Chapter 1: Library Data in the Web World

Abstract

Library data has been designed to be read and interpreted by the librarians and users who are the end users of the catalog. Today's data, however, needs to be managed and interpreted by computers and integrated into myriad applications that are part of the growing web of services on the Internet. In particular, the Semantic Web technologies being developed put a new emphasis on linking data from disparate sources. To be part of the linked data network, the library world needs to transform its catalog records into true data.