Columbia University Libraries’ ARTFRAME Project is a domain-specific linked open data (LOD) initiative that focuses on the metadata practices of art libraries and museums. ARTFRAME is part of a $1.5 million Mellon grant awarded to the Linked Data for Production (LD4P) project, which is led by Stanford University. In summer 2016, the Cataloging Advisory Committee (CAC) of ARLIS/NA was invited to join the ARTFRAME project, with other major art institutions such as the Clark Art Institute and the Prints and Photographs Division at the Library of Congress. The ARTFRAME project has a dual purpose: firstly, to explore the suitability of the Library of Congress Bibliographic Framework Initiative (BIBFRAME) for the description of both two-dimensional and three-dimensional art objects; and secondly, to develop an extension to BIBFRAME that caters to the specific needs of the art cataloging and metadata community. As the Mellon grant comes to an end in March 2018, this session will give the speakers an opportunity to inform ARLIS members about the outcome of the project.
The session will consist of three presentations followed by a moderated Q&A period. Jason Kovari’s presentation will examine the larger context of the various domain-specific explorations of BIBFRAME extension development, with particular focus on the overlap between art works and rare materials held in libraries. Melanie Wacker and Amber Billey will then discuss the specifics of the ARTFRAME project including its initial goals, timeline, community outreach, outcome, as well as tools used and lessons learned throughout the project. Finally, Marie-Chantal L’Ecuyer-Coelho will explore the contributions of ARLIS/NA's CAC as a community partner to the ARTFRAME project, highlighting its role in the process of delineating the requirements of art descriptive metadata, and developing an ontology extension suited to the specific characteristics of art objects.