Preserving Legislative History: The Use of Ontologies and Linked Open Data to Visualize the Work of Chilean Parliamentarians

Abstract

Preserving collective memory is essential for strengthening legislative systems and avoiding the repetition of past mistakes. In this context, understanding the historical contributions of parliamentarians—both in legislative processes and cultural production - becomes particularly valuable.

This paper presents an ongoing initiative at the Library of the National Congress of Chile aimed at enhancing access to and understanding of parliamentary work through the use of ontologies and linked open data. The project is based on interdisciplinary collaboration among librarians, historians, legal scholars, and other specialists, with the goal of making the work of Chilean parliamentarians more accessible to a broader audience.

The initiative begins by integrating authority records for parliamentarians with their corresponding bibliographic records in the Horizonte Integrated Library System. Building on this foundation, an ontology is being developed to enable interoperability between these records and other institutional resources, including parliamentary activity and political history. Additionally, the project incorporates external linked data sources—such as Wikidata, the Library of Congress Name Authority File, and VIAF—to enrich and contextualize information about "parliamentarian-authors."

By combining metadata integration, semantic technologies, and linked open data, this work contributes to the preservation and dissemination of Chile's legislative heritage while promoting greater public engagement with parliamentary history.