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Wikidata has been touted for its potential to be an authority linking hub as it provides the mechanism to connect to a few thousand different types of external identifiers, i.e. concepts from different thesauri and controlled vocabularies (Neubert, 2017). Common vocabularies like VIAF, ISNI, LCSH, LCNAF, FAST, AAT, ULAN, GeoNames, etc. have been, at least, partially mapped to Wikidata. How can cultural heritage institutions leverage this foundation built by Wikidata to enhance the discovery experience of users? The subject knowledge cards available for all items in the Michigan State University Libraries digital repository utilize the URIs of subject terms in metadata records as an entry point to connect to rich linkages provided in Wikidata entries. The card captures contextual information of the subject in focus by pulling information from Wikidata and linked DBpedia. It also provides links to semantically related resources from the library catalog and selected scholarly databases by using Wikidata as an interchange to trace equivalent concepts used in different systems. With linkages to external resources, users are no longer confined to a single silo but able to navigate an integrated network of resources beyond the immediate system.

Given the ever-dwindling resources assigned to metadata creation, individual libraries are hard-pressed to create and maintain high quality traditional metadata across-the-board, let alone to prepare and transform legacy data into linked data. Coming up with no additional support by looking inside, one should look outside for resources that can help mitigate the situation. Nowadays, libraries no longer monopolize metadata creation. More and more special domain communities have set up Wikipedia-like crowd-sourced portals to serve information needs of their members. At the same time, there are international initiatives in the library community to set up data stores for linked data sets. Can the library tap into these rich information resources, in an efficient way, to enrich library metadata in the traditional way as well as prepare the legacy data for the big migration? This presentation will discuss how Michigan State University Libraries is able to harvest selected metadata from various library and non-library community based portals through APIs (Application Programming Interface) in a batch and automated fashion to enrich existing metadata of a popular music collection and enhance them with URIs for linked data conversion down the road.

This poster presents using the Data Assessment Framework at the library scale to better understand existing library assets. From the DAF report, 16 milestones were created to better focus repository development.

An overview of a 2 year investigation and pilot repository built around an ETD collection.

This poster describes the possibility and a use case for using linked open data in conjunction with library data such as Electronic Theses and Dissertation metadata in order to draw a picture of research landscapes including disciplinary and campus connectedness.

Metadata generation oftentimes involves not just a single source but rather a tributary system of interoperating technical processes and workflows during capture. New methods of capture such as automated extraction of technical metadata creates a more robust archival record that will improve our ability to curate digital objects.

This poster was an early mock up of a workflow to integrate Archivematica and Islandora.