4.1 Why use LOD for ancient written artefacts?

In this lesson,  the rationale behind utilising Linked Open Data (LOD) for ancient written artefacts is explored. The lesson adresses the application within the Semantic Web framework, highlighting its role in facilitating data interoperability and integration. Furthermore, the significance of LOD in bibliographic and cultural heritage contexts is examined, highlighting its potential to enhance accessibility and knowledge dissemination. Finally, the importance of selecting an appropriate classification system to effectively organize and navigate LOD resources is explained.

4.1.2 LOD in a bibliographic context

If there is a place where RDF (for a detailed overview, see 4.2. Models for data: triples and RDF) has been used with profit for all, it is bibliography management. Still, many people collect their bibliographic references as copy-pasted formatted strings in their text processor of choice, forcing themselves into perennial and tedious checking and formatting of reference lists and citations. Libraries and catalogues curate precise and validated metadata for each of their bibliographic entries, sometimes also as machine operable data.

It is now more and more common to be able to import and export citations and metadata directly from library catalogues or even publishers, for instance with a Zotero browser plugin. This way, the reference can be easily reused in an article, converted to another reference style, ...

Example

On this web page from publisher De Gruyter, the editor as "provider" of the information publishes among other things the following elements:

<meta
 
property="og:title" 
 
content="Toward a definition of paratexts and paratextuality: The case of ancient Greek manuscripts">

<meta  

property="og:description"  

content="Toward a definition of paratexts and paratextuality: The case of ancient Greek manuscripts was published in Bible as Notepad on page 130.">

The page uses html <meta> elements to embed some information in the page. The attribute property is used to name the property in question. In this case a very useful and common Facebook product is used: the Open Graph protocol (with the prefix "og:"). These Open Graph properties tell Zotero - or any other "consumer" of the information - namely the title of the part of the book, and the description. The provider is regulates this information according to language (e.g., if you import from the German language view, you get the information in German).

This format of embedded information is called RDFa: RDF in attributes. The named property URI is into a specified attribute named "property". In conclusion, the above example is just one of many ways to write a triple like the following:

subject predicate object
<https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/
10.1515/9783110603477-010/html>		 <https://ogp.me/ns#title> "Toward a definition of paratexts and paratextuality: The case of ancient Greek manuscripts"

Although not the only one, this is a very common method for providers and consumers to interact without knowledge of one another's interests and implementation choices. The publisher does its part, delivering the data and using a well-known vocabulary for the properties. The consumer can rely on the format of the embedded information and the values used.

You can also check what Zotero imported: click the newly added item in the library where you saved the item and click export, select among the formats "Zotero RDF". You now have to open a file, similar to the one you obtained from VIAF in the previous part (see 4.1.1 - The Semantic Web).

This RDF is written in a different format, is in RDF XML syntax. Here a different thing is being described, namely the imported item in your library. For example, the title will be found in a triple like the following (where the "og:title" property has been "mapped" to a "dc:title" property):

subject predicate object
<urn:isbn:783110603477> <http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/title> "Toward a definition of paratexts and paratextuality: The case of ancient Greek manuscripts"

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