Linking Out, Linking In: Preparing for Linked Data at the University of Alberta

Linked data is an emerging web-native method for publishing and consuming structure (meta)data in order to promote discoverability of, and linkages between, resources. The move to linked data within libraries has been uneven, with lack of skills and expertise as well as practical starter projects often identified as barriers to joining the movement. The University of Alberta Libraries has been working with the Canadian Linked Data Initiative (CLDI), forming partnerships at the local, national, and international levels, and participating in groups and projects aimed at developing standards and practice for linked data in libraries. These partnerships and experiments are being used to guide practice at the local levels. We will give an overview of linked data and its importance to libraries, a survey of ongoing developments in linked data application for libraries, and a view of planned and ongoing projects at the U of A and CLDI as exemplars of possible ways forward.