OCLC, Library of Congress and linked data: there is strength in numbers
Few days ago, OCLC and Library of Congress have made to know a very interesting executive summary of a white paper, Common Ground: Exploring Compatibilities Between the Linked Data Models of the Library of Congress and OCLC, about the compatibility of linked data initiatives at both institutions. More specifically, between the Bibliographic Framework Initiative (BIBFRAME) at the Library of Congress and the Schema.org and BiblioGraph.net application profiles at OCLC.
Beyond the advance and future research lines of confluence between OCLC and the Library of Congress initiatives, this executive summary shows to what extent the linked data are in the forefront of the most important library organizations of the world. How libraries are conscious that the future of information retrieval, discovery and access depends on the Web in a collaborative sense. That means they have to get out of its comfortable zone and to promote the interoperability of its data with agents of other communities. Linked data is here to stay!
Enjoy it!
Andreu Sulé
University of Barcelona