Joseph Parker

Joseph Parker

LIS 530

2/25/2026

Joseph Parker-Convert MARC 21 Records to RDF

         It was good to get some practice in working with MARC and getting an idea of how RDF triples work. The Assignment kind of gave us the opportunity to work on both sides of the timeline with the MARC records being a somewhat outdated system that is still widely used and RDF being more widely adopted and seen as the future for record keeping and exchange^[1]. Mapping MARC onto RDF was helpful in building some of that muscle memory around the MARC codes and with an understanding of what the RDF triplicates are meant to be doing. I used Schema.org because of its focus on describing creative works for findability on the web that seemed fitting for the materials I chose to describe. While the triplicates on my canva work are bulky and isolated to that form it is interesting how RDF can be noted in multiple different coding languages as well as in plain text where it can be fairly widely understood by those looking at it.  The idea that Bob is interested in the Mona Lisa^[2] is understandable as a statement and even when split up (Bob)(is interested in)(the Mona Lisa) can still be understood by those reading it but also in JSON, XML, or other languages can then be understood by machines and transferred near instantly. Through these subject predicate descriptions we can, fairly quickly, create linkages that can not only increase findability but connect resources to the semantic web where they can be seen in relation and context to others. As we see in the bob example^[3] RDF descriptions create this level of interconnectivity that allows for

RDF and especially its JSON functionality, with its high level of transferability,  also links back to our earlier readings surrounding digital sovereignty because just as the RDF records can describe attributes of an object in the collection it can be used to describe our users and ourselves. WIth the massive amounts of data that we are leaving behind and the ways that companies can collect and use it^[4] RDF might be a way to bring more authority and potentially control into the digital world. Through digital authentication like (the Department of Motor Vehicles)(verifies)(Joseph Parker) we could then better trust actors on the internet by being able to see that they have these links of authority without necessarily needing to see the documentation that so often leaves these pesky traces all over the internet, this triple would allow other to see that I am who I claim to be without needing to see my address, birthday, and all of the other information, they just need to see the verification. This type of structure under the right schema might bring with it the opportunity to control how or own data is used and by extension be better able to trust other actors in the digital world^[5].

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