Charged by the Decision and Oversight Committee in September 2017, the UC Libraries Linked Data Project Team supports a deeper understanding within the UC Libraries of the potential benefits of adopting a Linked Data approach to exposing and/or managing metadata in various environments, and the infrastructure required to support implementation of Linked Data system-wide projects in the future. The team has been involved in enumerating and understanding Linked Data use cases with the potential to significantly advance the UC Libraries’ capabilities in meeting the diverse needs of their patrons and stakeholders and/or create back-end efficiencies in the creation and management of the metadata.
The UC Libraries Linked Data Project Team was formally tasked to:
Identify and review key documents from the UCs and other reputable organizations that articulate how Linked Data might support UC Libraries’ strategic priorities.
• Conduct a high-level survey of Linked Data projects recently completed, currently underway, or in the planning stage at UC campus libraries (including those involving collaborations with external organizations).
• Gather descriptive examples of Linked Data approaches to metadata creation and management as employed in large-scale and/or distributed environments (relevant to a UC Libraries systemwide scale).
• Define a set of use cases related to how metadata and/or digital content managed by UC libraries is being, or can be, utilized by users of that content. Use cases should include both current practices as well as potential Linked Data-enabled practices. The design and structure of the use cases will be determined by the project team drawing from best practices in the area of user experience (UX) design.
• Articulate the infrastructure elements required to support the implementation and successful adoption of Linked Data in UC Libraries environments (e.g. digital asset management systems, integrated library systems, data integrations, general web user interfaces, etc.)