MW2015 Workshop: How and when to use LOD? Starting your institution’s conversations about Linked (Open) Data | April 8th, 9.00 am to 12.00 am

Duane Degler, Design for Context, USA, Neal Johnson, Oculus Digital, USA

Interest is growing rapidly in how Linked Data could address both internal and external needs for cultural heritage information. Acting on this interest requires sharing some new knowledge as well as active collaboration among a range of people within the museum – and getting everyone “on the same page.” Strategic and tactical conversations need to be practical, realistic in their expectations, and focused on successfully meeting user and organizational expectations.

Linked Data is the umbrella term for a rich data format, based on semantic web standards, that focuses on the described relationships between entities (e.g. Vermeer – – painted – – Girl with the Red Hat). This workshop provides an introduction to Linked Data as it can be used inside your organization and shared among partners, and Linked Open Data for broader public use. It focuses on providing a clear overview of what it is, why you create it, how your program and system designs benefit from it, and most importantly how it will support your mission. You will have an opportunity for small group ideation around the “fit” between linked data and museum needs. At the end of the workshop, you will be able to answer the “Why?” and “What’s so special about…” questions, and have a practical understanding of how to talk with your colleagues about using linked data to deliver value. You will gain examples, frameworks for thinking about different kinds of uses and projects, and ideas for how to apply it to common museum projects/applications.

The workshop will not dwell on the underlying technology and data formats. It will briefly explore, in plain English, the mechanics of triples and predicates and inference and the rest; but the real focus of this workshop is helping you support conversations about real projects and long-term needs.

The workshop is divided into four sections: Introduction to linked data; applying it in the real world; facilitating the conversation; considering the challenges.

Bibliography:
Small sample of the rapidly growing community and resources: LODLAM, Linked Open Data in Libraries, Archives and Museums. http://lodlam.net (includes links and videos of current applications/examples for recent LODLAM training day associated with the Semantic Technologies conference, San Jose, CA, August 2014). American Art Collaborative. Resources related to the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s conversion of collection data to LOD. Future resource site for Mellon-funded multi-institution federated data initiative. http://americanartcollaborative.org Planning for Serendipity. Dan Cohen (2014), DPLA blog. http://dp.la/info/2014/02/07/planning-for-serendipity/ Searching for Sustainability. Nancy Maron & Sarah Pickle (2014). Ithaka S+R research into the challenges of data/digitization project sustainability, with recommendations for organizations to manage long-term initiatives. http://www.sr.ithaka.org/research-publications/searching-sustainability ResearchSpace semantic data application. http://www.researchspace.org CIDOC-CRM – Conceptual reference model for cultural heritage documentation. http://cidoc-crm.org Europeana aggregated cultural data initiative. http://europeana.eu Getty AAT Vocabulary available as Linked Open Data. http://vocab.getty.edu OCLC Innovation Lab projects in linked data. http://www.oclc.org/research/innovationlab.html See also the WorldCat search facility for American art. http://artlibraries.worldcat.org/ Library of Congress Authorities linked data services. http://id.loc.gov/about/ IIIF, the International Image Interoperability Framework. http://iiif.io BIBFRAME, the library community’s proposed evolution of the MARC standard for bibliographic references (initiated by Library of Congress). http://bibframe.org Recently announced that key elements of this ontology will be incorporated into schema.org (http://schema.org) for support by major search vendors when indexing cultural content. Omeka content management system (supports RDF semantic LOD format exporting). Recent IMLS grant to extend Omeka and Open Exhibits applications. CHNM at GMU (2014). http://omeka.org/blog/2014/09/18/imls-funds-omeka-everywhere/ NDSA: National Agenda for Digital Stewardship. http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/ndsa/nationalagenda/ Presenters’ previous talks on DH or semantic/data topics: Now what? Creating Innovative LODLAM Sites and Apps (2014) http://www.designforcontext.com/publications/creating-innovative-lodlam-sites Design Concepts & Lessons from Linked Data for the Digital Humanities (2014) http://www.designforcontext.com/publications/design-concepts-and-lessons-from-linked-data-digital-humanities Design Meets Data (Linked, Open, Heterogeneous) (2014) http://www.designforcontext.com/publications/design-meets-data Designing for Information Objects: The Library, Archive & Museum (LAM) Information Ecosystem for Now and for the Future (2013) http://www.designforcontext.com/publications/designing-for-information-objects and a summary blog post written by Hillel Arnold of the Rockefeller Archive: http://rockarch.org/programs/digital/bitsandbytes/?p=945 Enhancement Ecosystems: Enriching Structured Content with User Tagging and Annotation (2013) http://www.designforcontext.com/publications/enhancement-ecosystems-enriching-structured-content-with-user-tagging-and-annotation UX Design Considerations for Semantic Technology (on semanticweb.com, 2013) http://semanticweb.com/ux-design-considerations-for-semantic-technology_b37497 Searching: How one box can mean different things to different people (2011) http://www.designforcontext.com/files/jp-dd_search-mental-models_userfocus_20110916.pdf Design 10:5:2 – 10 Best Practices, 5 Examples, 2 Actions (2011) http://www.designforcontext.com/files/dd_10-5-2-design_semtech_20110608.pdf

Register here for the Museums and the Web 2015  Conference and for the workshop How and when to use LOD? Starting your institution’s conversations about Linked (Open) Data