Category Archives: data

Build a better registry: My intended comments to the Library of Congress on the next Register of Copyrights

Posted on March 19, 2020 by John Mark Ockerbloom

The Library of Congress is seeking public input on abilities and priorities desired for the next Register of Copyrights, who heads the Copyright Office, a department within the Library of Congress.  The deadline for comments as I write this is … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, data, metadata, open access, serials | Comments Off on Build a better registry: My intended comments to the Library of Congress on the next Register of Copyrights

Forward to Libraries update, and some thoughts on sustainability and scale

Posted on October 3, 2016 by John Mark Ockerbloom

It’s been a while since I posted about Forward to Libraries, but if you’ve been following my Github repo, you may have noticed that it’s had a steady stream of updates and growth.  If making connections across library collections or … Continue reading →

Posted in data, discovery, libraries, metadata, wikipedia | Comments Off on Forward to Libraries update, and some thoughts on sustainability and scale

Public Domain Day 2014: The fight for the public domain is on now

Posted on January 1, 2014 by John Mark Ockerbloom

New Years’ Day is upon us again, and with it, the return of Public Domain Day, which I’m happy to see has become a regular celebration in many places over the last few years.  (I’ve observed it here since 2008.)  … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, data, open access, sharing | 6 Comments

50,000 online book and serial catalog records released as CC0

Posted on August 23, 2013 by John Mark Ockerbloom

What a difference a few years can make.  A few years ago, folks in the library world (myself included) were arguing about whether it was a good idea to let other people copy and build on their catalog records.  Whether … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, data, discovery, metadata, online books, open access, sharing | 6 Comments

Libraries: Be careful what your web sites “Like”

Posted on September 27, 2011 by John Mark Ockerbloom

Imagine you’re working in a library, and someone with a suit and a buzz cut comes up to you, gestures towards a patron who’s leaving the building, and says “That guy you were just helping out; can you tell me … Continue reading →

Posted in crimes and misdemeanors, data, libraries, people, privacy | 2 Comments

The concept of a work in the catalog web

Posted on September 17, 2010 by John Mark Ockerbloom

My previous post showed four examples of web-based catalogs that describe books and other library resources in a FRBR-like manner. They’re oriented around “works” (like Shakespeare’s Hamlet) that are embodied in multiple editions (like the hundreds or thousands of publications … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, data, discovery, formats, metadata, online books, sharing | 1 Comment

Keeping subjects up to date with open data

Posted on July 31, 2010 by John Mark Ockerbloom

In an earlier post, I discussed how I was using the open data from the Library of Congress’ Authorities and Vocabularies service to enhance subject browsing on The Online Books Page.  More recently, I’ve used the same data to make … Continue reading →

Posted in data, discovery, online books, open access, sharing, subjects | 4 Comments

How we talk about the president: A quick exploration in Google Books

Posted on June 20, 2010 by John Mark Ockerbloom

On The Online Books Page, I’ve been indexing a collection of memorial sermons on President Abraham Lincoln, all published shortly after his assassination, and digitized by Emory University.  Looking through them, I was struck by how often Lincoln was referred … Continue reading →

Posted in data, online books, sharing | Comments Off on How we talk about the president: A quick exploration in Google Books