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"If libraries are to retain their role as curators of the intellectual products of society, their assets must be part of that search stream."

web entities such as DBpedia, which offers a Semantic Web mirror of Wikipedia

libraries have begun to reconceptualize metadata and publish it on the web using linked data technologies, such as the Resource Description Framework (RDF) language and its extensions OWL, SKOS, and SPARQL.

library metadata is formatted and linked in RDF, then library content will surface more prominently in web search results

Recommendations from W3CThe report is still being finalized but the draft recommends that libraries:

— create web addresses using Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) as globally unique, web-compatible identifiers for the resources (any kind of object or concept) they manage and the metadata elements they use

— develop library data standards that are compatible with linked data

— use their expertise in metadata management to become full partners

— foster a discussion about open data and rights.

— explore using libraries' ethos of quality control in the curation and long-term preservation of linked data datasets and vocabularies.

"As the shared understanding expands, the benefits of publishing linked data are becoming clearer,"

For most librarians this concept is fairly easy to understand. We have been creating highly structured machine-readable metadata for many years

By linking our data to shared ontologies that describe the properties and relationships of objects, we begin to allow computers not just to "understand" content, but also to derive new knowledge by "reasoning" about that content.

the term "Semantic Web" to refer to a full suite of W3C standards including RDF, SPARQL query language, and OWL web ontology language.

This article will outline some of the benefits that linked data could have for libraries, will discuss some of the non-technical obstacles that we face in moving forward, and will finally offer suggestions for practical ways in which libraries can participate in the development of the semantic web.

What benefits will libraries derive from linked data?

Having a common format for all data would be a huge boon for interoperability and the integration of all kinds of systems.

The linking hub would expose a network of tightly linked information from publishers, aggregators, book and journal vendors, subject authorities, name authorities, and other libraries.

semantic search could take us far beyond the current string-matching capabilities of search engines like Google.

What are the major obstacles for libraries?

A fundamental challenge for the development of linked data in libraries is lack of awareness.

Linked Data becomes more powerful the more of it there is.

Until there is enough linking between collections and imaginative uses of data collections there is a danger librarians will see linked data as simply another metadata standard, rather than the powerful discovery tool it will underpin.

a more practical concern is that changing the foundation of library metadata is no trivial task.

Privacy is a huge concern for many interested in linked data.

Related to privacy is trust.

Rights management poses potential problems for linked data in libraries. Libraries no longer own much of the content they provide to users; rather it is subscribed to from a variety of vendors.

What needs to happen to move libraries to the next level?

Mark-up:   Marked information is data that has marks or signals to let a computer distinguish one type of data from the other.  

A variable:   A variable happens when you give some data a name. 

A string:   A string is a kind of variable that has text.

An array:   An array is a type of variable that includes a list used by computer programs for later manipulation.    

An object:   Explaining objects in full requires that someone read up on object-oriented programming.  

Tree-based  Structures Tree-based structures, or cluster models are a subset of “structured text” data storage models.  

XML is probably the best example.

data is organized in “parents”, “siblings” and “children”.

The Relational Model The relational model is better than a tree-model when your dataset is large and complicated.    The way it works is, instead of thinking in terms of “parents, siblings and children,” you think in term of relationships.

the “Primary Key.”   This means that every data object (such as a library) has a way of identifying itself in a unique way

a “Foreign Key.”    The Foreign key is a way to associate one dataset (eg. libraries) with another dataset (eg. library branches, hospitals or businesses).

This association is called a relationship.

In more complicated relationships (called the Many-to-Many relationship), you might have to create a third table to associate two entities.      

TEXT/XML Based Text files can be organized in such a way as to accommodate some of the benefits of the relational model.

Two examples of XML-based databases include Xindice and Sedna.

SQL/Binary-based Databases The more common relational Database type is a piece of software running on a server, rather than a set of text files.   They are generally accessed using a standard language called SQL (Structure Query Language), or more specifically SQL as supported by a popular scripting language like PHP, Python or Java.

Almost any major web application will have a combination of all these types of data storage methods!  

more and more data are seeping out of companies, even of the sort that should be well protected.

To be able to work better with data, employees often transfer them into spreadsheets and other types of files that are easier to manipulate—but also easier to lose control of.

Although most leaks are not deliberate, many are.

“data loss prevention” (DLP).

software that sits at the edge of a firm's network and inspects the outgoing data traffic.

“bells in the dark”. False records—made-up pieces of e-mail, say—are spread around the network. Because they are false, no one should gain access to them. If somebody does, an alarm is triggered

In the corporate world, to limit the channels through which data can escape, some companies do not allow employees to bring their own gear to work or to use memory sticks or certain online services.

How then to strike the right balance between secrecy and transparency?

Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, issues “speeding tickets” to employees who break its rules.

Transparency is not just a natural inclination but a necessity, says Mitchell Baker, who chairs the foundation. If Mozilla kept its cards close to the chest, its global community of developers would not and could not help write the program. So it keeps secrets to a minimum: employees' personal information, data that business partners do not want made public and security issues in its software.

Thomson Reuters OpenCalais

OCLC's WorldCat

Before we began our work on the Commons on Flickr, some museum colleagues were concerned that engaging with the Flickr community would increase workloads greatly. While the monitoring of the site does take some work, the value gained via the users has far outweighed any extra effort. In some cases, users have dated images for us.

In subsequent use of the Flickr API, we appropriated tags users had added to our images, and now include them in our own collection database website (OPAC). We also retrieved geo-location data added to our images for use in third party apps like Sepiatown and Layar.

In our case the purpose of creating an API was to allow others to use our content.

So consider the questions above not in the context of should we or shouldn't we put our data online (via an API or otherwise) but rather in the context of managing expectations of the data's uptake.

Steps to an API

several important things which had to happen before we could provide a public web API. The first was the need to determine the licence status of our content.

The drive to open up the licensing of our content came when, on a tour we conducted of the Museum's collection storage facilities for some Wikipedian

This prompted Seb Chan to make the changes required to make our online collection documentation available under a mix of Creative Commons licences. (Chan, April 2009)

Opening up the licensing had another benefit: it meant that we had already cleared one hurdle in the path to creating an API.

The Government 2.0 Taskforce (http://gov2.net.au/about/) was the driver leading us to take the next step.

"increasing the openness of government through making public sector information more widely available to promote transparency, innovation and value adding to government information"

the first cultural institution in Australia to provided a bulk data dump of any sort.

The great thing about this use is that it exposes the Museum and its collection to the academic sector, enlightening them regarding potential career options in the cultural sector.

I will briefly mention some of the technical aspects of the API now for those interested. In line with industry best practice the Powerhouse Museum is moving more and more to open-source based hosting and so we chose a Linux platform for serving the API

Images are served from the cloud as we had already moved them there for our OPAC, to reduce outgoing bandwidth from the Museum's network.

Once we had the API up and running, we realised it would not be too much work to make a WordPress plug-in which allowed bloggers to add objects from our collection to their blogs or blog posts. Once built, this was tested internally on our own blogs. Then in early 2011 we added it to the WordPress plugin directory: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/powerhouse-museum-collection-image-grid/

One of the main advantages the API has over the data dump is the ability to track use.

It is also worth noting that since the API requests usually do not generate pages that are rendered in a browser it is not possible to embed Google Analytics tracking scripts in the API's output.

y requiring people to sign up using a valid email address before requesting an API key we are able to track API use back to individuals or organisations.

Concerns that people would use the API inappropriately were dealt with by adding a limit to the number of requests per hour each key can generate

Supplied (on-site device distribution) or privately owned

Native apps

Mobile websites

In terms of content this includes:

Applications (software designed for specific tasks

Podcasts (audio and video content

Other downloadable content (e.g. PDFs and ebook

the Library may look to harness the potential of these technologies to break away from the traditional broadcast-only website presence and move towards two-way conversations between the Library and its users, or conversations between the users themselves

the key objectives stated in the Information Technology Strategic Plan 2012-2015 include Online Presence and supporting “the needs of our users for easy discovery of, access to, and engagement with our services, collections and other information resources in the digital environment”

ensure equal access to our resources and services for all Australians.

facilitate equal access to Library resources for everyone.

Putting Library resources into the hands of users in their lounge rooms reflects a deeper understanding of the need to move beyond the desire to follow our users and instead reach out to them to “take them some place new

mobile will only continue to grow and overtake desktop internet usage within 2-3 years

building both infrastructure and a culture of engagement will pave the way to more efficiently and effectively meeting that need in the future

4         Strategic goals

Improve access to our collection and services for audiences, wherever they are, whether on-site or anywhere else in the world.

Equip staff to champion and drive the development of mobile services to improve access and productivity.

Adopt an evidence-based approach to service development and delivery

Modernise the Library brand to reflect relevance, accessibility and innovation.

Create opportunities for learning

Facilitate connections, conversation and overall engagement with national collection material.

Establish and expand the infrastructure and back-end systems required to support mobile initiatives, products and services.

Build, consolidate and share expertise

Adopt standards and best practices for interoperable mobile content and cross-platform data management.

A focus on strategic, audience-driven activity with a utility function.

Seek out and engage new technologies to achieve marketing and communications goals.

6         Recommended activities

activities provide a means to implement and ground the strategy with specific and measurable tasks

6.1      Governance and infrastructure

The Library’s IT Strategy Group will determine priorities

formalising the Web Committee’s role as an advisory body

Include requisite support for mobile content collection, preservation and access in the Digital Library Infrastructure Replacement Project (DLIR

Information Technology Division to examine ongoing resourcing of development work, administrative models, and potential for partial cost-recovery

Adopt emerging Commonwealth requirements and advice pertaining to managing devices and content

Develop and review policy in support of the use of both enterprise devices and use of personal devices for work-related purposes. Identify

Investigate infrastructure and resourcing requirements for digital recording and distribution

Collections Management Division to keep a watching brief on any developments pertaining to the extension of Legal Deposit to include digital (and mobile) content

developing a statement of collecting intentions for the various categories of ebook titles within the context of revising the collecting policy for Australian electronic publications in general

Applications

Podcasts (audio and video content

Other downloadable content (e.g. PDFs and ebooks

3         Our mobile vision

Improve access to our collection and services for audiences, wherever they are, whether on-site or anywhere else in the world.

4         Strategic goals

3         Our mobile vision

4         Strategic goals

3         Our mobile vision

Improve access to our collection and services for audiences, wherever they are, whether on-site or anywhere else in the world.

4         Strategic goals

Adopt an evidence-based approach to service development and delivery

Equip staff to champion and drive the development of mobile services to improve access and productivity.

Modernise the Library brand to reflect relevance, accessibility and innovation.

Adopt an evidence-based approach to service development and delivery

Equip staff to champion and drive the development of mobile services to improve access and productivity.

Create opportunities for learning

Facilitate connections, conversation and overall engagement with national collection material.

Establish and expand the infrastructure and back-end systems required to support mobile initiatives, products and services.

Tactics

Equip staff to champion and drive the development of mobile services to improve access and productivity.

Adopt an evidence-based approach to service development and delivery

Modernise the Library brand to reflect relevance, accessibility and innovation.

Create opportunities for learning

Facilitate connections, conversation and overall engagement with national collection material.

Tactics

Tactics

Establish and expand the infrastructure and back-end systems required to support mobile initiatives, products and services.

Build, consolidate and share expertise

Tactics

Establish and expand the infrastructure and back-end systems required to support mobile initiatives, products and services.

Build, consolidate and share expertise

Adopt standards and best practices for interoperable mobile content and cross-platform data management.

Build, consolidate and share expertise

Adopt standards and best practices for interoperable mobile content and cross-platform data management.

A focus on strategic, audience-driven activity with a utility function.

Adopt standards and best practices for interoperable mobile content and cross-platform data management.

A focus on strategic, audience-driven activity with a utility function.

Seek out and engage new technologies to achieve marketing and communications goals.

Seek out and engage new technologies to achieve marketing and communications goals.

Recommended

6.1      Governance and infrastructure

Library’s IT Strategy Group will determine priorities

formalising the Web Committee

Information Technology Division to examine ongoing resourcing

formalising the Web Committee

Include requisite support for mobile content collection, preservation and access in the Digital Library Infrastructure Replacement Project (DLIR

Include requisite support for mobile content collection, preservation and access in the Digital Library Infrastructure Replacement Project (DLIR

formalising the Web Committee

Develop and review policy in support of the use of both enterprise devices and use of personal devices for work-related purposes

Investigate infrastructure and resourcing requirements for digital recording and distribution to ensure the long-term sustainability of online broadcast activity

Adopt emerging Commonwealth requirements and advice pertaining to managing devices and content

formalising the Web Committee

Information Technology Division to examine ongoing resourcing

Include requisite support for mobile content collection, preservation and access in the Digital Library Infrastructure Replacement Project (DLIR

Adopt emerging Commonwealth requirements and advice pertaining to managing devices and content

Collections Management Division to keep a watching brief on any developments pertaining to the extension of Legal Deposit to include digital (and mobile) conten

developing a statement of collecting intentions for the various categories of ebook titles within the context of revising the collecting policy for Australian electronic publications

Adopt emerging Commonwealth requirements and advice pertaining to managing devices and content

Develop and review policy in support of the use of both enterprise devices and use of personal devices for work-related purposes

"How hard can it be" Katipo staff wondered, "to write a library system that uses Internet technology?" Well, not very, as it turned out.

Koha would thus be available to anyone who wanted to try it and had the technical expertise to implement it.

fairly confident that we already had a high level of IT competence right through the staff, a high level of understanding of what our current system did and did not do.

ensure the software writers did not miss any key points in their fundamental understanding of the way libraries work.

The programming we commissioned cost us about 40% of the purchase price of an average turn-key solution.

no requirement to purchase a maintenance contract, and no annual licence fees.

An open source project is never finished.

Open source projects only survive if a community builds up around the product to ensure its continual improvement. Koha is stronger than ever now, supported by active developers (programmers) and users (librarians)

There are a range of support options available for Koha, both free and paid, and this has contributed to the overall strength of the Koha project.

Vendors like Anant, Biblibre, ByWater, Calyx, Catalyst, inLibro, IndServe, Katipo, KohaAloha, LibLime, LibSoul, NCHC, OSSLabs, PakLAG, PTFS, Sabinet, Strategic Data, Tamil and Turo Technology take the code and sell support around the product, develop add-ons and enhancements for their clients and then contribute these back to the project under the terms of the GPL license.

FRBR [5] arrangement, although of course it wasn’t called that 10 years ago, it was just a logical way for us to arrange the catalogue. A single bibliographic record essentially described the intellectual content, then a bunch of group records were attached, each one representing a specific imprint or publication.

The release of Koha 3.0 in late 2008 brought Koha completely into the web 2.0 age and all that entails. We are reconciled to taking a small step back for now, but the FRBR logic is around and RDA should see us back where want to be in a year or so – but with all the very exciting features and opportunities that Koha 3 has now.

In the early days, the Koha list appeared to have been dominated by programmers but I have noticed a lot more librarians participating now

"Adopt technology that keeps data open and free, abandon[ing] technology that does not." The time is right for OSS.

The goal of the Web is to serve humanity. We build it now so that those who come to it later will be able to create things that we cannot ourselves imagine.

The Memory Maker provides a taste of what is possible when collecting institutions modernise their practices for keeping and managing copyright information, using Creative Commons licenses or ‘no known copyright’ statements.

Learning about ‘hyperlinks’ today, these young New Zealanders will be the developers and creators of tomorrow.

The full set of contributions is accessible through a Coming Home search tool, occasionally on a google-like hosted search page (Figure 5), but more often through a search widget embedded on many New Zealand Web sites (Figure 6).

Digital New Zealand is developing and testing solutions that showcase what’s possible when we really focus on improving access to and discovery of New Zealand content.

Technically, the Digital New Zealand system is in three parts: a backend, a metadata store, and a front end.

The coolest thing to be done with your data will be thought of by someone else

“an API is basically a way to give developers permission to hack into your database”.

As individuals and members of organizations, we’re already choosing between desktop applications and cloud applications when it comes to e-mail, RSS, file storage, word processing and other simple applications. Sooner or later we’ll have to make this choice for mission-critical enterprise applications too

Libraries may soon be building and managing their own data centers.

For more practical, technical explanations of cloud computing, check out the Wikipedia article the Anatomy of Cloud Computing the MIT Technology Review Briefing on Cloud Computing.

For a discussion of problems and concerns about the digital cloud, read: How Secure is Cloud Computing? Security in the Ether Industry Challenges: The Standards Question

A cloud can be private or public:

As with any business related activity there are both risks and opportunities associated with using cloud computing services.

potentially a number of business and information risks associated with using cloud computing services.

noted that even if the cloud computing environment is managed wholly within NSW an appropriate risk assessment of the service and the provider should occur.

level of risk that an organisation attributes to a proposed cloud computing arrangement will vary according to the content or subject matter of their records

The content of the contract in these types of service arrangements is very important.

What are others saying? Australia Australasian Digital Recordkeeping Initiative (ADRI), Advice on managing the recordkeeping risks associated with cloud computing, July 2010, available at http://www.adri.gov.au Defence Signals Directorate (Commonwealth), Cloud computing security considerations, April 2011, available at http://www.dsd.gov.au/infosec/cloudsecurity.htm Department of Finance and Deregulation (Commonwealth), Cloud computing strategic direction paper: opportunities and applicability for use by the Australian Government, April 2011, available at http://www.finance.gov.au/e-government/strategy-and-governance/docs/final_cloud_computing_strategy_version_1.pdf

International Archives and Records Association UK and Ireland, Cloud computing toolkit: guidance for outsourcing information storage to the cloud, August 2010, available at http://www.archives.org.uk/images/documents/Cloud_Computing_Toolkit-2.pdf – this guidance contains a comprehensive overview of the range of cloud computing services available and the recordkeeping considerations that apply to each CIO Council and Chief Acquisition Officers Council (USA), Creating effective cloud computing contracts for the Federal Government: best practices for acquiring IT as a service, February 2012, available at http://www.cio.gov/cloudbestpractices.pdf – this is a comprehensive and useful document for those seeking to procure cloud computing services

The basic Web technologies that individuals and companies need to develop powerful services must be available for free, with no royalties.