Disrupting the Dust: Identifier Properties and the Future of Cultural Heritage Metadata in Wikidata
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Ubiquity Press
Abstract
This discussion paper explores how institutions create and integrate Wikidata identifier
properties as a sustainable strategy for enriching cultural heritage metadata, focusing
on the experiences of Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur (Germany), and Swedish
GLAM projects led by Wikimedia Sweden. It examines the methodological, technical,
and epistemic challenges that arise when reconciling heterogeneous heritage datasets
with Wikidata’s open, community-driven ontology.
Through the lens of reconciliation workflows using OpenRefine, the paper analyses
how data cleaning, contextual matching, clustering, and schema alignment support
the alignment of local documentation systems with global knowledge infrastructures.
Special attention is given to the Wikidata property “Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur
PID” (P12754).
The paper argues that constraint violations, duplication, and ambiguity are not failures
but diagnostic signals that reveal how local curatorial logic interacts with Wikidata’s
global ontology. It further highlights round-tripping practices – exporting data to
Wikidata, community enrichment, and institutional re-ingestion – as key mechanisms
for sustainable, collaborative data stewardship.
By framing metadata curation as an iterative, participatory process, the paper situates
Wikidata as both a tool and a gateway: a shared platform where institutions and
volunteers jointly build a transparent, linked ecosystem for cultural heritage data.
Ultimately, it calls for flexible authority governance and institutional engagement to
transform isolated data silos into interconnected, living knowledge networks.
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution 4.0 International