Linked Data

The Short Version

Linked Data is a set of best practices for publishing and deploying instance and class data using the RDF data model, naming the data objects using uniform resource identifiers (URIs), and exposing the data for access via the HTTP protocol, while emphasizing data interconnections, interrelationships and context useful to both humans and machine agents. -- company called Zitgist

“Linked Data is simply about using the web to create typed links between data from different sources.” –Christian Bizer, Tom Heath, and Tim Berners-Lee, “Linked Data—The Story So Far”

Why Linked Data?

• The goal of Linked Data is to publish structured data in such a way that it can be easily consumed and combined with other Linked Data.

• Linked Data is to spreadsheets and databases what the Web of hypertext documents is to word processor files.

Tim Berners-Lee, 2006

• Four principles– Use URIs as names for things– Use HTTP URIs so that people can look up those

names– When someone looks up a URI, provide useful

information, using the standards (RDF, SPARQL)– Include links to other URIs, so that they can

discover more things

Tim Restates, 2009!

• Three simple rules– All kinds of conceptual things, they have names now that

start with HTTP– I get important information back. I will get back some data

in a standard format which is kind of useful data that somebody might like to know about that thing, about that event

– I get back that information. It's not just got somebody's height and weight and when they were born, it's got relationships. And when it has relationships, whenever it expresses a relationship then the other thing that it's related to is given one of those names that starts with HTTP

What does this really mean?

• Linked data can:– Help with disambiguation– Create relationships between people, places and

things, i.e. data– De-silo data so that it can be contextualized

• Linked data cannot:– Create a fabulous webpage on its own (not a

design technology)– Save you from a bear

What does this really mean?

• Linked data is:– A standard allowing machines to consistently read

data with semantic implications– A standard to create relationships between pieces

of data• Linked data is not:– A new, exciting way to present data on a web page – A new cataloging standard

VIAF Virtual International Authority File

Suber, PeterIs a person Is a person

Is a person

Stephen J. BartlettSPARC (Organization)Martinus Nijhoff PublishersMIT PressStephen James Bartlett

Has Co-Authors

Suber, Peter, 1951-Has Other Form of Authority

What does linked data look like?

First Resource

Second Resource

Defines relationship using set vocabulary (ex. Dublin Core)

Subject Predicate Object

<rdf:Description rdf:about="http://viaf.org/viaf/41863008"><rdf:type rdf:resource="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/Person"/><rdf:type rdf:resource="http://rdvocab.info/uri/schema/FRBRentitiesRDA/Person"/><foaf:name>Suber, Peter</foaf:name><foaf:name>Suber, Peter, 1951-</foaf:name><owl:sameAs rdf:resource="http://d-nb.info/gnd/111934974"/><owl:sameAs rdf:resource="http://dbpedia.org/resource/Peter_Suber"/><owl:sameAsrdf:resource="http://data.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb120706863#foaf:Person"/></rdf:Description>

<skos:inScheme rdf:resource="http://viaf.org/authorityScheme/LC"/><skos:prefLabel>Suber, Peter</skos:prefLabel><skos:exactMatch rdf:resource="http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85274772"/>

VIAF Under the Hood

MapPub

http://vimeo.com/54776593

MapPub Data Sources

• Wikipedia• Wikiminer• GeoNames• DBpedia

Used for disambiguation, to add context to annotations, and connect stories of different

individuals

Can you look at a web page and tell if linked data

is being used?

Stanford Linked Data Workshop Value Statements

• Linked Open Data (LOD) puts information where people are looking for it – on the web

• LOD can expand discoverability of our content• LOD opens opportnities for creative

innovation in digital scholarship and participation

• LOD allows for open continuous improvement of data

Stanford Linked Data Workshop Value Statements (cont.)

• LOD creates a store of machine-actionable data on which improved services can be built

• Library LOD might facilitate the breakdown of the tyranny of domain silos

• LOD can provide direct access to data in ways that are not currently possible, and provides unanticipated benefits that will emerge later as the stores of LOD expand exponentially.

Bibliography

• Schreur, Philip Evan. The Academy Unbound: Linked Data as Revolution. Library Resources and Technical Services, v. 56, no. 4, pp. 227-237. October 2012.

• Hess, Carl S. Linked Data in Libraries. Slideshare, http://www.slideshare.net/Juliane6/savedfiles?from=confirmation_email&s_title=linked-data-in-libraries&user_login=carlstephenhess