Navigating Open Waters: Online Access to Cultural Information

Two projects that take different approaches to opening and enhancing access to cultural information will be presented. The Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) presentation will discuss a recently completed pilot project to demonstrate the feasibility of providing enhanced access to digital cultural and heritage content through a Linked Open Data (LOD) model. We worked with 8 art institutions, converting their data to RDF and mapping to the CIDOC CRM and other ontologies, and building a demonstration application with data visualizations and faceted search. This presentation will look at the model for the project, and our plans to expand the demonstration project to modernize Artefacts Canada (Canada’s national repository of museum records) using an LOD approach. The Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation (CSTMC), which includes the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum and the Canada Science and Technology Museum, is increasing open access to its research and information assets. CSTMC’s presentation will discuss the logistical and cultural challenges and advantages of opening up, in real time, its unpublished, working documents to public access in its OpenHeritage portal. Type of Session Presentation Speakers Session Leader : Sheila Carey, Audience & Program Analyst, Canadian Heritage Information Network Co-Presenter : Fiona Smith Hale, Chief Knowledge Officer, Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation MCN2016 Presenting Sponsor: Piction New Orleans, LA