Linked data is the current hot topic in library technology, but is it just a passing trend or a game changer for how we handle and deliver library metadata? With the Library of Congress moving forward with BIBFRAME, OCLC publishing linked data, ALA hosting RDA in RDF “Jane-a-thons,” and numerous grant funded linked data projects in libraries — the evidence strongly supports that we are at the brink of a metadata movement that will dramatically effect our work. This talk will explore the basic principles of linked data, as well as its current and potential application in libraries. What will our library catalogs look like in a linked data environment? How will our workflows change? And most importantly, how will it effect our library users?

1. Linked Data in Libraries
Another fad or a paradigm shift?
Amber Billey
Metadata Librarian
Columbia University Libraries
amber.billey@columbia.edu
@justbilley

2. LIBRARIANS LOVE
SYSTEMS

3. Charles Ammi Cutter
(1837-1903)

4. CHARLES AMMI CUTTER (1876)
PURPOSES OF A CATALOG
1. TO ENABLE A PERSON TO FIND A DOCUMENT OF WHICH
● THE AUTHOR, OR
● THE TITLE, OR
● THE SUBJECT IS KNOWN
2. TO SHOW WHAT THE LIBRARY HAS
● BY A GIVEN AUTHOR
● ON A GIVEN SUBJECT
● IN A GIVEN KIND OF LITERATURE
3. TO ASSIST IN THE CHOICE OF A DOCUMENT
● BIBLIOGRAPHICALLY (E.G. EDITION, FORMAT, ETC.)
● AS TO ITS CHARACTER (I.E. LITERARY OR TOPICAL)

5. 02743cam 22004094a
45000010008000000050017000080080041000250100017000660190014000830200031000970200028001280200
03800156020003500194024001600229035002400245035003900269035001700308040005300325050002200378
08200120040010000300041224500790044225000120052126000510053330000350058449000480061950400640
06675050675007315200735014066500030021416500014021717000023021858300049022089000014022579600
03302271948002902304700839020090428114549.0080822s2009 ctua b 001 0 eng a
2008037446 a236328594 a9781591585862 (alk. paper) a1591585864 (alk. paper)
a9781591587002 (pbk. : alk. paper) a159158700X (pbk. : alk. paper) a99932583184 a(OCoLC)
ocn236328585 a(OCoLC)236328585z(OCoLC)236328594 a(NNC)7008390
aDLCcDLCdBTCTAdBAKERdYDXCPdUKMdC#PdOrLoB-B00aZ666.5b.T39 200900a0252221 aTaylor, Arlene G.,
d1941-14aThe organization of information /cArlene G. Taylor and Daniel N. Joudrey. a3rd ed.
aWestport, Conn. :bLibraries Unlimited,c2009. axxvi, 512 p. :bill. ;c26 cm.1 aLibrary and
information science text series aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 479-498) and
index.00tAcknowledgements /rArlene G. Taylor -- tAcknowledgements /rDaniel N. Joudrey -- g1.
tOrganization of recorded information -- g2.tRetrieval tools -- g3.tDevelopment of the
organization of recorded information in western civilization -- g4.tMetadata -- g5.tEncoding
standards -- g6.tSystems and system design -- g7.tMetadata: description -- g8.tMetadata:
access and authority control -- g9.tSubject analysis -- g10.tSystems for vocabulary control
-- g11.tSystems for categorization -- gApp. A.tAn approach to subject analysis -- gApp. B.
tArrangement of physical information resources in libraries -- gApp. C.tArrangement of
metadata displays.1 a"As with previous editions, it begins with strong justification for the
continued importance of organizing principles and practice. Following a broad overview of
the concept and its role in human endeavors, Taylor and Joudrey provide a detailed and
insightful discussion of such basic retrieval tools as inventories, bibliographies,
catalogs, indexes, finding aids, registers, databases, major bibliographic utilities, and
other organizing entities. They then trace the development of the organization of recorded
information in Western civilization from 2000 B.C.E. to the present. This book is for
students and professionals eager to embrace the heritage, immediacy, and future of this
fascinating field of study."--BOOK JACKET. 0aInformation organization. 0aMetadata.1
aJoudrey, Daniel N. 0aLibrary and information science text series. aAUTHbTOC f634962o1s50.
00tglxu2900B1 a20090303bccvt2130dMPS
Henrietta Avram (1919-2006)

6. Photo by Glyn Lowe Photoworks. - Creative Commons Attribution License https://www.flickr.com/photos/65354164@N02 Created with Haiku Deck

7. Photo by Filter Forge - Creative Commons Attribution License https://www.flickr.com/photos/93421824@N06 Created with Haiku Deck

8. Then the internet happened.

9. http://librarytechnology.org/mergers/
By Marshall Breeding

10. MARC CAN’T INTEGRATE OR
ENGAGE WITH THE WEB

11. The Web has changed. It’s Semantic.
Traditional Web
● documents
● links between docs
● unstructured data
● implicit
relationships
● for humans
Semantic Web
● things
● links between
things
● structured data
● explicit
relationships
● for machines and
humans

12. Photo by marsmet535 - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License https://www.flickr.com/photos/123430259@N03 Created with Haiku Deck

14. Linked data!

15. Get at your local library
MOCK-UP

16. Photo by Billy Simon - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License https://www.flickr.com/photos/46243460@N03 Created with Haiku Deck

17. ́
RDF Triple Structure

18. Otlet, Paul,
1868-1944
The five laws
of library
science
Linked Data expresses relationships!
created
created
subject subject

20. http://id.loc.
gov/authorities
/names/n9064
6362
http://www.
worldcat.
org/oclc/18730
828
Linked Data expresses relationships for
machine processing.
http://purl.
org/dc/ele
m
ents/1.
1/creator
http://purl.
org/dc/ele
m
ents/1.
1/creator
http://purl.
org/dc/elem
en
ts/1.1/subject
http://purl.
org/dc/elem
en
ts/1.1/subject

21. Otlet, Paul,
1868-1944
Traité de
Documentation
Library
Science
The five
laws of
library
science
Ranganatha
n, S. R.
(Shiyali
Ramamrita),
1892-1972
Linked Data is all about more relationships!
birthplace:Brussels (Belgium)
occupation:Author
flieldOfActivity:Pacifists
birthplace:Sīrkāzhi (India)
occupation:Librarian
flieldOfActivity:Mathematics
lifespan:1898-1944 lifespan:1892-1972Twentieth Century
gender:male gender:maleMen
created
created
subject
subject

22. Otlet, Paul,
1868-1944
Traité de
Documentation
Library
Science
The five
laws of
library
science
Ranganatha
n, S. R.
(Shiyali
Ramamrita),
1892-1972
Linked Data links all the relationships!
birthplace:Brussels (Belgium)
occupation:Author
flieldOfActivity:Pacifists
birthplace:Sīrkāzhi (India)
occupation:Librarian
flieldOfActivity:Mathematics
lifespan:1898-1944 lifespan:1892-1972Twentieth Century
gender:male gender:maleMen
created
created
subject
subject
http://id.worldcat.org/fast/1159810
http://id.loc.
gov/authorities/names/n9064
6362
http://id.worldcat.org/fast/997916
http://id.loc.
gov/authorities/names/n79013830
http://id.loc.
gov/authorities/names/n8007271
2
http://id.worldcat.org/fast/821688
http://id.worldcat.org/fast/997301
http://id.worldcat.org/fast/1050133
http://id.worldcat.org/fast/1012163
http://id.worldcat.org/fast/1015978
http://rdaregistry.info/termList/gender/1002 http://rdaregistry.info/termList/gender/1002
http://purl.
org/dc/ele
m
ents/1.
1/creator
http://purl.
org/dc/ele
m
ents/1.
1/creator
http://purl.
org/dc/elemen
ts/1.1/subject
http://purl.
org/dc/elem
en
ts/1.1/subject

23. Current Application of Linked Data in
Libraries
Description
● LC and BIBFRAME
● OCLC and Schema.org
● RDA in RDF
● VRA in RDF
● CIDOC CRM
● Dublin Core
● ...
Access (Authorities)
● LC Linked Data Service
● National Authority Files
● MeSH
● VIAF
● ISNI
● ORCID
● ...

24. Linked Data for
Libraries
Project

25. Columbia :: Art Properties
Florine Stettheimer (1871-1944), Self-Portrait with Paradise Birds (Self-Portrait in Front of Chinese Screen), no date (ca. 1905), oil on canvas, Gift of the Estate
of Ettie Stettheimer, 1967 (1967.23.13)

26. Cornell :: Afrika Bambaataa Collection

27. Harvard :: Cartographic Materials
http://www.math.harvard.edu/history/maps/orig/1838.jpg

28. Princeton :: Derrida Archives

29. Stanford :: Music

30. Library of Congress
Audio
Visual and
Sound
Recordings
Prints and
Photographs
BIBFRAME
and RDA
BIBFRAME
2.0

31. What will library
catalogs look like with
Linked Data?

32. How will our work change?

33. How will Linked Data benefit our users?

34. So, what now?

35. Thanks!
Any questions?
amber.billey@columbia.edu
@justbilley