Tom Cramer
Associate University Librarian
Stanford University
Simeon Warner
Associate University Librarian
Cornell University
As BIBFRAME works its way to production at libraries across the world, leveraging linked data for library cataloging remains as promising as ever. By converting from “strings to things,” incorporating data from the World Wide Web, and using a flexible ontology that builds on but is not constrained by MARC, library description can jump to modern standards. Until recently, however, BIBFRAME has been a challenge to adopt and incorporate into institutional workflows. Gaps in tooling and historical cataloging practices have created an expectation for copying and modifying data locally. As part of the Mellon Foundation-funded Linked Data for Production (LD4P) projects, and working in concert with the Library of Congress and others, we imagine the development of a new library metadata environment with linked data at its core. This environment will be cooperatively shaped and owned, with an open data license, allowing linked data to work at scale and for libraries to build off each other’s work rather than duplicating effort and expense. With working integrations among existing components in the ecosystem (FOLIO, Alma, Sinopia, ShareVDE, etc.), we are poised to make incremental progress toward widespread BIBFRAME adoption. This presentation will present the findings from the LD4P grants as well as the next steps with a growing consortium of adopters around this shared linked data store.
