Not sure what RDF is and confused about or how it relates to Linked Data and the jargon surrounding it? This describes of what RDF as well as what you need to know to understand how it applies to library work.

1. Demystifying RDF
Kyle Banerjee
banerjek@ohsu.edu

2. ● Libraries have been working on RDF for
decades, even if we didn’t call it that
● Heaney, Michael. "Object-oriented
cataloging." Information Technology and
Libraries, Sept. 1995, p. 135+.
Background

3. A way to express relationships
between things and concepts
in XML
What is RDF?

4. RDF expresses relationships
using identifiers that point at
other identifiers and data rather
than encoding them directly
How is RDF different?

5. It’s easier to express complex
relationships and support certain
maintenance and user functions
So what?

6. ● Identifiers don’t tell computers
what to do
● People still have to program
computers to do something
useful with them
BUT

7. ● revolve around the Semantic Web, triples,
or, models
● contain an alphabet soup of acronyms
● contain diagrams with things pointing all
over the place
● look like you need to be a programmer to
understand
You can safely ignore explanations that

8. ● Knowledgebase must be maintained
○ By whom and how?
● Archiving, search, and analysis
problematic in a distributed environment
● Linked Data is complex
○ Users demand simplicity
○ Difficult for staff
○ Existing systems already normalize MARC -- which
is much simpler
RDF depends on Linked Data

9. <record >
<datafield tag="100" ind1="1" ind2=" " >
<subfield code="a" >Banerjee, Kyle,</subfield>
</datafield>
<datafield tag="245" ind1="1" ind2="4" >
<subfield code="a" >The data wrangler's handbook :</subfield>
<subfield code="b" >simple tools for powerful results /</subfield>
<subfield code="c" >Kyle Banerjee.</subfield>
</datafield>
<datafield tag="650" ind1=" " ind2="0" >
<subfield code="a" >Database design.</subfield>
</datafield>
Simplified MARC record

10. <rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"
xmlns:rdfs="http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#"
xmlns:bf="http://id.loc.gov/ontologies/bibframe/">
<bf:Work rdf:about="http://bibframe.example.org/21123371#Work">
<rdf:type rdf:resource="http://id.loc.gov/ontologies/bibframe/Text"/>
<bf:agent>
<bf:Agent rdf:about="http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2006127072">
<rdf:type rdf:resource="http://id.loc.gov/ontologies/bibframe/Person"/>
</bf:Agent>
</bf:agent>
<bf:Title>
<bf:mainTitle>The data wrangler's handbook</bf:mainTitle>
<bf:subtitle>simple tools for powerful results</bf:subtitle>
</bf:Title>
<bf:Topic rdf:about="http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh88004472">
Simplified RDF record
LC identifiers
Namespaces

11. <record >
<datafield tag="100" ind1="1" ind2=" " >
<subfield code="0" >7264397</subfield>
</datafield>
<datafield tag="245" ind1="1" ind2="4" >
<subfield code="a" >The data wrangler's handbook :</subfield>
<subfield code="b" >simple tools for powerful results /</subfield>
<subfield code="c" >Kyle Banerjee.</subfield>
</datafield>
<datafield tag="650" ind1=" " ind2="0" >
<subfield code="0" >2362595</subfield>
</datafield>
If MARC were Linked Data
OCLC ARNs

12. How about
OWL
Triples
FOAF
SPARQL
Turtle

13. ● OWL: Web Ontology Language. Not really a language,
but rather specifications for defining ontologies
● FOAF: Friend Of A Friend. Uses OWL to define
relationships
● Triples: define relationships between two things
● SPARQL: SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language.
Language used to query databases containing triples
● Turtle: Terse RDF Triple Language. Concise way to
express triples
The technonerd stuff operationalizes RDF

14. ● RDF provides a structure for
defining things
● OWL defines things and the
relationships between them
● Don’t worry about the other stuff
unless you write code
Or, more simply

15. Where does RDF fit in?
Bib Formats
and Standards
RDA
LRM
MARC (Binary)
Specific
Ontology
OWL
RDF
XML
Content Encoding
Content Structure
Conceptual Model
Physical Data
Structure

16. @prefix rdf: <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#> .
@prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .
@prefix foaf: <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/> .
a foaf:Person ;
foaf:name "Kyle Banerjee" ;
foaf:homepage <http://banerjee.site> ;
foaf:depiction <http://https://banerjee.site/jump.jpg> ;
foaf:knows [
a foaf:Person ;
foaf:name "Bonnie Parks"
] .
FOAF Example (in Turtle)

17. Retrieve name and home page from everyone
in FOAF file
PREFIX foaf: <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/>
SELECT *
WHERE {
?person foaf:name ?name .
?person foaf:homepage ?homepage .
}
SPARQL Example

18. ● This stuff is plain text
● It allows arbitrary structure, including
things that make no sense -- makes it
hard for an application to get things
right
● Outside limited domains, it’s too
complex for mere mortals
In real life

19. ● What do we hope to use it for?
● Major practical challenges
○ Legacy data/metadata/ecosystem
○ Ongoing maintenance
○ Skillsets
○ Systems/philosophical complexity
○ Search and archiving disrupted
Moving forward with RDF

20. ● The changes suggested by Michael
Heaney in 1995 are being rolled out
● RDF is relevant, but don’t expect it to
take over the world
● People will be able to use RDF
without even knowing what it is
Change is evolutionary

21. Questions?
Kyle Banerjee
banerjek@ohsu.edu