Introduction to the Semantic Web special interest group open session during the 79th IFLA Congress, Singapore, 2013

1. IFLA—Semantic Web special Interest Group
Welcome to the 3rd
open session of the SIG !
Singapore – 79th
WLIC 2013
News / contact / join : http://www.ifla.org/en/swsig

2. ABOUT THE SWSIG - previous WLICs
Milan 2009 :
– Satellite meeting “Emerging trends in technology: libraries
between Web 2.0, semantic web and search technology”
– first thoughts of creating a Semantic Web working group
within the IT section
Göteborg 2010 : Open session “Libraries and the semantic
Web”, co-organized by IT, Cataloguing and Classification &
Indexing sections
Puerto Rico 2011 : first meeting of the SIG
Helsinki 2012 : official approval of the SIG by IFLA and 2nd
meeting of the SIG

3. ABOUT THE SWSIG
Mission of the SWSIG :
– to be an open place to discuss subjects related to the topic of
Semantic Web and libraries
– to raise awareness among the library community about the
relevance and potential of Semantic Web technologies for
libraries
– to seek convergence with other cultural heritage
organizations and with the actors of the Web at large

4. ABOUT THE SWSIG - other events
Singapore 2013 :
– Satellite meeting “User Interaction Built on Library Linked
Data”
Paris 2014 (BnF, August 14th) :
– Satellite meeting “Linked Data in libraries: Let's make it
happen !”

5. What about today ?
Feedback from Helsinki : need for less presentations and more
discussions :
– to share recipes and best practices
– to allow everyone to share their own experience
– to raise new topics for future discussion
WE NEED YOU !!!
The output of today's discussion will be used as input for next
year's satellite meeting

6. 4+ topics for discussion
Standards
and
mappings
Linking
and
Cooperation
Using and
reusing Linked
Data
Tools
and
recipes

7. Quickly introducing our discussion topics
Seems an important topic as IFLA is a main standardization
body for libraries
Previous years : Gordon Dunsire reported from the
Namespaces Technical Group
Questions may include :
– how to identify and encourage actual use of these standards in
their RDF expression
– how does this effort relate to other standards outside IFLA
– best practice on mapping MARC (and other non- RDF
formats) to RDF
Standards
and
mappings

8. Quickly introducing our discussion topics
The Semantic Web is mainly about creating links.
Links are not only a data issue but also an organization
/cooperation issue.
As a major cooperation body between libraries, how can IFLA
contribute the necessary effort to link data ?
Questions may include :
– trust issues when linking to external data
– technical issues (tools to create links)
– cooperation building: what do we have and what do we need ?
Linking
and
Cooperation

9. Quickly introducing our discussion topics
Strong focus of our satellite meeting on how linked data
actually benefits to users.
Demonstrating this benefit is necessary as a selling point of
Linked Data to library managers.
Questions may include :
– trust issues when reusing external data
– ideas of interesting interfaces / services that demonstrate the
benefit of library Linked Data for end users
– Licensing issues
Using and
reusing Linked
Data

10. Quickly introducing our discussion topics
Recipes for a quick-win publication of Linked Data seems to be
a major concern of many libraries wanting to release their data
as Linked Open Data.
Questions may include :
– successful / unsuccessful use of existing tools
– Tools wishlist
– Required skills and training in Semantic Web technology for
librarians
Tools
and
recipes

11. 4+ topics for discussion
Linked Data and
Semantic Web for
beginners ?
Standards
and
mappings
Linking
and
Cooperation
Using and
reusing Linked
Data
Tools
and
recipes
... ... ...
Session continues :
– split in 4+ groups
– 30 to 40 minutes discussion
– 5 minutes report from each group