Enriching, Empowering, and Future-proofing: The benefits of Linked (Open) Data for archives


Hawkins, Ashleigh (2022) Enriching, Empowering, and Future-proofing: The benefits of Linked (Open) Data for archives. PhD thesis, University of Liverpool.

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Abstract

Since the early 2000s, there has been an explosion in the amount of archives and archival data available digitally. From online collections of digitised archives to exponentially increasing volumes of born-digital records, and digital data describing archives in catalogues, archival metadata aggregators, and other finding aids, the amount of digital data relating to archives increases daily. While archival processes have been revolutionised in response to technological developments, methods for the provision of access to such digital archives and archival data has failed to keep pace with these changes. Recent scholarship has shown the potential of Linked (Open) Data (L(O)D) to overcome some of the challenges associated with the increasing digitisation and datafication of archives. Existing research into the publication of archival L(O)D has predominately focused on individual projects detailing technological aspects of the process of producing and publishing L(O)D; the benefits that L(O)D can bring to the archives sector remain little understood. This thesis fills that gap in archival studies scholarship by exploring how archive services and their users can benefit from increased engagement with archival L(O)D. Taking a Constructivist Grounded Theory approach, this thesis articulates a comprehensive, coherent, and evidence-based understanding of the benefits of L(O)D. It provides a chronological account of archival L(O)D activity and identifies three core areas of benefit: enriching archival data, empowering users, and future-proofing the archives sector. Through analysis of L(O)D against the backdrop of current approaches to archival digitisation and datafication, and the growing FAIR movement, it problematises these benefits by interrogating the extent to which current archival practices are inhibiting wide-spread adoption of L(O)D. This analysis suggests the necessity for increased collaboration with Digital Humanities scholars and the Wikimedia Movement, essential to scaling up the production of archival L(O)D and ensuring that published L(O)D datasets meet the needs of users. Finally, this thesis concludes by exploring the role of Artificial Intelligence and predicts an emergence in the use of archival L(O)D as part of the growing trend in using archives in the promotion of social justice. Multiple areas of future research are identified, demonstrating the breadth of investigation necessary to enable the widespread implementation of L(O)D in the archives sector.

Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
Divisions: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Histories, Languages and Cultures
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 25 Aug 2023 12:27
Last Modified: 25 Aug 2023 12:28
DOI: 10.17638/03157569
Supervisors:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3157569
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