Linked Open Data at cervantesvirtual.com

The catalogue of the Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes contains about 200,000 records which were originally created in compliance with the MARC21 standard. The entries in the catalogue have been recently migrated to a new relational database whose data model adheres to the conceptual models promoted by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), in particular, to the FRBR and FRAD specifications.

The database content has been later mapped, by means of an automated procedure, to RDF triples which employ mainly the RDA vocabulary (Resource Description and Access) to describe the entities, as well as their properties and relationships. In contrast to a direct transformation, the intermediate relational model provides tighter control over the process for example through referential integrity, and therefore enhanced validation of the output. This RDF-based semantic description of the catalogue is now accessible online.