To fully take advantage of these possibilities and to more fully participate in the linked data environment, modifications must be made to standards applied to bibliographic records. These changes include allowing for the use of alternate external data sources such as Wikidata. ORCID, and ISNI to establish and link to names. These changes would enable libraries to more fully link into the cloud, and reduce resource barriers caused by requirements of the Library of Congress's Name Authority Cooperative Program (NACO). Further efforts should be made to engage in the creation of links between data stores and collections, to create fully actionable linked data.
The process of minting and verifying name authorities in the library community has often been constrained by editorial processes. For example. NACO requires a large resource commitment in both staff time and financial support, and contributions can only be made through a NACO hub, such as OCLC or SkyRiver. A more collaborative and open approach to the creation of structured data could allow libraries to concentrate efforts on unique collections, as well as choose the most appropriate mechanism for the minting of URIs for names. Furthermore, libraries could focus on creating and hooking into a network of names, rather than on a one-to-one relationship with the Library of Congress.
Wikidata works in concert with open platforms (whether on Wikidata, in appropriate relevant Wikibases, or on other dynamic LOD platforms with liberal contribution policies) to develop linked data, and connect to existing sources of that data. It also enables greater openness and opportunities for the creation, sharing, and reuse of bibliographic and authority-like data. Bibliographic data is part of a network of data sources and libraries should continue to advocate for reducing resource barriers to data creation processes and for making data as reusable and open as possible. The authors see particular benefits in areas related to unique and special collections and smaller institutions that might lie outside traditional library workflows.
