Skip to content

# LINKING CULTURAL HERITAGE INFORMATION

## 3/5 – Best practice recommendations for cultural heritage organisations (museums, libraries, archives, government agencies…)

Readings and training materials

## Page Index

- What information to publish as linked data?
- What licence should there be?
- How to publish the linked data?
- Further readings

## What information to publish as linked data?

- information about all aspects of collections and their related materials (exhibition catalogues, books, history files, learning units…);
- user generated content;
- terminological resources (object types; name authorities; places; organisations…) cooperating with partner in order to avoid duplication.

Top

## What licence should there be?

- Any publication of linked data must be accompanied by a licence which makes it clear what uses can be made of the data.
- The licence may be standard – like Creative Commons – or one created specifically by the publisher.

Top

## How to publish the linked data?

### Format standards

Established the opportunity to use basic standards – like RDF, RDFS, and OWL – it is advised to use standard formats appropriate for the type of data being published, e.g.

- Web resources: Dublin Core;
- Persons: Friend of a Friend;
- Terminological resources: SKOS;
- Bibliographic resources: Bibliographic Ontology;
- Music: Music Ontology.

Consider using a cultural heritage specific format for linked data, like EDM, LIDO… In particular, Linked Heritage offers the possibility of using LIDO.

### How to link the packages

- link to packages of a general nature like: DBpedia; GeoNames Semantic Web; national sources of terminology;
- link to known packages in the cultural heritage, e.g.: Library of Congress Subject Headings; VIAF The Virtual International Authority File and Dewey Decimal Classification;
- provide a SPARQL endpoint to the package.

Top
Explore Further

Caffo, R. “Global interoperability and linked data in libraries: ICCU international committment”. JLIS.it. Vol. 4, n. 1 (January 2013): Art: #8726. DOI: 10.4403/jlis.it-8726. Web.

Guerrini, M., T. Possemato. “Linked data: a new alphabet for the semantic web”. JLIS.it. Vol. 4, n. 1 (January 2013): Art: #6305. DOI: 10.4403/jlis.it-6305. Web.

Maarten Zeinstra, M. and Kennislan, P. K. “Open Linked Data and Europeana” (September 2013)
http://pro.europeana.eu/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=374c381f-a48b-4cf0-bbde-172cf03672a2&groupId=10602

Europeana professionals – Linked Open Data (September 2013)
http://pro.europeana.eu/web/guest/linked-open-data

Paul walk's weblog. “Linked, open, semantic?” (September 2013)
http://blog.paulwalk.net/2009/11/11/linked-open-semantic

Top