Moving from MARC: How BIBFRAME moves the Linked Data in Libraries conversation to large-scale action

Presenter: Eric Miller (Zepheira)

Abstract:
As the Library of Congress looked to the future of MARC, they looked to Linked Data principles and Semantic Web standards as the foundation of BIBFRAME. Libraries have an extensive history with MARC as a sophisticated and highly customized descriptive vocabulary with billions of records spread across systems and providers. In order to recognize the value of connecting this legacy in new and contemporary ways, BIBFRAME’s design is intentionally extensible with Profile-based vocabularies, flexible transformation utilities, and iterative linking strategies in mind. The migration from MARC (and other related Library standards) to BIBFRAME offers the most widely actionable opportunity for libraries to adopt Linked Data as a foundation of their Web visibly and internal operations.
This session will include a review of practical tools we have used in helping libraries:
• evaluate their current data
• define local data priorities
• perform large-scale transformation
• create profile-based definitions for original content
• identify linking options
• move beyond simply representing legacy data to take full advantage of the Linked Data nature of Web vocabularies like BIBFRAME and schema.org.
We benefit from looking back at the history of how Libraries have helped shape the Web of Data to the future of how now given these standards, we together can raise the visibility of libraries on the Web.

Transcript

1. Moving from MARC: How BIBFRAME moves the Linked Data in Libraries conversation to large-scale action SWIB 2014 Semantic Web in Libraries December, 3, 2014 Bonn, Germany Eric Miller em@zepheira.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/erimille @erimille
2. I believe that everyone benefits from the visibility of libraries and their content on the Web.
3. Extremely encouraged • Tom Grahame - value proposition of “one page per thing” • Lessons learned from Europeana - “quantity has a quality all its own” • D-SWARM: middleware designed to empower domain experts (librarians) • Aliada - accelerate the publication of Library data in the Linked Open Data • Dan Scott - speak in the way the web understands • Richard Wallis - things not strings • #swib14
4. A talk in 3 acts
5. Act 1 : Context
6. Minimum Viable Product, 
 Incremental Value, and Continuous Learning
7. RDF 7
8. hasInstance creator subject publisher publishedAt format Work Instance Authority Authority Authority Authority Authority
9. BIBFRAME Vocabulary 9
10. Linked Data "a term used to describe 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 10
11. General Technology Hype Cycle
12. Phases of Linked Data / BIBFRAME Adoption Experimenters Early Implementers Data Publishers
 & Connectors Mainstream Workflow Back Office Systems • Clarify Space • Determine the Need • Define a Foundation • Draft Specifications • Test the Assumptions • Draft Standards • Evaluate Data, Processes, & Gaps • Begin to work at scale • Use other’s data • Participate – Publish, Share, Connect • “Final” Standards & Best Practices • New businesses and models • “There’s Linked Data in there!?”
13. Phases of Linked Data / BIBFRAME Adoption
14. Act 2 : Tools - Transformation
15. MARC as “Things not Strings”
16. MARC as “Things not Strings”
17. MARC as “Things not Strings”
18. MARC as “Things not Strings”
19. MARC as “Things not Strings”
20. hasInstance creator subject publisher publishedAt format Work Instance Authority Authority Authority Authority Authority BIBFRAME Core model for defining Web control points of bibliographic data for more effective sharing, navigation and collaboration Simple, replicable linked data patterns
21. And we can replicate these simple patterns to define as many control points we need creator subject provider mediaCategory Work Instance Authority Agent Category Category agent place Agent Place carrierCategory Category contentCategory Language language Event
28. A link is worth a 1000 words
32. In Summary • Highly connected graph of data • Completely dark to the Web
33. Act 2.5 : Tools - creation
34. Opportunity
35. BIBFRAME Profiles 35
36. Small is Beautiful • BIBFRAME common model - flexible, designed to accommodate the needs of our community. • Recognize creative tension between past and future • Recognize creative tension of being useful across communities, but also community specific • Profiles are a simple, small, subset to of the model to support a specific community or entity description but sharable in a global context 36
37. { "Profile": { "id": "bfp:Monograph:Book", "title": "Monograph -- Book", "description": "An example profile reflecting the cataloging practices of example public library", "date": "2013-05-01", "contact": "Example Public Library cataloging help desk, info@examplelib.org", "resourceTemplate": [ { "id": "bfp:Work:Book", "resourceLabel": "Book", "resourceURI": "http://bibframe.org/vocab/Book", "propertyTemplate": [ { "propertyURI": "http://bibframe.org/vocab/titleStatement", "propertyLabel": "Title" "type": "literal" }, { "propertyURI": "http://bibframe.org/vocab/subject", "propertyLabel": "Subject" "type": "resource", "valueConstraint": { "valueTemplateRef": [ "bfp:Agent:Person", "bfp:Agent:Organization", "bfp:Authority:Place", "bfp:Authority:ClassificationEntity", "bfp:Authority:Topic" ] } }, …..
39. In Summary • Proof of concept extremely encouraging • Enormous potential for increased connectivity • No other community does authorities like we do • Control points for more effective discovery • Were making it extremely difficult to connect • Lower costs to linking is critical to improved visibility
40. Act 3 : Visibility
41. Expectations of Library Web Visibility “When my community searches the Web for something we have, we better show up as an option.” - Chuck Gibson, Director & CEO 
 Worthington Public Library
42. Can’t ignore the problem…
43. Start with Agreement and Purpose “Everyone benefits from the visibility of libraries and their content on the Web.”
44. Learning though action together
45. Practical Practitioners Community http://zepheira.com/training
46. Moving from web pages to “a web of data”

47. But we 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
48. The traditional, Visible Web focuses on 
 Harvesting and Links to Pages
49. The emerging Invisible Web focuses on 
 Data, Resources, Vocabulary, and Connections
50. New Vocabularies and Characteristics
 Retail – items, reviews, geo, descriptions, inventory, hours, social, events
51. New Vocabularies and Characteristics
 Movies – Geo, reviews, ratings, images, previews, times, tickets
52. New Vocabularies and Characteristics
 Restaurants – locations, reviews, hours, reservations, menus
53. How does the Web see Libraries?
54. Libraries = Community Businesses
 Location, photos, hours, reviews, social, events
55. If at all….
56. External Perspectives • Are websites and systems harvestable? • Is there a unified and accessible industry vocabulary? • Are there strong connections and relationships? • What is the consistency and reliability of the user experience and available data?
57. 60+ Pages later.... still not even one entry that had anything to do with Libraries This is the now
59. Hardcover This is what a search engine harvester sees. Unconnected data results in poor page rank.
60. Hardcover isHeldBy isHeldBy isHeldBy isHeldBy isHeldBy Good
61. Hardcover holds holds holds holds holds Better
62. Hardcover holds holds holds holds holds holds holds holds Best! And Linked Data is a key
63. A link is worth a 1000 words
64. And this pattern is already happening in many localized markets as we speak
67. But we’re very close • MARC To BIBFRAME (social) • Frustration with consolidation in marketplace (economic) • Web is increasingly actionable / semantic e.g. schema.org (technical)
68. BIBFRAME Purpose and Promise • Purpose: Replacing MARC • Promise: So much more • Purpose: Serving Libraries • Promise: Related memory organizations and the users they serve • Purpose: Leverage existing Web standards to speak with a consistent voice • Promise: Visibility, Discovery and Effectiveness
69. } Description Discovery Web Friendly
70. “One Page Per Thing”
72. Moving the Needle and Transforming the Web • NO NEED TO WAIT • Build on existing investments • Use BIBFRAME to reflect content in the Web • Leverage the Web’s cooperative infrastructure • Link between shared & Web assets to test impact on results • Help the Web understand library vocabularies • Connect into legacy systems
74. Incremental Steps 1. Make it extremely easy to project Library data to Linked Data (BIBFRAME) 2. Start with Visibility – publish to the Web in a way the Web understands 3. Links! 4. RDFa (schema.org, BIBFRAME) 5. Increase discoverability 6. Accelerate linking among / across assets 7. Learn! Inform! Educate! Iterate!
75. I We believe that everyone benefits from the visibility of libraries and their content on the Web. http://zepheira.com/linkeddatatraining-201501a/ http://libhub.org
76. Getting Involved Learn more @ http://zepheira.com/solutions/library/ Code @ http://github.org/zepheira/pybibframe http://github.org/zepheira/bibframe-scribe
77. Thank you Eric Miller em@zepheira.com