Linked data in libraries’ technical services workflows

Abstract

Linked Data for Production (LD4P) is a collaborative project between six institutions (Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, the Library of Congress, Princeton, and Stanford) to begin the transition of the production workflows of their libraries Technical Services Departments to ones rooted in Linked Open Data (LOD). Each institution is focused on a different domain or facet of the problem to move us together as a group more quickly. As a whole, the six institutions will focus on four main areas of development. First will be the establishment of the ability to create linked open data communally. Second, in collaboration with external standards organizations such as the Program for Cooperative Cataloging and linked data projects such as BIBFLOW, will be the establishment of common procedures and protocols for the creation of library metadata as linked data. Third will be the expansion of the BIBFRAME ontology to better encompass subject domains such as art and music. And last will be the transition of a selection of current library workflows to ones based in linked open data. The projects will make use of a collection of preliminary tools and adopt them for production work in their individual environments and, through feedback, assist in the development of the tools.