Linked Open Library DataThe British Library Experience

Neil WilsonHead, Collection Metadata

The British Library

ALA Las VegasJune 28 2014 © The British

Library Board 2014

www.bl.uk 2

Objectives

To describe:

•Why we offer linked data

•What we offer

•What we learned

www.bl.uk 3

The British Library

• Receives a copy of every publication available in UK

• Collection includes over 150 million items:

• 14 million books

• 920,000 journal & newspaper titles

• 3 million sound recordings & much more…

• Operates the world's largest document delivery service

www.bl.uk 4

Metadata Provision

The BL Act records our role as “national centre for… bibliographical & other information services”

BL Metadata Services:

• Originally offered priced services

• Evolved through many technologies

• Began to offer open data in 2010

www.bl.uk 5

New Landscape – New Expectations

• The Web fuelled expectation information should be open

• Government requirement for open public data has grown

• The Open Data agenda now covers:

• Transparency• Economic growth• Research

www.bl.uk 6

BL Open Metadata Strategy

We offer metadata to promote:

• Innovation – by removing unnecessary barriers

• Migration from local formats - to cross domain standards

• Collaboration - with new user communities

www.bl.uk 7

BL Open Metadata Strategy

Includes offerings for:

• Libraries - MARC21 & Z39.50

• Researchers - RDF/XML & .CSV

• Linked Data Users - RDF & SPARQL

www.bl.uk 8

Results

• 1090 user organisations in 105 countries

• Collaborations with Microsoft, UK Government & developers on technical, standards & licensing challenges

• Linked Open BNB• Cabinet Office exemplar & selected for

UK National Information Infrastructure• 2 million transactions monthly

• 95% Satisfaction Rating

www.bl.uk 9

Why Work on Linked Open Library Data?

• Concept of open & connected information - fits well with libraries

• Participation in the new landscape – improves access to knowledge & culture

• The promise of a reusable global data pool – should enable libraries to add unique value

Dickens, Charles

Resource ID

Great Expectations

Resource ID

Sketches

Boz

Has Title

Has Author Has Author

Has Title

Resource ID

Sunday Under Three Heads

Sparks, Timothy

Has Author

Has Title

www.bl.uk 10

Why Choose the BNB for LOD?

Reusable publications dataset - not unique catalogue

Permissive License – CC0

Includes: People, Places, Dates, Subjects

Consistent over 60 years

Underlined our commitment

www.bl.uk 11

Linking

To give data broader context we linked to:

• General resources:• GeoNames

• Lexvo

• RDF Book Mashup

• Library resources:• LCSH

• VIAF

• Dewey.info

www.bl.uk 12

How?MARC21 to RDF Conversion Workflow

Full BNB MARC21

File

Transform to RDF/XML using

XSLT

Load to Linked Data Platform

Generate RDF Triple Dump

BNB RDF/XML file

Select records

Convert to pre-composed UTF-8

Normalise for improved

matching & transforms

Create BL URIs and add external

URIs by matching

MARCPre-Processing

Load to BL Downloads page

Process• Selection• Character set conversion• Pre-processing• URI generation• Data transformation• Create & load triples• Produce VoiD descriptions

Tools• Catalogue Bridge Utilities • MARC Global/MARC Report http://www.marcofquality.com/• Jena Eyeball http://jena.sourceforge.net/Eyeball/

www.bl.uk 13

Access Options

.

BNB 1950-2012 3.5 Million Records

98 Million Unique Triples

• bnb.data.bl.uk/sparql

• thedatahub.org/dataset/bluk-bnb-basic

• www.bl.uk/bibliographic/download.html

• bnb.data.bl.uk

www.bl.uk 14

Lessons Learned - Linked Data

• Use the opportunity to review & remodel your data

• Plan for service support & identifier persistence

• Try to move beyond data dumps & silo sites

www.bl.uk 15

Lessons Learned – Communication

• Expertise & abilities vary - new user groups require new communication methods

• Clearly explain data & its uses – via examples

• Document your data – e.g. identify entities (places, people, dates etc.)

• Partner with researchers & developers – learn together & build communities of interest

www.bl.uk 16

Lessons Learned - Data

• You understand your data – but need to show its relevance to others

• Offer samples for comment –identify user needs & continually improve

• Conversions highlight old issues - & often create new ones

• Actively license derived data - to support linked open services

015964007

Great Expectations

011931834

Sketches

Has Title

Has Author ID

Has Author ID

Has Title

011931862

Sunday Under Three Heads

Has Author ID

Has Title

http://viaf.org/viaf/

88666393

www.bl.uk 17

Lessons Learned – Expectations

• One size doesn’t fit all – different users = different needs

• How to capture usage, value & attribution – to maintain funding

• Need to ensure evolving expectations are met – Community, libraries, Government etc.

Ownership/Licensing

agreements

Legislation (e.g. Data

Protection Act)

Organisational Restrictions

Technical issues (e.g. non-standard

formats)

Policy on sharing with for profit

organisations etc

Organisational Restrictions

Ownership/Licensing

agreements

Legislation (e.g. Data Protection

Act)

Organisational Restrictions

Technical issues (e.g.

non-standard formats)

Policy on sharing with

for profit organisations

etc

Scope

Format?

Coverage?

Delivery options? (e.g. Web, FTP etc)

Level of user support?

Rights

To use for any purpose forever?

To adapt & improve?

To redistribute?

To release to the community?

FreeFreeOfferingOffering

www.bl.uk 18

Lessons Learned - Efficiencies

• Flexibility of linked data store

• Improved visibility of unique material

• New perspectives on your data – e.g. Controlled fields

• Better return on investment - via increased utility & flexibility

“Linking Open Data cloud diagram, by Richard Cyganiak and Anja Jentzsch. http://lod-cloud.net/”

www.bl.uk 19

Final Thoughts

Linked Library Data:

• Can reach a wider audience - offering greater value

• Isn’t a ‘magic bullet’ – but can be a valuable tool

• May not be ultimate solution – but libraries can learn much & contribute valuable experience

www.bl.uk 20

Final Thoughts

• Better web integration of our resources increases visibility to new groups - Wider utility = wider relevance

• Linked Data offers libraries new opportunities - authority, persistence & stability being key to the emerging infrastructure

See: http://vimeo.com/36752317

www.bl.uk 21

For More Information Visit…

http://www.bl.uk/bibliographic/datafree.html

http://bnb.data.bl.uk/faqs

http://bnb.data.bl.uk/getting-started

http://bnb.data.bl.uk/docs

http://twitter.com/#!/BLMetadata

metadata@bl.uk

http://www.bl.uk/bibliographic/datafree.html

Thank you for attending this ALCTS program

Your feedback is important to us!Using the QR code or URL below please take a

moment to complete a short online evaluation form and enter to win the ALCTS prize drawing.

http://tinyurl.com/alcts-ac14-eval

#alctsAC14