And a further thought: I thought part of the point of linked data is that we don't really know what people might want to do with our data. Who knows--maybe there is some enterprising CS student on your campus who will make an awesome app using your real-time availability data. Maybe once you've figured out how it works you can apply it to other things (ahem, circulation availability, anyone?).
Laura [image: Laura Krier on about.me] Laura Krier about.me/laurakrier <http://about.me/laurakrier> On Fri, Aug 8, 2014 at 7:07 AM, Mark A. Matienzo <mark.matie...@gmail.com> wrote: > Per Laura's message, and what I think was the underlying idea behind Mike's > post, I think there's still a great opportunity to learn something new. > Perhaps you might want to look at WebSocket [0], and Jason Ronallo's > presentation from Code4lib 2014 [1] was a great intro. It seems like this > might be a good candidate for showing real-time availability information. > > [0] https://www.websocket.org/ > [1] http://jronallo.github.io/presentations/code4lib-2014-websockets/ > > Cheers, > Mark > > > -- > Mark A. Matienzo <m...@matienzo.org> > Director of Technology, Digital Public Library of America > > > On Fri, Aug 8, 2014 at 9:23 AM, Shaun Ellis <sha...@princeton.edu> wrote: > > > I don't understand the "publish it and they will come" mentality when it > > comes to linked data. If you can't define a clear use case for your own > > data infrastructure, then I can't see how you would justify the time > spent. > > > > The "making data available to the world at large" is a nice byproduct, > but > > you can't write a "use case" for "unknown users" with unknown goals. So, > > if you have no plans to use the data in some productive way, then I'm > sure > > you have more pressing things to do with your time. > > > > -Shaun > > > > > > On 8/7/14 9:48 AM, Scott Prater wrote: > > > >> Echoing others... the use case for linked data appears to be making data > >> available to the world at large, unknown consumers, who may find a use > >> for it that you never imagined. > >> > >> Name authority services (like VIAF), catalogs of public resources, map > >> data -- all these are good candidates for a linked data approach. > >> > >> Hardware availability at your library? Not so much. It's hard to > >> imagine a case where that information would be useful outside your > walls. > >> > >> -- Scott > >> > >> On 08/07/2014 08:09 AM, Ethan Gruber wrote: > >> > >>> I agree with others saying linked data is overkill here. If you don't > >>> have > >>> an audience in mind or a specific purpose for implementing linked data, > >>> it's not worth it. > >>> > >>> > >>> On Thu, Aug 7, 2014 at 9:07 AM, Jason Stirnaman <jstirna...@kumc.edu> > >>> wrote: > >>> > >>> Mike, > >>>> Check out > >>>> http://json-ld.org/, > >>>> http://json-ld.org/primer/latest/, and > >>>> https://github.com/digitalbazaar/pyld > >>>> > >>>> But, if you haven't yet sketched out a model for *your* data, then > >>>> the LD > >>>> stuff will just be a distraction. The information on Linked Data seems > >>>> overly complex because trying to represent data for the Semantic Web > >>>> gets > >>>> complex - and verbose. > >>>> > >>>> As others have suggested, it's never a bad idea to just "do the > simplest > >>>> thing that could possibly work."[1] Mark recommended writing a simple > >>>> API. > >>>> That would be a good start to understanding your data model and to > >>>> eventually serving LD. And, you may find that it's enough for now. > >>>> > >>>> 1. http://www.xprogramming.com/Practices/PracSimplest.html > >>>> > >>>> Jason > >>>> > >>>> Jason Stirnaman > >>>> Lead, Library Technology Services > >>>> University of Kansas Medical Center > >>>> jstirna...@kumc.edu > >>>> 913-588-7319 > >>>> > >>>> On Aug 6, 2014, at 1:45 PM, Michael Beccaria < > mbecca...@paulsmiths.edu> > >>>> wrote: > >>>> > >>>> I have recently had the opportunity to create a new library web page > >>>>> and > >>>>> > >>>> host it on my own servers. One of the elements of the new page that I > >>>> want > >>>> to improve upon is providing live or near live information on > technology > >>>> availability (10 of 12 laptops available, etc.). That data resides on > my > >>>> ILS server and I thought it might be a good time to upgrade the > >>>> bubble gum > >>>> and duct tape solution I now have to creating a real linked data > service > >>>> that would provide that availability information to the web server. > >>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> The problem is there is a lot of overly complex and complicated > >>>>> > >>>> information out there onlinked data and RDF and the semantic web etc. > >>>> and > >>>> I'm looking for a simple guide to creating a very simple linked data > >>>> service with php or python or whatever. Does such a resource exist? > Any > >>>> advice on where to start? > >>>> > >>>>> Thanks, > >>>>> > >>>>> Mike Beccaria > >>>>> Systems Librarian > >>>>> Head of Digital Initiative > >>>>> Paul Smith's College > >>>>> 518.327.6376 > >>>>> mbecca...@paulsmiths.edu > >>>>> Become a friend of Paul Smith's Library on Facebook today! > >>>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >> > >> > > -- > > Shaun Ellis > > User Interface Developer, Digital Initiatives > > Princeton University Library > > 609.258.1698 > > > > “Any darn fool can get complicated. It takes genius to attain > simplicity.” > > -Pete Seeger > > >