Quality of Linked Bibliographic Data: The Models, Vocabularies, and Links of Data Sets Published by Four National Libraries

ABSTRACT Little effort has been devoted to the systematic examination of published Linked Data in the library community. This article examines the quality of linked bibliographic data published by the national libraries of Spain, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The examination is mainly based on a statistical study of the vocabulary usage and interlinking practices in the published data sets. The study finds that the national libraries successfully adapt established Linked Data principles, but issues at the data level can limit the fitness of use. In addition, the study reveals that these four libraries have chosen widely different solutions to all the aspects examined.