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Applications of RISM data in digital libraries and digital musicology

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Abstract

Information about manuscripts and printed music indexed in RISM (Répertoire International des Sources Musicales), a large, international project that records and describes musical sources, was for decades available solely through book publications, CD-ROMs, or subscription services. Recent initiatives to make the data available on a wider scale have resulted in, most significantly, a freely accessible online database and the availability of its data as open data and linked open data. Previously, the task of increasing the amount of data was primarily carried out by RISM national groups and the Zentralredaktion (Central Office). The current opportunities available by linking to other freely accessible databases and importing data from other resources open new perspectives and prospects. This paper describes the RISM data and their applications for digital libraries and digital musicological projects. We discuss the possibilities and challenges in making available a large and growing quantity of data and how the data have been utilized in external library and musicological projects. Interactive functions in the RISM OPAC are planned for the future, as is closer collaboration with the projects that use RISM data. Ultimately, RISM would like to arrange a “take and give” system in which the RISM data are used in external projects, enhanced by the project participants, and then delivered back to the RISM Zentralredaktion.

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Notes

  1. Full contact information for institutions represented by RISM library sigla can be obtained from the RISM Database of Library Sigla, http://www.rism.info/en/sigla.html.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank John Howard and the journal’s anonymous reviews for their helpful comments while preparing this article, and Jürgen Diet and his colleagues at the Bavarian State Library for technical information regarding the linked open data.

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Correspondence to Jennifer A. Ward.

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The authors completed this paper while employed at the RISM Zentralredaktion. RISM is financed by the Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur Mainz and is sponsored by the International Musicological Society and the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres. The RISM OPAC is a joint project of RISM, the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, and the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.

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Keil, K., Ward, J.A. Applications of RISM data in digital libraries and digital musicology. Int J Digit Libr 20, 3–12 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00799-016-0205-3

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