RDF for Librarians

Abstract

The RDF model underlying Semantic Web technologies is frequently described as the future of structured metadata. Its adoption in libraries has been slow, however. This is due in no small part to fundamental differences in the modeling approach that RDF takes, representing a "bottom up" architecture where a description is distributed and can be made up of any features deemed necessary, whereas the record-centric approach taken by libraries tends to be more "top down" relying on prespecified feature sets that all should strive to make the best use of. This presentation will delve deeply into the differences between these two approaches to explore why the RDF approach has proven difficult for libraries, look at some RDF-based initiatives that are happening in libraries and how they are allowing different uses of this metadata than was previously possible, and pose some questions about how libraries might best make use of RDF technologies