Chapter 4: RDA in RDF

Abstract

The development of new cataloging rules that are based on the domain model provided by FRBR affords an opportunity to “data-fy” the underlying elements of the cataloging activity. In conjunction with members of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, the data elements identified in RDA have been defined using current Semantic Web standards. The elements now exist in an openly accessible registry on the Web where they can be downloaded and used by anyone wishing to describe bibliographic data. This work dovetails with similar efforts at the Library of Congress to define its key vocabularies in another Semantic Web format, SKOS. Together, these registered data elements can form the basis of a new generation of library data that can interact in the larger information space of linked data on the Web.