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
   

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2. I believe that everyone benefits from
   the visibility of libraries and their
   content on the Web.
   

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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
   

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4. A talk in 3 acts
   

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5. Act 1 : Context
   

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6. Minimum Viable Product, 

   Incremental Value, and Continuous
   Learning
   

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7. RDF
   7
   

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8. hasInstance
   creator
   subject
   publisher
   publishedAt
   format
   Work
   Instance
   Authority Authority
   Authority
   Authority
   Authority
   

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9. BIBFRAME Vocabulary
   9
   

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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
    

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11. General Technology Hype Cycle
    

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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!?”
    

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13. Phases of Linked Data / BIBFRAME Adoption
    

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14. Act 2 :
    Tools - Transformation
    

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15. MARC as “Things not Strings”
    

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16. MARC as “Things not Strings”
    

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17. MARC as “Things not Strings”
    

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18. MARC as “Things not Strings”
    

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19. MARC as “Things not Strings”
    

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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
    

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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
    

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28. A link is worth a 1000 words
    

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32. In Summary
    • Highly connected graph of data
    • Completely dark to the Web
    

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33. Act 2.5 :
    Tools - creation
    

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34. Opportunity
    

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35. BIBFRAME Profiles
    35
    

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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
    

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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" ]
    }
    },
    …..
    

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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
    

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40. Act 3 : Visibility
    

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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
    

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42. Can’t ignore the problem…
    

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43. Start with Agreement and
    Purpose
    “Everyone benefits from the visibility
    of libraries and their content on the
    Web.”
    

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44. Learning though action together
    

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45. Practical Practitioners Community
    http://zepheira.com/training
    

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46. Moving from web pages to
    “a web of data”

    

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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
    

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48. The traditional, Visible Web focuses on 

    Harvesting and Links to Pages
    

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49. The emerging Invisible Web focuses on 

    Data, Resources, Vocabulary, and Connections
    

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50. New Vocabularies and Characteristics

    Retail – items, reviews, geo, descriptions, inventory, hours, social, events
    

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51. New Vocabularies and Characteristics

    Movies – Geo, reviews, ratings, images, previews, times,
    tickets
    

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52. New Vocabularies and Characteristics

    Restaurants – locations, reviews, hours, reservations, menus
    

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53. How does the Web
    see Libraries?
    

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54. Libraries = Community Businesses

    Location, photos, hours, reviews, social, events
    

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55. If at all….
    

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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?
    

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57. 60+ Pages later.... still not
    even one entry that had
    anything to do with
    Libraries
    This is the now
    

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59. Hardcover
    This is what a search engine harvester sees.
    Unconnected data results in poor page rank.
    

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60. Hardcover
    isHeldBy
    isHeldBy
    isHeldBy
    isHeldBy
    isHeldBy
    Good
    

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61. Hardcover
    holds
    holds
    holds
    holds
    holds
    Better
    

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62. Hardcover
    holds
    holds
    holds
    holds
    holds
    holds
    holds
    holds
    Best!
    And Linked Data is a key
    

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63. A link is worth a 1000 words
    

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64. And this pattern is already happening
    in many localized markets as we speak
    

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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)
    

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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
    

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69. }
    Description Discovery
    Web Friendly
    

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70. “One Page Per Thing”
    

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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
    

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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!
    

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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
    

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76. Getting Involved
    Learn more @
    http://zepheira.com/solutions/library/
    Code @
    http://github.org/zepheira/pybibframe
    http://github.org/zepheira/bibframe-scribe
    

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77. Thank you
    Eric Miller
    em@zepheira.com
    

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