Thing 16. Linked data: Impact for Public Services

Getting Started

For those who don’t work with metadata or have much experience in coding or cataloging, it can be difficult to conceptualize how linked data could change discoverability. Even as we learn about how linked data works, both its benefits and pitfalls, the end result can still be abstract. There are also comparatively few organizations that have experimented with search tools or interfaces in ways that really take advantage of the rich connections that linked data offers. As search engines like Google and websites like Wikipedia are the first point of searching for an increasing number of users, we are seeing changes in search habits. This can lead to some frustration when users who are accustomed to web research that relies on linked data encounter more traditional library catalogs. 

As we delve deeper into the practicalities of linked data, we are just beginning to conduct research into search and discoverability interfaces. Preliminary projects have relied on familiar layouts and tropes within the limits of our existing systems, but linked data gives us the potential to open up many new ways of discovering information. You will see some examples of this in the first Activity. 

Activities

• Read pages 1-5 from the article "Using Linked Data Sources to Enhance Catalog Discovery," published in the open-access journal KULA: Knowledge Creation, Dissemination, and Preservation Studies. Skim the rest of the article for examples of incorporating Knowledge Panels in library catalogs. 
• Watch "What is a Knowledge Panel in Google? Jason Barnard Explains" (07:45)
• Explore at least 2 of the following projects that have begun to enhance their search and tools with linked data:
  • Watch the "About Linked Jazz" video (06:35) and then explore the Linked Jazz interface.
  • Read about The Archeology of Reading project. Watch the video where the developers and scholars discuss the project (07:55). Then use the Advanced Search in the AOR Viewer to find a page that has a specific kind of annotation (i.e. Drawing of an Arrow). Who was the reader and what book are they reading? What other information can you gather from the page?
  • Read about the Drawings of Florentine Painters project that was developed using linked open data, remembering that it "aims to serve as a representative use case." 
    • On the homepage click on either the “Discover Drawings" search button, or select a specific artist to filter to a particular drawing.
    • Once you’ve selected a drawing, look at the information displayed. Do the "Recto Titles" match? If it’s held in a museum, is the link available? From the search results page, look in the upper right corner for the “Graph” and “Statements” buttons to explore how the data is structured on the back end.
  • Read the overview of The Arches Project. Visit the Who is using Arches webpage to explore the website of at least one of the organizations using the software. 

Reflection

Think about how some of these examples both resemble and do not resemble traditional search interfaces. Are there ways they could have better taken advantage of the linked data? What aspects surprised you? What would you have liked to see? Then imagine what future search interfaces could look like. What kinds of information would show up adjacent to each other? What are alternative ways that we could “read” the information when it’s in a linked data format?

Consider sharing your thoughts in the Comments section at the bottom of the page.

Additional Resources

• Projects from the Semantic Lab at Pratt Institute 

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