Report of the Stanford Linked Data Workshop

Abstract

The Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources (SULAIR) with the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) conducted at week-long workshop on the prospects for a large scale, multi-national, multi-institutional prototype of a Linked Data environment for discovery of and navigation among the rapidly, chaotically expanding array of academic information resources. As preparation for the workshop, CLIR sponsored a survey by Jerry Persons, Chief Information Architect emeritus of SULAIR that was published originally for workshop participants as background to the workshop and is now publicly available. The original intention of the workshop was to devise a plan for such a prototype. However, such was the diversity of knowledge, experience, and views of the potential of Linked Data approaches that the workshop participants turned to two more fundamental goals: building common understanding and enthusiasm on the one hand and identifying opportunities and challenges to be confronted in the preparation of the intended prototype and its operation on the other. In pursuit of those objectives, the workshop participants produced:
1. a value statement addressing the question of why a Linked Data approach is worth prototyping;
2. a manifesto for Linked Libraries (and Museums and Archives and …);
3. an outline of the phases in a life cycle of Linked Data approaches;
4. a prioritized list of known issues in generating, harvesting & using Linked Data;
5. a workflow with notes for converting library bibliographic records and other academic metadata to URIs;
6. examples of potential “killer apps” using Linked Data: and
7. a list of next steps and potential projects.


This report includes a summary of the workshop agenda, a chart showing the use of Linked Data in cultural heritage venues, and short biographies and statements from each of the participants.

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