Star-crossed lovers or heavenly match? ISBD and Linked Data - A Love Story

Abstract

This paper discusses how the ISBD Linked Data Study Group brought together ISBD, IFLA's worldwide-used bibliographic standard, with the technology of Linked Data at the basis of the Semantic Web. The road to this surprising union has not always been a smooth one, but the author is confident that it will be fruitful. The paper focuses on the methodology and achievements of the group, without leaving aside the challenges encountered — and more importantly, those to come. The stakes are high: at a time when both the bibliographic and the outside world are moving fast, it can become increasingly difficult to keep pace with the constant changes. Why bother with ancient standards when new conceptual models are being published every other year — or so it seems? How is interoperability still relevant today when new cataloguing codes are taking over the world? To put it bluntly: what is the point of bibliographic description in the digital world?