Tag: Basics and Resources

Basics and Resources Series 2016

Last year we created a Basics and Resources series to introduce some common library technology topics.  As you can guess from the name, in each article we introduced the basic concepts and listed resources where you could learn more.  Based on feedback, these articles proved very popular and we will be posting more in the coming year.

The Basics and Resources articles from 2016 were:

Linked Data

Linked Data mugLinked Data is a set of practices which involves the publishing, sharing, and connecting of related data across the Web in a structured format, preferably using an open access license.

Read Linked Data: Basics and Resources.

BIBFRAME

BIBFRAMEBIBFRAME is a bibliographic framework for the description of physical and online objects to make them accessible on the Web by using a standard Linked Data model. It is a replacement for MARC.

Read BIBFRAME: Basics and Resources.

Altmetrics

Altmetric ScoreAltmetrics are “alternative metrics” to measure the influence and reach of scholarly output on the Web through peer-review counts, influential news sites and blog posts, citation manager bookmarks such as Mendeley, Wikipedia citations, and social media mentions on sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Read Altmetrics: Basics and Resources.

API

API GraphicAPI stands for Application Programming Interface which allows external applications to access software or Web services data, in the latter case by using HTTP request messages, for recombination (mashup) or custom presentation by the external application.

Read API: Basics and Resources.

We will keep a current list on the Basics and Resources Series page.

API: Basics and Resources

API stands for Application Programming Interface which allows external applications to access software or Web services data, in the latter case by using HTTP request messages, for recombination (mashup) or custom presentation by the external application.

Why use APIs?

Application programming interfaces essentially allow programs and online services to talk to each other.  APIs provide a set of definitions and protocols for services to request and exchange data.  Many library vendors provide public and key-based APIs to their services in order to allow customers to pull bibliographic and other data into local systems and websites.

The Basics

For our purposes, we’ll only look at Web APIs.

Web services and applications exchange data through APIs using a request and response system.  The exchange uses HTTP and HTTPS (secure HTTP) like regular Web requests, however the data isn’t formatted for people to read but rather for other services.  The data format is usually expressed in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) or Extensible Markup Language (XML).

API Graphic

Continue reading “API: Basics and Resources”

Altmetrics: Basics and Resources

Altmetrics are “alternative metrics” to measure the influence and reach of scholarly output on the Web through peer-review counts, influential news sites and blog posts, citation manager bookmarks such as Mendeley, Wikipedia citations, and social media mentions on sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Why understand altmetrics?

Altmetric ScoreAltmetrics go beyond the traditional citation metrics to take into consideration how scholarly output such as journal articles and research datasets are being cited and shared by others on the Web in order to measure influence. They are meant to complement tradition metrics, not replace them.

Altmetrics counts (and scores) are updated much more quickly than traditional citation counts so are especially helpful with “hot topics” getting mainstream attention where citation counts can lag by months and even years.

The Basics

Altmetrics are basically counts of mentions and links to scholarly journals and datasets from reputable news sites (and aggregators) and blogs, peer-reviewed sites, reference managers, and major social media sites.  The company Altmetric uses a weighted score with a Twitter post counting as 1 point, a news article counts 8, a blog is 5, and a Wikipedia link is 3. Sources counting less than 1 point include Facebook and YouTube at 0.25 point and LinkedIn at 0.5.

Wiley added altmetrics to Wiley journal articles in the Wiley Online Library in 2014.  Elsevier added Altmetric scores Scopus in 2012 and to ScienceDirect in a pilot project in late 2013, but in 2015 switched to their own altmetrics system for ScienceDirect and Scopus.

We are seeing altmetrics incorporated into several library products. Two of the most prominent companies, Altmetric and EBSCO’s Plum Analytics, provide altmetrics to vendors for inclusion in services such as discovery tools and institutional repositories.

ProQuest Central Altmetric BadgeIn October 2015, ProQuest announced the addition of Altmetric badges to 360 Link and ProQuest databases.  On the abstract page of some scholarly journal articles in ProQuest databases will be displayed an Altmetric badge with basic details of the article’s reach on the Web.  Users can click through to see the complete details page [Altmetric.com version].

In February of this year ProQuest added altmetrics to its Summon service for free.  Libraries using Summon simply need to turn on the feature.  If available, search results will show an Altmetric score.  Hovering over this button (see below) shows more detailed counts.  Like above, users can click through to see the complete details page.  This same information can be displayed in the right-side preview panel.

Summon Search Results Altmetrics

Plum Analytics’ PlumX Metrics integrates with institutional repositories and categorizes metrics into five separate types:

  1. Usage – clicks, downloads, views, library holdings, video plays
  2. Captures – bookmarks, code forks, favorites, readers, watchers
  3. Mentions – blog posts, comments, reviews, Wikipedia links
  4. Social media – +1s, likes, shares, tweets
  5. Citations – PubMed Central, Scopus, patents

Unlike Altmetric, PlumX does not give a score.  At the bottom of the abstract and information page, PlumX displays a count of these metrics by category with a link to see details.

PlumX Institutional Repository Summary

Impactstory is another service providing altmetrics.  Its focus is on individuals who want to learn the impact of their research output. It’s an open-access website which you can access with an ORCID.

Resources

Here are some great online resources to learn about altmetrics:

Altmetrics: a Manifesto – Definitive post from altmetrics.org.

#altmetrics – Twitter hashtag.

Against the Grain – Link to the article “Altmetrics: Documenting the Story of Research” (2016).

arXiv – Link to the article “Altmetrics in the wild: Using social media to explore scholarly impact” (2012).

Impactstory blog – Link to blog post “4 things every librarian should do with altmetrics” (2014).

Mendeley Altmetrics Group – A group to “discuss new approaches to the assessment of scholarly impact based on new metrics.”

NISO Altmetrics Initiative – Project to create standards and best practices for altmetrics.

Here are some popular books about altmetrics:

Altmetrics by Robin Chin Roemer and Rachel Borchardt

AltmetricsThis title is actually an issue of Library Technology Reports from ALA Tech Source.  The report “outlines both the promises and major obstacles faced by the field of altmetrics” as well as covers the librarian’s role in providing education and support of altmetrics. Published in 2015.

View details and find a place to buy or borrow at Google Books.

Altmetrics: A Practical Guide for Librarians, Researchers and Academics edited by Andy Tattersall

Altmetrics: A Practical Guide for Librarians, Researchers and AcademicsThis forthcoming book gives an overview and the theory behind altmetrics.  It looks at the ways libraries can utilize altmetrics and educate researchers.  To be published in June 2016.

View details and find a place to buy or borrow at Google Books.

Altmetrics for Information Professionals: Past, Present and Future by Kim Johan Holmberg

Altmetrics for Information Professionals: Past, Present and FutureThis scholarly book looks at key altmetrics research innovations.  It presents the data sources used.  Finally, it looks to the future to determine alternative metric trends.  Published in 2015.

View details and find a place to buy or borrow at Google Books.

BIBFRAME: Basics and Resources

BIBFRAME is a bibliographic framework for the description of physical and online objects to make them accessible on the Web by using a standard Linked Data model. It is a replacement for MARC.

Why the move to BIBFRAME?

The Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC) standard was developed over forty years years ago to make bibliographic records usable by computers.  MARC records were the basis for online public library catalog (OPAC) records to make items searchable in library catalogs. This sufficed until the 1990s and the rise of the Internet.

However, MARC was so entrenched that it took another decade before the Library of Congress made the first move towards converting MARC to a Web standard with MARCXML.  This schema essentially reformatted the MARC record fields and subfields into an XML schema but was not an entirely new model.  MARCXML wasn’t widely adopted.

So in 2011 the Library of Congress, along with the consulting company Zepheria, set out to create a new bibliographic framework called BIBFRAME to make library records conform to Web standards. BIBFRAME is a web-first Linked Data model intended to make library records accessible to the Web at large.

The Basics

BIBFRAMEThe BIBFRAME initiative was announced in an open letter “A Bibliographic Framework for the Digital Age” (dated October 31, 2011) by Deanna Marcum from the Library of Congress. In this letter it was recognized that the MARC record was outdated and a new format was needed for the Internet age.

So BIBFRAME was developed on the RDF model using Linked Data through the Bibliographic Framework initiative.  Its current draft specification is version 2.0.

The BIBFRAME Model consists of the following core classes:

  • Creative Work – a resource reflecting a conceptual essence of the cataloging item.
  • Instance – a resource reflecting an individual, material embodiment of the Work.
  • Authority – a resource reflecting key authority concepts that have defined relationships reflected in the Work and Instance. Examples of Authority Resources include People, Places, Topics, Organizations, etc.
  • Annotation – a resource that decorates other BIBFRAME resources with additional information. Examples of such annotations include Library Holdings information, cover art and reviews.

BIBFRAME Model

Within the Vocabulary of BIBFRAME there is a current total of 53 classes and subclasses falling under Resource such as Work, Instance, Authority, and Annotation.  A BIBFRAME Resource can have 289 current properties such as absorbedBy, classificationLcc, doi, format, relatedInstance, title, uri, to give just a few examples.

A good explanation of BIBFRAME was given in an ALCTS webinar titled “From MARC to BIBFRAME: An Introduction” by Victoria Mueller from Zepheira and Carolyn Hansen from the University of Cincinnati.

With millions of MARC records created over the last several decades, an obvious question arises: How will MARC records be converted into BIBFRAME?  The Library of Congress addressed this need in their paper “Bibliographic Framework as a Web of Data” (see Resources below):

A key part of supporting the BIBFRAME model is in providing tools and supporting services for helping migrate from MARC to a Linked Data environment. They should provide a means of navigating the output of a declarative BIBFRAME pipeline which takes existing MARC 21 data and translates this to the BIBFRAME model.

BIBFRAME.ORG offers a MARC to BIBFRAME Transformation Service to convert MARCXML files.  There is also an experimental open source marc2bibframe XQuery utility from the Library of Congress (and a Python version by Zepheira).

Resources

Here are some great online resources to learn about BIBFRAME:

  • BIBFRAME Editor – Open source editing software downloadable from Github.
  • BIBFRAME FAQ – Frequently asked questions and answers from the Library of Congress.
  • BIBFRAME Listserv – Bibliographic Framework Transition Initiative Forum.
  • BIBFRAME.ORG – Is an index site to BIBFRAME Initiative, Model & Vocabulary, and Implementation and Testing sites.
  • Bibliographic Framework Initiative – Library of Congress website with official BIBFRAME information, specifications, FAQ, tools, news, and more.
  • Zepheira – Linked Data and BIBFRAME training from the company which was consulted by the Library of Congress to develop the BIBFRAME specifications.

Here are some popular papers about BIBFRAME:

BIBFRAME AV Assessment: Technical, Structural, and Preservation Metadata by Bertram Lyons and Kara Van Malssen

BIBFRAME AV Assessment: Technical, Structural, and Preservation MetadataThis paper, undertaken on behalf of the Library of Congress, investigates how metadata of audiovisual material can be best handled using BIBFRAME.  Sections cover preservation, structural, and technical metadata.   Appendices give examples of video, audio, and film examples.  Published in 2015, revised January 4, 2016.

Access the full-text paper (PDF).

Bibliographic Framework as a Web of Data: Linked Data Model and Supporting Services by the Library of Congress

Bibliographic Framework as a Web of Data: Linked Data Model and Supporting ServicesStraight from the source, this paper is an early look into the BIBFRAME model to introduce the subject and begin discussion.  It covers the four classes (Creative Work, Instance, Authority, and Annotation) and vocabulary.  The papers covers related initiatives such as OCLC’s WorldCat, Schema.org, RDA, and FRBR.  Published in 2012.

Access the full-text paper (PDF).

The Relationship between BIBFRAME and OCLC’s Linked-Data Model of Bibliographic Description: A Working Paper by Carol Jean Godby

The Relationship between BIBFRAME and OCLC’s Linked-Data Model of Bibliographic Description: A Working Paper“This document describes a proposed alignment between BIBFRAME and a model being explored by OCLC with extensions proposed by the Schema Bib Extend project, a W3C-sponsored community group tasked with enhancing Schema.org to the description of library resources.”  The paper also covers FRBR and gives examples of BIBFRAME in Turtle and RDF/XML syntax.  Published in 2013.

Access the full-text paper (PDF).

Linked Data: Basics and Resources

Linked Data is a set of practices which involves the publishing, sharing, and connecting of related data across the Web in a structured format, preferably using an open access license.

Why use Linked Data?

Using Linked Data is a way to make online library resources—even those items having metadata and located in online library catalogs—accessible to the Web at large by publishing the data in a standard, openly-accessible way.

Properly described and published, online library resources could be harvested by search engines and linked to from other online resources.  In order to do this, Linked Data must be structured in a standard way for the Web.

On the cataloging and description side, Linked Data from online resources such as the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) can serve as global authority records.

The Basics

Linked Data mugTim Berners-Lee defined his four principles of Linked Data in 2009:

  1. Use URIs as names for things
  2. Use HTTP URIs so that people can look up those names
  3. When someone looks up a URI, provide useful information, using the standards (RDF*, SPARQL)
  4. Include links to other URIs so that they can discover more things.

Linked Data has two components: URI and RDF.

URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) is a location as name of a digital resource on the Web, typically given in the form of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that also gives the protocol (ex. HTTP) of accessing it.

RDF (Resource Description Framework) is a standard structured file (often in XML) which describes a digital resource and contains URIs.

For a Linked Data statement, you need three components: subject, predicate, and object.  These together are referred to as a triple.

<subject> <predicate> <object>

Subject – what’s being described and linked, a URI or blank node.
Predicate – describes the connection, always a URI.
Object – the resource being linked to, a URI, literal, or blank node.

<Atlas Shrugged> <was created by> <Ayn Rand>

One framework for moving library metadata records into Linked Data format is BIBFRAME, the replacement for MARC being developed by the Library of Congress and others.  We will continue to see new tools created for the conversion of library metadata formats (such as Dublin Core) into Linked Data formats (such as RDF/XML and Turtle).

Finally, as more library records are converted and made available as Linked Data, we will see library vendors start to utilize Linked Data in their products.  For example, Ex Libris recently announced that the company has launched a program to “harness linked data technology in its resource management and discovery solutions” and published the paper Putting Linked Data at the Service of Libraries.

Resources

Here are some great online resources to learn about Linked Data:

Articles and books about Linked Data and libraries:

Common Ground: Exploring Compatibilities Between the Linked Data Models of the Library of Congress and OCLC by Carol Jean Godby and Ray Denenberg

Common Ground: Exploring Compatibilities Between the Linked Data Models of the Library of Congress and OCLC“Jointly released by OCLC and the Library of Congress, this white paper compares and contrasts the compatible linked data initiatives at both institutions. It is an executive summary of a more detailed technical analysis that will be released later this year.”  Published in 2015.

Access the abstract and full-text article (PDF).

Library Linked Data in the Cloud: OCLC’s Experiments with New Models of Resource Description by Carol Jean Godby, Shenghui Wang, and Jeffrey K. Mixter

Library Linked Data in the Cloud: OCLC's Experiments with New Models of Resource DescriptionPart of the “Synthesis Lectures on the Semantic Web: Theory and Technology” series.  OCLC looks at Linked Data in cataloging and its products.  Topics include authority records including VIAF, cataloging and FRBR, text mining, and the library Linked Data cloud.  Published in 2015.

Watch the companion video (59:50).

View details and find a place to buy or borrow at Google Books.

Library Linked Data: Research and Adoption by Erik T. Mitchell

Library Linked Data: Research and AdoptionThis title is actually an issue of Library Technology Reports from ALA Tech Source.  The report covers basic metadata in libraries and museums, Linked Open Data (LOD), case studies including BIBFRAME, and “issues, opportunities, and trends” in metadata. Published in 2013.

View details and find a place to buy or borrow at Google Books.

Linked Data for Libraries, Archives and Museums: How to Clean, Link and Publish your Metadata by Seth van Hooland and Ruben Verborgh

Linked Data for Libraries, Archives and Museums: How to Clean, Link and Publish your MetadataIn this book published by the American Library Association, the authors cover Linked Data and focus on the metadata standards supporting it. They present key concepts of metadata including metadata modelling, cleaning, reconciling, enriching, and publishing. Published in 2014.

View details and find a place to buy or borrow at Google Books.