Semantic Web in Europeana: an EDM standard approach

Objective. The Semantic Web and Linked Data emphasize on the reuse and linking of richly described resources on the Web. This principles fits the purpose of the Europeana Data Model (EDM), which is to make use of existing resource information as well as to support their enrichment by establishing new relationships between them. The objective of this study is to describe the semantic relationships included in the elements of the EDM, as well as to highlight the advantages of using this model to represent and retrieve information digitized culture on the Web and thus encourage the adoption of semantic methodologies in Brazilian projects. Method. This is a qualitative research, based on a descriptive-document method, regarding the family of EDM documents. First we have identified the concepts and technologies of the Semantic Web and Linked Data, then we analyze the descriptive memoir of the data model of Europeana. We detail the principles and development of EDM, with an emphasis on the semantic elements that support specific functions in Europeana. Results. We have identified the possibilities of connecting data from different institutions in order to complement and enrich the information of the records about a particular cultural heritage object. Conclusions. This study showed that the semantic structure of the EDM constitutes a reference to be followed for publication of data of national Linked Open Data projects to ensure the increasing interconnection of data, to increase the speed of the circulation of the information between the interested parties and accelerate new discoveries