Semantic Library

A recent email from a colleague reminded me of the project that spurred the development of this blog in the first place, the idea to create a free, grassroots online learning programme to help librarians learn about the semantic web. Somewhere along the way, as these things do, it fell down my list of priorities. And then that was two years ago. So, in case it is of interest to anyone, and since there were some great contributions by a number of people on the wiki and elsewhere, I’ve dropped the content we had back onto the wiki. Please feel free to use it, edit it, contribute what you want, and make something of it!

Semantic Web and Libraries: Outline for a 6 week course

We’re pulling together the content and site for the Semantic Library Learning Program, and one of the questions that has come up is what are the background skills? What do you need to know before you learn about the Semantic Web? The list includes XML, databases, and metadata amongst others.

Another more broadly defined skillset that may be important is Information Architecture. In a recent post, Kathryn Greenhill asks “Information Architecture in Australia – where are the librarians?” Librarians have skills in organising and classifying information, and creating relationships between concepts. Kathryn relates the example of developing thesauri, which most librarians will have done at some point if only at library school. In my most recent role, I used these skills to develop taxonomies, content inventories and site maps for a new website.

Given that much of the semantic web is about organising information and creating meaningful links between concepts, is information architecture a given, or assumed?

On one hand, IA is evolving, and not everyone may agree what what the range of skills and knowledge are within IA that would be useful for the semantic web. The rise of user experience (UX) has muddied the borders of what can be considered IA. Continually raising the skill bar also reduces the number of people who may feel ‘qualified’ to learn about and participate in development of the semantic web. Libraries need people from all parts of the library to be involved in these issues, not all of whom may necessarily have the technical skills or attitudes required, though they may have other skills to bring to the table – experience in client behaviour, or product design, for instance.

On the other hand, the underlying skills of organisation and relationship of information, for the purpose of retrieval, is fundamental to librarianship. It may not be asking too much for librarians to recall these skills, which nearly all will have learned if not regularly put into practice. From there, extending these skills to IA nd the web is not necessarily a great leap.

Should we consider information architecture a ‘prerequisite’ before leaping into the Semantic Web? Leave a comment!

Via Cataloging Futures, a post from Allan Cho about the how and when of learning new skills for digital librarianship:

I’m finding it increasingly my own initiative to get caught up in the literature and the technologies. Who really has time to learn OAI-PMH metadata standards, XML, EAD, and TEI? Many librarians keep abreast of their field — but on top of their current duties. But the problem remains that LIS schools do not to train technicians even though that is what they’re doing – their mandate is to nurture scholars. [...] That has remained the intense tension in the field of LIS since its inception.

LIS is not alone in this – most professions are constantly changing and their members are required to keep up. But while there’s a plethora of short courses, online webinars, conferences, and so on there’s not so many formal certification programs which give structure and recognition to ongoing professional development. It can sometimes be hard for librarians who are moving into, or already in, digital librarianship to work out which skills are in highest demand now and what skills are needed in the future. Add to this fragmentation and specialisation within digital librarianship (repositories, metadata, web development etc) and it becomes very complex.

When it comes to the semantic web RDF, OWL and more are core but it continues to evolve. Taking a look at the Semantic Library wiki, there’s a range of technologies, skills and tools that may be important for libraries but it’s far from definite at this stage.

As for when, it is difficult to find time to learn new things, particularly if you have no way to apply them in your current role. I learn best when I have a project I can apply my learning to, so for example, I started to use wikis in my work with library associations long before I used them in my job. Making time though, is hard, and I’ve posted elsewhere about how and when I keep up -

Lately there’s been a lot of articles advocating library 2.0 in 15 minutes a day, 23 things, and other keep-up hacks, but for me keeping up to date is something that happens through the day, every day. Most things I read come through my aggregator – blogs, links to articles, newsletters; sometimes Twitter, although I do still subscribe to a few email lists. I read them in chunks at lunch, at home and on weekends. I don’t put a time limit on it, but I probably spend a few hours every week.

Iit will always be a challenge, especially for those that Allan mentions who want to keep up with what’s happening now and what’s likely to happen in the future. Another concern is ensuring that you don’t hitch your wagon to the wrong technology – no one wants to feel that they’ve wasted their time learning about something which they’ll never use. Professional development can be as much about trusting that you’re on the right path as it is about learning!

Do you have any tips about how you learn about new trends and technology? Any ideas on how to improve frameworks for learning about the Semantic Web? Leave a comment!

Over on the wiki, we’ve started putting together a very basic outline of what an online course to learn about the Semantic Web and Libraries might look like. My aim is to provide something for the middle-ground of early adopters – those who are enthusiastic about these new technologies and are keen to learn more, but who might not have gotten around to sitting down with a book on RDF yet. I hope it will be a gentle introduction, not overly code-heavy, and with plenty of examples and discussion of practical applications in libraries and research.

Watch us try to build a course from the ground up or get involved and have your say about what your want to learn, or what you might teach!

More details available on the learning program page on the Semantic Library wiki.