[open-bibliography] Getting started with the Working Group on Open Bibliographic Data

[Jonathan Gray]

Dear Lukas,

My apologies for the misunderstanding! We'd be delighted to have your
input to the group even if you're not able to be very active and
you're not able to make all the virtual meetings. Alternately let me
know (off list?) and I can remove you from the group! ;-)

Happy to answer any questions about the OKF and about the new working
group. A couple of brief things:

  * The Open Knowledge Foundation is a not-for-profit, community
driven organisation dedicated to promoting open knowledge in all its
forms - from sonnets to statistics, genes to geodata. Projects range
from CKAN, an open source registry of open data (recently used in
data.gov.uk) to legal tools for making data open
(opendatacommons.org). We're in the process of establishing a number
of working groups related to open data and open content in different
areas, e.g. open data in science, the public domain, open government
data, and so on.
  * This working group up was set up in the first instance to
strengthen the network of people interested in bibliographic data that
is open as in opendefinition.org. Also in the longer term we hope
there is scope for collaboration on projects related to bibliographic
data. The full statement of purpose can be found on the working group
page: http://wiki.okfn.org/wg/bibliography

Regarding specific projects and activities, at the moment we're
particularly interested in:

  * Sharing best practices, experience and expertise in relation to
opening up bibliographic data. Especially for libraries that are
considering this but perhaps don't know about how to make their data
legally open.
  * Explaining why libraries and other metadata collections might
consider opening up their data - and how doing this might create value
for libraries and library users.
  * Developing systems for the collaborative development of
bibliographic data - e.g. with users, permissions, versioning, etc.
  * Documenting and/or developing projects which reuse open
bibliographic metadata. E.g. representing data on authors and works on
maps, timelines and other visualisation technologies. Cleaning up and
connecting bibliographic datasets to other open datasets (e.g. in
Linked Open Data community).
  * Writing/blogging about the future of bibliographic data. How
bibliographic data can be more effectively shared and updated.

Would greatly appreciate any input/suggestions for list above!

All the best,

Jonathan

On Sat, Feb 27, 2010 at 2:36 PM, Koster, Lukas <L.Koster at uva.nl> wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I am honoured to see my name in the company of so many well known people at
> http://wiki.okfn.org/wg/bibliography.
> However, when I responded to a call on twitter some time ago, I actually
> only said that I was interested in promoting open bibliographic data. But I
> wanted to have more information about the ideas and objectives first. I
> still don't know what the OKF and this working group on open bibliographic
> data actually stand for.
>
> I haven't agreed to actively participate in any kind of steering committee
> or similar. At the moment I do not have the time for monthly calls at all; I
> already have lots of calls for other volunteer groups. The Library of the
> University of Amsterdam, my employer, is currently offering open access to
> their bibliographic data only through the usual interfaces (web, z39.50,
> sru, etc.). They are also strong advocates of open access to scientific
> publications. I managed to get linked data/semantic web/rdf in the short
> term action plans.
>
> So I'm interested in promoting open bibliographic data, but I still have not
> enough information about OKF, and I definitely don't have time for a very
> active, organising role in this group.
>
> Lukas Koster
> Head of Library Systems Department
> Library of the University of Amsterdam
> ________________________________
> Van: okfn.jonathan.gray at googlemail.com namens Jonathan Gray
> Verzonden: wo 24-2-2010 18:05
> Aan: open-bibliography at lists.okfn.org
> Onderwerp: Getting started with the Working Group on Open Bibliographic Data
>
> Welcome to the new list for the Working Group on Open Bibliographic
> Data! A list of current members and the group's purpose is at:
>
>   http://wiki.okfn.org/wg/bibliography
>
> In terms of next steps, the first instance I propose:
>
>   1. We make sure that we have broad representation from existing
> projects and initiatives interested in open bibliographic data. It
> would be great if everyone could cast their eyes over the list to see
> if there are any obvious omissions!
>   2. We find a regular slot to have monthly virtual meetings. I
> suggest we do this on a weekday in the late afternoon/early evening
> GMT, e.g. 1700 GMT / 1800 CET / 0900 PST.
>   3. Once we have done 1. and 2., we aim to launch the working group
> in the next few weeks?
>
> How does this sound?
>
> All the best,
>
> --
> Jonathan Gray
>
> Community Coordinator
> The Open Knowledge Foundation
> http://blog.okfn.org
>
> http://twitter.com/jwyg
> http://identi.ca/jwyg
>
> _______________________________________________
> open-bibliography mailing list
> open-bibliography at lists.okfn.org
> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/open-bibliography
>
>



-- 
Jonathan Gray

Community Coordinator
The Open Knowledge Foundation
http://blog.okfn.org

http://twitter.com/jwyg
http://identi.ca/jwyg