From Lost to Linked: Actively Exploring Linked Data Through a Cross-departmental Project with Hidden Collections

Cross-departmental preservation and collection management projects that focus on older materials often require metadata/technical services staff to substantially correct and update MARC records. This enhancement of bibliographic metadata often has the purpose of recording and making findable significant and unique information. The Ohio University Libraries (OUL) Historic Books Project – a collaborative endeavor between 4 OUL departments – sought to re-discover and retain hidden books of significance to OUL’s or local history. The MARC records for the material within scope of the project were often decades old and lacking anything beyond rudimentary metadata. This necessitated copy level assessment of materials. The substantial time spent inspecting books and the fascinating pieces discovered were the inspiration to attempt to do more, to look for new opportunities to enhance metadata and findability. Part how-to and part commentary, this presentation will walk through the work undertaken, from transforming MARC records into linked data triples, utilizing Wikidata for identity management, testing linked data publishing opportunities, to creating shareable visualizations. Focusing linked data exploration on a specific project with specific problems ultimately proved fruitful to not only gaining a better understanding of linked data concepts and technologies but also to discovering and exposing hidden collections and connections