FindingGLAMs/GLAM datasets

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Collecting information about Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums around the world and their collections on Wikipedia, available free, for everyone, to use and improve

We bring together data on cultural institutions on Wikidata, providing a free to use worldwide database of cultural heritage institutions and their collections which can be used in education, the digitization of cultural heritage, crisis situations, tourism and more. We will bring together existing datasets and work with partners to survey cultural organisations and other knowledge holders to fill gaps. This resource will increase availability of information and awareness of GLAM institutions globally.

This page records datasets, lists and other information available for Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums around the world. It provides a central place to organise their import into Wikidata. There are already 50,000+ GLAMs recorded in Wikidata but this is a small proportion of the Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums globally..


Help find datasets edit

You can help research which datasets are available. Even if you cannot directly access the dataset, knowing it exists will be very helpful to the project. Once you find a dataset please add it to the table below. You can find datasets by looking at external websites using one of the following tools or by researching on a regional or national level.

Add to our list of databases edit

By adding it to our table, you will bring it to the attention of other volunteers and project organisers who can then work towards uploading it to Wikidata. Here are some tips.

Essential information edit

The most important information to provide about the datasets you find is:

  1. Name: The name of the dataset or list
  2. URL: where the dataset is located (if it is not online please explain how to access it
  3. Type: what type of institution it is (a public library, a museum...)
  4. Country: If the dataset is limited to a particular country, you can put it in an appropriate continent subpage.
  5. Topic: what sort of institutions it covers, to the table.
  6. Source: who provided the data or published the website?
Nice to have information edit
  1. If you know how please create a Wikidata item for the dataset. See Public Libraries Survey 2016: Main Libraries, Branches, and Bookmobiles (Outlets) (Q60644054) or Directorio de Museos y Colecciones de España (Q56246649) for examples.
  2. Is there a Wikidata property associated with the dataset? If one exists, add it to the table. If it doesn't, examine the dataset to see whether it would be possible to create one. Obviously it's not always possible.
  3. Is there a Mix 'n' Match catalog associated with this dataset? Add it to the table.
  4. What Type of data is this? A downloadable dataset or an online register/catalog? This affects how easy the data will be to process. A downloadable dataset (e.g. in csv or json format) is preferable. Having to web scrape will be less convenient, and PDF files are even less accessible. But any type of publication is great as a starting point – we can discuss with the data provider whether the data can be delivered in a more accessible format.
  5. If you can find any License information, add it as well. CC0 is the preferable license for importing data to Wikidata, but we would like to work with the data providers to clarify unclear licenses and make more data available.
  6. Add any other relevant information to the Notes field. E.g. the size of the dataset, or any issues you can notice.

Help import the data edit

Matching the data edit

Once datasets have been identified they need to be compared to the data which is already in Wikidata. To help with this please click on any of the links in the Mix n' Match column, please read these matching tips before beginning. Your help is especially appreciated if you are knowledgeable about the subject area or are a fluent speaker of the language the database is available in. Note: when a Mix n' Match catalogue is complete please add (Complete) after the link in the table.

How to model GLAM institutions on Wikidata? edit

You can read a short introduction to modelling GLAM institutions on Wikidata.



Datasets edit

See separate tables for:

Status Country Name of dataset Link to dataset's website Wikidata item Wikidata property Mix'n'match catalog Topic (e.g Galleries, Libraries, Archives or Museums) Source (e.g government department) Link to data import record (Wikidata:Dataset Imports) Type of information (Datasets, Map data etc) License of data Notes
Worldwide Worldwide Database of University Museums and Collections here Worldwide Database of University Museums and Collections (Q60661836) UMAC ID (P5050) 1171 University museums and collections International Council of Museums (ICOM) Committee for University Museums and Collections Directory ?? Not downloadable; no license information
Worldwide World Heritage sites (includes many cultural institutions here ?? Navino Evans has done work on importing this data, need to check if it is up to date
Worldwide Memory of the World Register here ?? Navino Evans has done work on importing this data, need to check if it is up to date
Worldwide Libraries.org, a directory of libraries throughout the world here P4848 Libraries ??
Worldwide Academic Ranking of World Universities here P5242 Universities (which will most probably include at least libraries and possibly museums)
Worldwide Directory of Open Access Journals here P5115 Universities (which will most probably include at least libraries and possibly museums) Navino Evans has already done a lot of work importing data from DOAJ, check with Nav for more information on what has been imported
Worldwide World Digital Library here Its a dataset of objects, many of which will be in the public domain, also includes identifiers for many institutions. Is coorganised by UNESCO.
Worldwide Directory of Open Access Repositories here Will include a very large number of universities which will very often have libraries)
Worldwide World Higher Education Database here A worldwide register of universities, run in collaboration with UNESCO. Assuming most universities have libraries this could be a really useful database.
Worldwide International Standard Identifier for Libraries and Related Organizations (ISO 15511) here
Worldwide Survey of GLAM open access policy and practice here

context

Worldwide WorldCat Registry here WorldCat Registry ID (P5505) Libraries
Worldwide IFLA database Libraries Unclear if IFLA have a full list of libraries behind their Map of the World
Worldwide International Standard Identifier for Libraries and Related Organizations here ISIL (P791) Libraries ISIL


Useful links edit