For MCLS members who are interested in learning more about Linked Data and the new BIBFRAME environment, Zepheira is offering a discounted online training curriculum commencing June 17th through July 29th, 2015.
The Practical Practitioner Linked Data and BIBFRAME Essentials is a self-paced online course; each participant should expect to commit ~10-12 hours of effort. There will be a live (and recorded) office hour session with classmates and Zepheira team members. Following the training, each participant is automatically enrolled into the Alumni group for continued access to existing and future content, an evolving tool suite, bi-monthly meetings, networking events at major conferences, and on-going collaboration.
In the near-term, we foresee that BIBFRAME-based activities like the Libhub Initiative in addition to locally developed academic initiatives will compliment existing PAC and discovery layers access to library resources. The future of Linked Data in library and campus applications looks very bright.
Cost
Normally, the per-person fee is $1,500 per seat; we’ve negotiated a group discount of $645 per person.
Who should attend?
Given the reduction in pricing, institutions may invite as broad an audience as possible including Acquisitions/Collection Development, Cataloging, Metadata Librarians, User Services, Web Developers, IT and Administration (see below for benefits). This course establishes a common vocabulary amongst various departments and provides a foundation for future work.
Benefits and insights for attendees by discipline
Catalogers/Metadata Librarians – While MARC will be in play for many years, BIBFRAME is the planned next generation. It’s worth noting that BIBFRAME records are designed to be a part of the current Web and can co-exist with MARC and existing ILS systems. As part of the course, participants will be able to load small samples of their own MARC data and transform them into linked data resources for evaluation and study. This course will give your organization the heads-up it needs in order to consider the ramifications of this paradigm shift. Those interested in understanding how BIBFRAME will affect Technical Services operations can check out the BIBFLOW project at UC Davis.
Administration – Academic and public library institutions spend vast sums of money on resources – as well as on tools (ILS, PACs, Discovery Layers, Mobile apps, content subscriptions, jacket covers, reviews, etc.) to manage and access those resources. For the Library and Institutional Repositories, BIBFRAME and Linked Data will play a crucial role in making these resources more visible either on the Web, and/or via locally developed solutions.
IT/Web Developers – IT Staff already understand the importance of Web standards and a variety of commercial and open source tools that access and act on Web data. Imagine then, how library data transformed into Web-compatible form may be parsed into sub-collections and elegantly integrated into MOOCs, Moodles, LMSs, and and other creative solutions. To spur your imagination, have a look at the article On BIBFRAME Interfaces: The Application of Linked Data in Libraries by Allison Jai O’Dell of University of Miami.
Acquisitions/Collection Development – How are purchasing decisions made? How effective were those purchases? What if integrating various collections into campus LMSs, MOOCs, etc. could be done more easily than with MARC data? As libraries expose their collection(s) to the Web, they may have new insights into what patrons/students are looking for via Web analytics.
User Access/Public Services – Currently, patrons/students must locate the library Web page, find the “search the catalog” box to enter in their search. Imagine if native Web searches via geo-location brought users back to the Library catalog? How would this impact your department?
For more details and a short video go to:
http://zepheira.com/solutions/library/training/
