the wrong picture
Two large graphs
• Goo
Google Knowledge Graph
disambiguates search entities
and provides data
Wikidata disambiguates Wikipedia
entities and provides data
Is this just about the Web?
• Can now include events
and people as Linked
Data in email
• Import into (different)
calendar
• Can announce music-
related events in Linked
Data and calendar
• Looking for richer model
for music for schema.org
This is now about
systems integration
Richer models
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
rich enough model to talk about
Yale’s Hadleigh Castle and relationship to ours
Untrue claims?
• For years a (naive) objection to Linked Data has
been:
• “If I publish my data and give my things identifiers
(URIs), won’t people make untrue claims?”
!
!
<http://collection.britishmuseum.org/id/object/YCA62958>
crm:P52_has_current_owner
<http://semanticweb.org/id/Barry_Norton>
ResearchSpace
• a reusable set of Linked Data-based components, making up
• a platform that allows researchers to make claims (additions and changes to
GLAM data) -
• that preserves and aggregates canonical data across Museums (LAMs),
• attributes claims,
• records arguments based on
• provenanced data annotation,
• image annotation
• forum-based discussion with explicit annotation
• will allow inference over claims

GLAMorous LOD

  • 1.
    GLAMorous Linked Data Dr. BarryNorton, Development Manager, ResearchSpace* The British Museum * supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation National Gallery of Art, Washington DC April 2014
  • 2.
    Agenda • Ten years…where’s the ‘Semantic Web’? ! • OK, but… isn’t this just about the Web? ! • If we give away our precious data, won’t people make untrue claims?
  • 3.
    Semantic Web? • 13years since this article • 13 years ago, a young PhD student is glamorised by meeting TimBL • 8 years ago, teaching alongside Jim… to European PhD students • 2 years ago teaching in Berkeley every Summer, switch to training BBC, Wiley, British Museum…
  • 4.
  • 5.
  • 6.
    … what? “40% declinein traffic when the structured data was broken”
 BBC
  • 7.
    What changed? • Stoppedtrying to build Semantic Web as precursor to people wanting to use it • Starting putting data out there so people could incrementally build clever things ! !
  • 8.
  • 9.
    Back to theWeb but…
  • 10.
  • 11.
    More on theWeb ! ! ! ! ! • This is (was?) the wrong picture
  • 12.
    Two large graphs •Goo Google Knowledge Graph disambiguates search entities and provides data Wikidata disambiguates Wikipedia entities and provides data
  • 13.
    Is this justabout the Web? • Can now include events and people as Linked Data in email • Import into (different) calendar • Can announce music- related events in Linked Data and calendar • Looking for richer model for music for schema.org This is now about systems integration
  • 14.
    Richer models ! ! ! ! ! ! ! rich enoughmodel to talk about Yale’s Hadleigh Castle and relationship to ours
  • 15.
    Untrue claims? • Foryears a (naive) objection to Linked Data has been: • “If I publish my data and give my things identifiers (URIs), won’t people make untrue claims?” ! ! <http://collection.britishmuseum.org/id/object/YCA62958> crm:P52_has_current_owner <http://semanticweb.org/id/Barry_Norton>
  • 16.
    ResearchSpace • a reusableset of Linked Data-based components, making up • a platform that allows researchers to make claims (additions and changes to GLAM data) - • that preserves and aggregates canonical data across Museums (LAMs), • attributes claims, • records arguments based on • provenanced data annotation, • image annotation • forum-based discussion with explicit annotation • will allow inference over claims