This document discusses how libraries can increase their visibility on the web by publishing their data as linked open data using semantic web standards. It describes the basics of linked data and the BIBFRAME vocabulary for representing bibliographic metadata. The document outlines a project where a large number of libraries transform their MARC catalog records to linked data and publish it to local link graph domains to create a network that surfaces library resources and connections to teach search engines more about libraries and their content.

1. Resetting the Web’s
Information Landscape
Growing Library Visibility with Linked Data
Public Library Association
April 7, 2016
Eric Miller
em@zepheira.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/erimille
@erimille
Coming PLA 2016
Library.Link
Growing Library Visibility Together
The
A Zepheira Collaboration
Network
The Library.Link NetworkGrowing Library Visibility Together
A Zepheira Collaboration

2. 2

3. Zepheira’s Perspectives on Leadership and Practice
Libraries, Web, Data & Technology
Standards Data and Tech
Strategies
Vocabularies
Projects Activities Large Scale Projects

4. 23,000,000
= Salt Lake County Library Annual Catalog Search Traffic
2014 Annual Report
or
= 9.58 minutes on Google

6. The Web is better
when libraries participate
“We just don’t see it”

7. The Web Values
• Geography / Location
• Personalization
• Scarcity / Uniqueness

8. Title: The geographic distribution of
United States public libraries : An
analysis of locations and service
areas
Author: Francis P. Donnelly
Journal: Journal of Librarianship
and Information Science (JOLIS)
Year: 2014, Volume 46, Issue 2,
Pages 110-129
ISSN: 0961-0006
DOI: 10.1177/0961000612470276
Publisher: Sage
Spoiler alert:
Libraries have the opportunity to change the Web and the
way users learn but we have to show up to the party

9. A Talk in 3 Parts

10. Act 1
Linked Data Essentials

11. Most of the Web is…
• Pages and links
• Designed for direct human consumption
• Simple linking (“points at”)
• Data is hidden

12. A significant gap between what browsers and
humans see
12

13. • Human readable
• Machine readable
13

14. The Web is moving
from a web of documents
to a Web of data

17. Begins with Linked Data
17
“a recommended best practice for
exposing, sharing, and connecting
pieces of data, information, and
knowledge on the Semantic Web using
URIs and RDF.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linked_Data
NOTE: This applies both externally on the Web and internally within systems.

18. RDF
18

19. Linked Data becomes useful
when we have
Common
Accessible
Actionable

20. How is this evolving the Web?

21. Emerging Web focuses on ANSWERS using
Data, Resources,Vocabulary and Links

24. 24

25. 25

26. 26

27. 27

28. Next Generation Search is rooted in
Questions, Geography, Personalization
and Relationships
28

32. How does the Web “see” Libraries?
32

33. Libraries = Community Businesses
Location, photos, hours, reviews, social, events
33
And this is a ‘best case’ scenario

34. Imagine an information landscape
that has learned about Libraries,
their content, and services
34

35. I’m looking for
some good new
mysteries I can
pick up before I
head out for my trip
later this week?
Let me check on
some options, but
first - Who are
some of your
favorite authors?

36. What would it take for Libraries to be
part of the conversation?
36
Geographic
Content
Readers Advisory
Availability
Personalization
Access Control

37. Act 2
Libraries, Linked Data and the Web

38. Library Description
and Capacity
Systems and
Services
Content and
Collections
A library’s story is multifaceted and serves many
audiences

39. Libraries aren’t “speaking” in a
way the Web understands
We have a wealth
of content and
resources locked
behind legacy,
closed technology
systems and niche
vocabularies

40. MARC as “things” not
“strings”

41. Libraries have a rich tradition of Descriptive Vocabularies
and Authorities

42. “BIBFRAME is the resource for
defining web accessible
bibliographic data for more
effective sharing, navigation and
collaboration. It is a simple,
replicable linked data pattern.”

43. 43
BIBFRAME Baseline “Resources”
Instance
Agent
Concept
CopyrightEvent
Family
Form
Meeting
Organization
Temporal
ProviderEvent
Works
Persons
Collection
Place
Topic
Series
Just the beginning. BIBFRAME is inherently
extensible and is moving beyond MARC &
catalogs.

44. 44

45. Act 3
Putting it all together
Seeding the Web with Library Data

46. Exploring Together
• Strategic connection & importance
• Community engagement
• Libraries are more than a catalog
• Linked Data = linking first
• Speak for understanding & action
• Stop waiting, learn by iterating

47. 47
Transform
Link
ConsumePublishLink

48. 48
Catalog Export of approximately
445,000 MARC Records
Instance
(445,007)
Agent
(54,232)
Concept
(199,657)
CopyrightEvent
(1,029)
Family
(291)
Form
(1,493)
Meeting
(203)
Organization
(21,287)
Temporal
(1,268)
ProviderEvent
(116,587)
Works
(369,239)
Persons
(184,688)
Collection
(33,954)
Place
(17,951)
Topic
(32,698)
Series
(38,913)

49. 49
Libraries Publish Linked Data through Local Link
Graphs
Each “Resource” is published
and linked in the Library’s
Local Link Graph pages.
The data is designed to to
bring together disparate
resources, surface
relationships and provide
entry paths for the Web into
what’s available in the
library.

50. Transformed Library Data
Can Teach the Web
50

51. 51
Instance
(445,007)
Meeting
(203)
Series
(38,913)
Agent
(54,232)
Concept
(199,657)
CopyrightEvent
(1,029)
Family
(291)
Form
(1,493)
Organization
(21,287)
Temporal
(1,268)
ProviderEvent
(116,587)
Works
(369,239)
Persons
(184,688)
Collection
(33,954)
Place
(17,951)
Topic
(32,698)
445,007 Catalog “Records” become millions of Link
Graph Data Resources

52. 52
Instance
(445,007)
Meeting
(203)
Series
(38,913)
Agent
(54,232)
Concept
(199,657)
CopyrightEvent
(1,029)
Family
(291)
Form
(1,493)
Organization
(21,287)
Temporal
(1,268)
ProviderEvent
(116,587)
Works
(369,239)
Persons
(184,688)
Collection
(33,954)
Place
(17,951)
Topic
(32,698)
445,007 Catalog “Records” become millions of Link
Graph Data Resources

53. Opportunities for “Happiness”

54. 54
A Person Resource doesn’t yet have a Catalog “page”,
but look at what your data can teach the Web…
677,443Works
(369,239)
Persons
(184,688)
Collection
(33,954)
Place
(17,951)
Topic
(32,698)
Series
(38,913)

55. 55
Contributor of
Creator of
Focus of Gaimen, Neil | Handbooks | Characters …
Conservator of
Narrator of
Writer of Introduction of
+24
more
+100
more
All
connections
link to
library
resources

56. Early visibility success
• Surfacing Catalog Resources
• Special Collection Connections
• Densely Connected Local Link Graph
pages
• Mobile Search
• Engagement with Web and Library partners
• Statewide and Geo-specific pilot projects

57. 57

58. 58

59. 59
“our genealogy librarians just had a call from
New York to request a particular chapter of a
book that we had that she had found on
Google!”
- Dallas Public Library

60. The Library.Link NetworkGrowing Library Visibility Together
A Zepheira Collaboration
Each library has a Local
Link Graph domain
activated

61. 61
All Local Link Graphs:
1. Consistent Vocabulary
2. Current Content
3. Local identity and story
The Library.Link NetworkGrowing Library Visibility Together
A Zepheira Collaboration

62. 62
The Library.Link
Network is:
• Large-scale
• Inclusive
• Locally focused
• Globally
deployed
• Designed for
high volume
harvesting
The Library.Link NetworkGrowing Library Visibility Together
A Zepheira Collaboration

63. Learning Together & Impact
Through Action
• Over 1000 Library Locations
– Community connections & Geo-density matter
• Millions of Items Made Visible
– Typical catalogs transform & publish in less than an hour
• Billions of
– Resources described
– Connections created
– Opportunities to reach new and current users re-
enforcing relevance

64. Telling the whole story requires
Collaboration
Local System
Special Collections
& Archives
Libraries &
Location Information
Transformation &
Publishing
Managed Infrastructure
Enterprise Architecture
Enriched Content
Engagement
Events

65. Weaving the best of libraries
and the Web together
• This isn’t about gaming a system
• It’s not about optimizing to any one service
• It’s about speaking as an industry in a way the
Web understands
• Leveraging the power of our community
• And benefiting from what all this enables

66. "I believe everyone benefits from the visibility of
libraries and their content on the Web."
Eric Miller
em@zepheira.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/erimille
@erimille
Coming PLA 2016
Library.Link
Growing Library Visibility Together
The
A Zepheira Collaboration
Network
The Library.Link NetworkGrowing Library Visibility Together
A Zepheira Collaboration
Thank you