[OpenGLAM] Announcement and first call for papers: IFLA 2014 Satellite Meeting - Linked Data in Libraries: Let's make it happen!

[Svensson, Lars]

Date: August 14, 2014 - 9am-5pm
Venue: Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, Site François-Mitterrand

During the past few years, libraries have started experimenting with Linked Data technologies: releasing open data in RDF, merging and aggregating datasets, creating prototypes, proofs of concepts and new applications for their end users, providing data services for developers inside and outside the library domain. Linked Data has been advocated both as a powerful vehicle to help libraries enter the Web and a new interoperability framework which could encourage convergence with other domains and communities such as archives and museums. The promise is also to make library online services more attractive : search engines may be able to link into library catalogues, making thereby much more easy to find entries, books, publications, etc. New library models and standards such as FRBR and RDA are now inspired by RDF and their latest developments encompass the paradigm of the triple.

With the technology becoming mature, it is more than ever necessary to build a Linked Data community in libraries, in order to share not only data, but also tools, lessons learnt and demonstrated benefits of this technology to end users. This one-day event aims at bringing up actual realizations and demonstrating how Linked Data can maximize the benefit of library data for the community at large. The goal of this event is to encourage professionals who have started implementing semantic web projects in libraries to share their feedback and best practices from a real life perspective (and not only from a pure advocacy / experimental angle) with those who are willing to do the same, and also facilitate networking and possibly new projects between them.

This event targets participants ranging from three profile types of professionals:

    motivated librarians interested in Linked Data but not very knowledgeable yet (beginners),
    confirmed digital curators and IT librarians who want to get more in-depth, practical, hands-on experience in development (advanced),
    managers, middle-managers and decision-makers.

We are also interested in having participants and speakers from companies and contractors who have experienced working on Linked Data projects with libraries, not so much from the perspective of promoting a specific product or service, but to share their own vision and feedback in implementing such projects with cultural organizations at large. Dedicated tracks combining plenary sessions, panels and tutorials should accommodate the interests of all participants.

Issues will include technology, architecture and formats of course, but also economic, legal and organizational challenges - all the aspects which need to be taken in consideration to make innovation "happen".

Relevant topics may include:

    feedback on experiments with publishing and linking library data,
    creation of new services based on library linked data,
    institutional, regional or global partnerships derived from linked data initiatives,
    recommendations and experiments with the use of library standards in RDF,-use cases and use scenarios based on library linked data,
    linked data and open data, licensing issues,-reaching out to other, related communities, e.g. publishing, search,
    organizational issues such as training, skill development or funding.


Two types of submissions will be considered:

    full papers: between 1500 and 3000 words. Full papers will be granted 30 minutes presentations and will be published in full on the conference Website according to IFLA rules,
    short presentations: between 200 and 500 words. Short presentations will be granted 15 minutes presentations and slides and abstract will be published on the conference Website.

The language of the conference is English.

By submitting a paper or presentation, you guarantee that at least one of the authors will attend the conference and present the paper or presentation. No funding will be provided by IFLA nor BnF for attendance.

Submissions should be made via Easychair at the following address : https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=iflalld2014

Programme committee co-chairs: Emmanuelle Bermes, Centre Pompidou and Gildas Illien, Bibliothèque nationale de France 

IMPORTANT DATES:
Deadline submission for full papers and short presentations: March 8. 2014
Notification of acceptance: May 9. 2014
Final version of full papers: June 28. 2014
Workshop date: Aug.14. 2014