From Local to Shared: Transformative Cataloguing in Interoperable Linked Data Environments

Abstract

Traditional cataloguing workflows have long been framed through a binary distinction between local cataloguing and copy cataloguing. However, the transition toward linked data environments, entity-based models, and interoperable metadata ecosystems is reshaping cataloguing into a more dynamic, collaborative, and distributed practice. This paper proposes a conceptual and operational framework describing the evolution from local and copy cataloguing toward cooperative and shared cataloguing models. In these emerging environments, bibliographic entities are no longer isolated local records or static imported copies, but interconnected data objects continuously enriched, synchronised, corrected, and reused across institutions. Drawing on over ten years of development within the Share Family linked data ecosystem, the paper illustrates how LOD- and BIBFRAME-based infrastructures, shared authority environments, and interoperable APIs enable new cataloguing workflows that combine local autonomy with shared data governance. Through concrete implementations, including the JCricket entity editor and integrations with FOLIO and Alma library services platforms, the paper examines the transition from record transfer workflows to collaborative, entity-based data management. Particular attention is given to the transformation of cataloguing tools and practices: from isolated local editing toward shared environments where multiple institutions collaboratively enrich entities, manage authority control, resolve conflicts, and improve metadata quality. The paper argues that future-ready cataloguing requires flexible and interoperable approaches capable of balancing local needs, shared infrastructures, and global metadata reuse.

Keywords: entity modelling; cooperative cataloguing; Linked Data; shared bibliographic knowledge; knowledge governance