February 23 LD4L Workshop breakout session: Community Building

facilitator: Tom Cramer

Table 1

• look at existing community structures, like LODLAM et. al.
• build community through practice:
  • Tools
  • Methods
  • Use cases?
  • "Profiles"
• Non-Library community, crowdsourcing
• Existing players, like vendors, search etc.
• New community group, or glom on / co-opt existing structures?
• Baby steps, quick wins, simple tools

Table 2

• implementing tools
• archives & museums in particular really need skill development in LOD
  • But use it or lose it – can't just train 
• Look at other, existing communities: LODLAM, Europeana, DPLA? IDH projects, SWIB, ALA
• Market useful things, not linked data
• Sharing data, finding data
• international, multilingual communities

Table 3

• Organize & publish best (or some) practice
  • we can't define best practice right now
• Useful tools in library
• Partnerships with non-libraries and open Web
• Ontologies: microcommunities. There will never be a single to rule them all
• End users <-- software developers --> Data providers
  • software devs are the connective tissue between data and users
  • they need things: 
    • data 
    • platforms
    • education
• Find/adopt a central org to serve as a hub for LOD in LAMs (NISO, LC, etc.)
  • Or not?
  • LOD is inherently distributed...
    • but we're too distributed / ethereal right now

Table 4

• Void in community right now
  • even the VIVO people don't talk to digital repository people in our own orgs
• problem when people try to do Whole stack? technology implementation + top down community direction + own relationship to users. Need better separation of concerns
• Cross domain is hard – people tend to divide up and talk to each other, in their own echo chambers
• We really need connections to industry and research
• is LD4L too narrow? isn't LD "4" everyone?
• Who's not here?
  • Lotsa libraries (including Special libraries, publics, states)
  • Catalogers
  • Semantic Web industry
  • Information Management industry
• What do we do to forge links?
  • List touchpoints just out of scope
  • Do outreach
  • Invite people in