It seems like every week now, there’s a new linked data initiative to report, so much so, that I’m a bit late in reporting this one: OCLC announced that it has added linked data to WorldCat.org!
Below is an excerpt of a linked data expression for the record, Beethoven essays. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the plus sign next to Linked Data.
The “schema” prefix seen above refers to the fact that the elements about, name, and Person are from schema.org, which is collaboration between Google, Yahoo, and Bing to create structured (semantic) markup on the web. See the Google announcement here for more information on schema.org.
Note too that there are linkages to authority data in VIAF and LCNAF (via the LC linked data service, id.loc.gov). The schema:about expression also points to RDF and MADSRDF elements for further extensibility of the data.
A few things I found interesting in the press release:
- OCLC chose a commercial standard over a library-based alternative (as if there were a library linked data standard!). I’m leaning towards the reaction, “good call, OCLC.” Schema.org isn’t a library standard; however it IS the standard adopted by the major web search engines; as such, LAMs can’t afford to ignore schema.org if we wish our data to play nicely on the web where are users are.
- The press release quotes Eric Miller, President of Zephira, which is the company that was awarded a contract by LC to take charge of the Bibliographic Framework Initiative. The press release identifies Miller as a consultant on the OCLC linked data strategy. Might the decisions and strategies taken by OCLC echo the eventual path that BFI will take?
- OCLC made the linked data release under an Open Data Commons Attribution License. Right on! Data needs to be open in order to get the most out of a linked data environment.
