Where does linked data fit in archival description? How do we get from promise to implementation? This article evaluates the benefits and limitations of current approaches to linked data in archival work. It proposes four pragmatic principles for the archival community to follow when determining how to pursue linked data. This approach engages with communities (both inside and outside cultural heritage institutions) already publishing linked data, accounts for institutional resource limitations, and recognizes the need for technological, educational, and social support for institutions and workers. Through an examination of the work of the Archives and Linked Data Interest Group with Schema.org and Wikidata, the article provides case studies which explore how these pragmatic principles for archival linked data create inclusive, rather than exclusive, communities.

Over 30 years after such systems were first developed, the Integrated Library System underlies most operations of an academic library. Yet in the literature, its day-to-day maintenance is often reduced to a list of tasks. Through interviews with 16 system maintainers, this study attempts to develop an experiential understanding of its maintenance. Findings suggest that most maintainers find such work meaningful but face barriers when colleagues and administrators don’t understand what they do well enough to support it. The article proposes steps toward building a workplace where core maintenance tasks are recognized and supported.

This paper proposes the use of Wikidata in archival description workflows to create linked data that can improve discovery of our collections and expand contextual information around the entities they represent. Wikidata offers an opportunity for opening up archival description to a public forum. We suggest that, rather than approach it as a means to drive traffic to our individual finding aids, archivists use it as a platform to transform information about entities already represented in our archival description into open data. In turn, other communities can engage with these contributions to enhance, redescribe, or replace oppressive or harmful language—with all of the potential for collaboration, as well as conflict, that this can entail. Community description is a fundamental departure from traditional descriptive practice. It may significantly shift descriptive work for archivists, and it requires engaging with the Wikidata community to understand the methods and purpose of the infrastructure. With so much to consider when assessing whether an archives should use Wikidata, the paper is supplemented by an actionable list of 50 items that archivists can consider to get started.