Conversion of MARC21 Bibliographic to LRM/RDA/RDF: Setting the stage and creating the tools
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Date
2025-03-19
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
Abstract
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Advisory Committee on Standards hosted a symposium on metadata, with the theme “Metadata Standards Matter: Building a Sustainable Future for Information” at the National Library of Greece, Athens, on 19 March 2025.
This presentation falls under the Technology Matters subtheme which focuses on the technological advancements that support metadata standards and emerging technologies, including AI.
Emerging linked data technologies promise innovative uses of legacy bibliographic library data in new information landscapes. While many of the necessary technological tools for implementing legacy data as linked data, including models (i.e. IFLA LRM), vocabularies, and mappings, already exist, what is missing is the data itself. To bring legacy bibliographic data into the linked data landscape, it must be represented using entity-based conceptualizations as defined in the core model the library community shares: the IFLA Library Reference Model.
The University of Washington Libraries initiated an open source project to create a robust mapping between the MARC21 bibliographic format and the IFLA LRM as expressed in the RDA/RDF vocabulary, along with a corresponding conversion tool, in 2021. The project aspires to provide a groundwork for adoption of LRM/RDA/RDF based on experimentation with a test dataset. In support for the ongoing integration of IFLA bibliographic standards worldwide, the LRM/RDA/RDF combination of standards was selected because it leverages RDA-based records and is compatible with the ISBD for Manifestation (ISBDM). The project’s selection of a granular data model (the LRM/RDA/RDF ontology) was strategic, as it allows for downstream conversion to less-specific metadata schemas and bibliographic models such as Dublin Core and BIBFRAME in a way that is not possible in the opposite direction.
The Phase I milestone, set for publication in early 2025, focuses on the conversion of the MARC21 fields and subfields defined in the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) Bibliographic Standard Record (BSR). The test dataset consists of a broad pool of legacy MARC21 bibliographic records. The presentation outlines the scope of Phase I, clarifying key decisions related to selection of MARC21 fields/subfields, minting and deduplication of entities, handling of aggregates and serials, and more. Most importantly, the presentation highlights key challenges faced during the project, such as minting entity URIs, reusing identifiers from other vocabularies and datasets, identifying and expressing specific relationships between entities based on MARC21 tags and relator terms, identifying aggregates and their types, publishing supplemental RDF value vocabularies, and handling non-RDA entities. Approaches to these key challenges may differ depending on cataloging policies implemented in the dataset to be transformed. Highlighting those challenges may trigger adaptations of the project’s mappings or transformation code by prospective libraries wishing to leverage the project’s outputs to transform their bibliographic data.
Description
Keywords
Metadata, Linked data, Library reference model