Ellen Sawatzky
RTPP Research Assistant
I was fortunate enough to attend some of the talks at the Semantic Web in LibrariesSWIB25 conferencethis November as a part of the RTPP team. This event is a gathering of librarians, researchers, and IT staff from all over the world discussing Linked Open Data (LOD) in libraries and related organizations. I was able to engage with some interesting talks on semantic modeling issues and the technical solutions that are being developed.
The keynote address fromBrewster Kahlewith theInternet Archivehighlighted the need for libraries and archives to work together and the positive signs of collaborating he’s seen over the years. We had an interesting Q&A discussing policies of libraries remaining “radically open” in light of data threats and fear of publishers push back.
It was interesting to hearTracy Arndtspeak about the WASH (Web Archive Shapes and Schema) data model. An ongoing project working to enhance discoverability and visibility, increase interoperability, and support data flow of in house web archive.Martynas Juseviciuspresented on Linked Data Hub and gave an interesting web-algebra demo.Thomas Kerbouldiscussed the complexities of mapping ontologies and enhancing authority files SPARQL federated searches.
I was particularly interested in the work discussed byShuai Wangregarding multilingual structured vocabularies. Particularly with a focus onHomosaurus(an international LGBTQ+ linked data vocabulary) and other similarly great projects, developing glossaries and clear standards are recommended. There was a self-assessment report template discussed to support those doing this important work to ensure clarity, consistency, cultural sensitivity, inclusivity, and transparency in the process and project.
It’s exciting to see all the work and projects being done internationally to move metadata capabilities and applications forward, and to expand the perspectives and voices heard. I’m looking forward to continuing working on the Respectful Terminology Platform Project and apply what I’ve learned.
