Welcome to the SALDA project blog. We are very excited to begin this six month JISC funded project to make the records of the Mass Observation Archive at the University of Sussex available as open Linked Data and establish a methodology that can be used to open up our other archives.
Description and Objectives
The SALDA project proposes to establish a methodology that can be used by the University of Sussex to open up metadata using the Linked Data approach. We will use knowledge and expertise already generated on similar projects to convert existing EAD currently available on our internal Archival Management System (CALM) into Linked Data that will be enhanced and made available via XML.
The University of Sussex Special Collections comprise over 100 archival collections translating to 65,000 ISAD(G)-compliant records available on the CALM system. We are concentrating on the largest archival collection held within the Library, the Mass Observation Archive, potentially creating up to 23,000 Linked Data records.
The Key steps are:
1. Export the data from our CALM Archival Management System
2. Transform the data in to Linked Data (Eduserv)
3. Further enhance, complement and refine the data (UKOLN)
4. Publish the data as open Linked Data, as XML and we plan to upload it to the Talis Platform.
The Special Collections Department will move to a new historical resource centre known as The Keep in 2013. The Keep will bring together the collections of East Sussex Records Office, Brighton & Hove City and the University Special Collections under one roof. All three institutions currently use separate databases to record their collections meaning that sharing data about collections is problematic and a solution needs to be found. This project will provide invaluable experience in exporting and reusing our metadata and explore the potential of using this approach to open up the information on holdings between institutions and greatly enhance resource discovery.
We will use the same methodology on the SALDA Project to that which is currently being used on the LOCAH Project, which is taking data from the ArchivesHub and making it available as structured Linked Data. We plan to use the Open Data Commons PDDL licence to ensure the data is open and can be used by others. We will document our experiences on this blog and release any code or templates to help others implement a similar approach.
Alongside making these records available, we propose to work with experts experienced in similar Linked Data projects to draw up a methodology that would then be rolled out to enhance the remaining collections held by the University once the project had been completed. This process would become part of our ongoing cataloguing activities ensuring the objective of the project is sustainable.
Our project plan is available on our about page
