Knitting the Semantic Web

Citation

Currie, M. (2008), "Knitting the Semantic Web", Library Management, Vol. 29 No. 8/9, pp. 822-822. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120810917602

Development of the Semantic Web has finally realised the vision of Tim Berners‐Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, of enabling meaningful relationships within the internet. This has significant implications for information managers but as this book argues, these developments have had little impact so far on libraries. Greenberg and Mendez have employed a knitting analogy to illustrate how the Semantic Web is able to apply a supporting and positive relationship akin to knitting fabrics or mending broken bones to the disparate elements of the web. The 13 articles by key figures in its development which have been co‐published simultaneously in Cataloguing & Classification Quarterly address both the theory and exemplar applications of the Semantic Web.

The editors' aim to present the Semantic Web's “foundations, projects and philosophical ideas”. The first part of the book reviews current developments and covers standards and tools such as RDF, schemas, controlled vocabularies and ontologies and SKOS, a new Semantic Web language. Rogers' article on the use of semantic tools in libraries addresses the shortcomings of library automation systems in classifying and managing web resources. This is followed by a range of applications across fields as diverse as physics, biomedicine and identity management on the internet using FOAF. The final article by Stuart Weibel is an endorsement of the role of libraries in Semantic Web development particularly in the management of social bibliographies.

In addressing the impact of the Semantic Web on libraries, Greenberg draws parallels between them in their reasons for development, their focus, their collaborative natures and their emphasis on standards. This is particularly evident in the area of cataloguing, especially in the development of the RDA. Weibel sees the use of FOAF and social bibliographies as impacting on future directions in cataloguing.

While not for the fainthearted in its academic approach which assumes prior knowledge of metadata and web architecture and somewhat uneven in its linguistic style, the book rewards a careful reading leaving the reader with an awareness that the future of information management is very much tied up with Semantic Web developments.