Linked open data (LOD) and data enrichment

LOD enrichment and georeferencing of Bern local history

Through additional links to external websites, existing digitized data and bibliographic metadata with a reference to localities in the canton of Bern receive an informational added value. The display on a map (georeferencing) also creates intuitive access to these titles and enables new uses. 

This project is carried out in collaboration with the Center for Historical Collections (ZHB) of the UB Bern. 

         

Bern 19th century local history

In a pilot project, the 35 titles of the Berner Ortsgeschichten aus dem 19. Jahrhundert available from the DigiBern services were enriched with links and made accessible on a map. 

Map: Bern 19th century local history

Attention: Titles referring to the canton of Bern are located in the center of the canton (near Konolfingen), analogously titles about Lake Thun are placed in the center of the lake. 

On local history from the 19th century on DigiBern (in German), the 35 publications that are available digitized from the canton of Bern were only linked to the digitized version on e-rara. Now they are georeferenced and accessible via the map and additionally linked.  Further information on the historical background of the local history can be found on this DigiBern page.

In the pilot project, the link to the digital copy (full text) was supplemented by a link to the entry in the library catalog, which provides access to the original publication. In addition, the entries on the localities and districts were linked to the web services Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz, ortsnamen.ch, Wikipedia, Wikicommons and Wikidata, creating a direct added value through the additionally accessible information and the images of the localities. With the links to Linked Open Data services (e.g. Wikidata), a simplified further utilization and greater visibility should also be achieved. 

Through georeferencing (allocation of spatial information), i.e. the display of publications on an interactive map, connections become more apparent and searching, or browsing, more intuitive.  

For the pilot project, the simple web service Google myMaps was chosen as the map software. 

For the pilot project, the simple web service Google MyMaps was chosen as the mapping software, as the implementation could be carried out by the project team itself. However, there are some limitations. MyMaps does not allow multiple titles to be represented at a single location with one pin. Consequently, the coordinates for each title at frequently occurring locations had to be manually adjusted slightly. The display of title covers is not satisfactory. The representation and functionality of links to external pages are also unsatisfactory with MyMaps. 

Bern local history since 1975

The Berner Ortsgeschichten since 1975 are local history and cultural publications about individual towns in the Canton of Bern, listed and specially coded in the Bibliography of Bernese History. In the main project (2023) the metadata of these over 500 publications have been enriched with Linked Open Data (LOD), using sources such as the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, ortsnamen.ch, Wikipedia, etc. These enriched and georeferenced data will be offered on DigiBern. As of April 2024, the Berner Ortsgeschichten since 1975 describe 276 locations in 571 titles.

Map: Berner Ortsgeschichten since 1975

For the main project, the enrichment must be automated, with updates occurring at fixed intervals. Due to many gaps in the programmatic linking, a new reference table was created for the approximately 600 Bernese locations with existing GND records. This BErnerOrtsTabelle (BEOT) contains GND IDs and Q-IDs, as well as links to HLS-DHS and ortsnamen.ch. The location data can be downloaded via an API or as a CSV file. 

A new mapping software, OpenStreetMap with Leaflet, will be used instead of Google MyMaps, which was found to be too limited during the pilot project. The implementation will be carried out by the University Library IT team. 

As the project for LOD enrichment and georeferencing of Berner Ortsgeschichten is a work-in-progress, we welcome your feedback and suggestions. Please contact us: 

thomas.hayoz@unibe.ch and rene.frei@unibe.ch