The University of Alberta is actively trying to ramp up for Linked Data through local experimentation, research and partnerships with other institutions. Though BIBFRAME is still in development, several transformation tools have already been created, and with many libraries thinking about planning for moving to Linked Data it would seem timely to compare approaches to moving legacy MARC data to BIBFRAME. Setting aside the question of whether BIBFRAME should be the approach for libraries to move to Linked Data, this investigation aimed at comparing two tools for converting MARC to bf:2.0: A) LC MARC to BIBFRAME XSLT: An XSLT 1.0 application aimed at converting MARC to RDF/XML released in March 2017; and B) Casalini SHARE Virtual Discovery Environment: A project by Casalini Libri and @Cult to develop a Linked Data discovery environment, including a conversion tool for MARC to bf:2.0 RDF. Through the comparison and analysis of these transformation tools several topics will be explored: Comparison of underlying development models and performance of the tools; Comparison of data element conversion and impact for discovery; Impact of content standard on conversion efficacy (AACR vs. RDA); Implications for conversions for various formats (monographs, serials, et cetera); URI enrichment pre/post conversion; In house and vendor workflow implications. |