APLA 2019

The transition from the MARC format to a linked data capable framework (BIBFRAME) will fundamentally change how libraries operate. Besides re-imagining how metadata is created and accessed, it will facilitate improved connection to datasets and vocabularies outside of our institutions. MARC has been the international standard for the distribution of library metadata since 1973, and for the past 45 years the MARC “container” has enabled libraries from around the world to share descriptive metadata with each other. However, with the growth of the Semantic Web and linked data over the past 15 years, librarians have increasingly found MARC to be problematic when sharing metadata outside of our domain.
As we begin to look beyond MARC, we are still left with many unanswered questions around what comes next and how linked data and BIBFRAME will be implemented in Canadian libraries.

This half day conference will provide an introduction to linked data, discuss BIBFRAME and its development, review various library initiatives working toward implementation, as well as look at some library linked data projects not directly related to BIBFRAME. The preconference will end with a discussion about alternatives to BIBFRAME some libraries are considering, and what libraries can do to start preparing their catalogues for the transition to a linked data environment.