The Evolution of BIBFRAME: from MARC Surrogate to Web Conformant Data Model

Abstract

Initiated in 2011 by the Library of Congress, BIBFRAME is intended to become the international standard for encoding library metadata so as to make it understandable to the semantic web. The development process has been an evolutionary one, however, as the standard itself needed to be revised to meet best practices of the Resource Description Framework (RDF) and extended to encompass non-book materials such as performed music, art objects, or cartographic materials. BIBFRAME 2.0 has now been released and has been put into practice in both the United States, Europe, and Asia.