Linked Open Data (LOD)

Linked Open Data is a means of converting library catalogues into an integral part of the World Wide Web. The goal is to increase the visibility of bibliographic data on the Internet in order to facilitate an entirely new generation of services and applications for researchers and library users. This is intended as a first step in the direction of the ‘semantic web’, which, in the future, will enable complex queries and results on the basis of distributed (i.e. decentralized) data.
By releasing its bibliographic data in this format, the ZB MED is fostering cooperation within the library system as well as helping to promote subsequent use of the data by non-library institutions.