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Daily Archives: May 24, 2022

Find WorldCat Entities to improve resource discoverability through connections

OCLC releases more than 150 million WorldCat Entities as the foundation of a linked data infrastructure. Work to develop shared entity management infrastructure will improve discoverability of scholarly materials on the web logo: WorldCat Entities. OCLC has completed a project, funded in part by a grant from the Mellon Foundation, to develop a shared entity management infrastructure that supports linked data initiatives in the library community. As a result of this effort, OCLC has released millions of authoritative WorldCat Entities through a publicly searchable website and will continue to partner with libraries to develop the tools needed to fully incorporate linked data into library workflows and improve resource discovery through connections. Working closely with an advisory group of leading libraries from around the world, OCLC has created and released more than 150 million WorldCat Entities containing descriptions of creative works and persons. These entities are freely available through a look-up website for anyone to explore at entities.oclc.org. Library metadata specialists can begin to look up entity URIs and see how they can make new connections that empower discovery and research—a significant step toward making linked data work for libraries. As part of the grant, OCLC also created a linked data management tool—OCLC Meridian—and APIs to be released following a development partner phase. OCLC is now collaborating with key libraries as development partners to explore how these tools can best be integrated into library workflows. This development partnership will help OCLC refine and enhance these new entity services so libraries can better manage, edit, and create entities.”

What the public wants in COVID news vs. what the press provides

Ars Technica: “Misinformation posing as news has been a problem that only got worse with the ease of publishing on the Internet. But the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have raised it to new levels, driving lots of attention to rumors, errors, and outright falsehoods. Given the magnitude of the threat, there would seem to be… Continue Reading

Abortion Surveillance After Roe

Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Report, May 24, 2022: “Abortion rights will soon be a thing of the past for millions of Americans. At the time of publication, a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion shows a majority of justices are poised to strike down Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and any federal constitutional right… Continue Reading

How DHS Massive Biometrics Database Will Supercharge Surveillance and Threaten Rights

Immigration Defense Project – HART Attack: “The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is building a $6.158 billion-dollar, next-wave biometric database that will vastly expand its surveillance capabilities and supercharge the deportation system. The Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology System (HART) will collect, organize, and share invasive data on over 270 million people (including juveniles), with… Continue Reading

United States of America traffic

“Covering 404 cities across 58 countries on 6 continents, our Traffic Index ranks urban congestion worldwide and provides free access to city-by-city information. This year, we include emissions data for 4 European cities. You, along with drivers, city planners, carmakers and policy makers, can use the index to help tackle traffic-related challenges. Now in its… Continue Reading