Project - SemLib -- Semantic Tools for Digital Libraries
Connecting digital libraries through semantic technologies to unlock smarter discovery.
- Financed by
- FP7 - 7th Framework Programme
- Duration
- Keywords
- Media Tourism AI Indexing & Discovery
Overview
SemLib addressed a growing challenge faced by digital libraries and multimedia repositories: how to make vast, heterogeneous collections easier to search, connect, and reuse across systems. The project introduced Semantic Web technologies to overcome the limitations of traditional keyword-based search, poor interoperability, and isolated collections, enabling digital libraries to evolve into interconnected, intelligent knowledge environments.
Within this context, IN2 played a central technical role, leading the development of Web of Data connectors that allowed existing digital library and multimedia systems to expose their content as Linked Data. By mapping relational databases to RDF using Semantic Web standards, IN2 enabled previously closed repositories to interoperate with other libraries and with the wider Linked Data cloud, significantly improving discoverability and reuse.
IN2 also contributed to system specification, requirements definition, and integration design, ensuring that semantic annotation and recommendation components could be embedded seamlessly into real-world multimedia and digital library platforms. Drawing on its expertise in multimedia indexing, search interfaces, and scalable content access, IN2 ensured that semantic enrichment translated into tangible improvements in user experience rather than remaining a purely academic exercise.
The semantic annotation and recommendation components have been integrated and made available in FollowThePlace. The semantic recommender was built as a generic system to support content-based recommendations and collaborative filtering.
Alongside IN2, the following organisations formed the consortium:
- Net7 Srl, Italy (Coordinator)
- Liberologico Srl, Italy
- University of Galway, Ireland
- Università Politecnica delle Marche, Italy
- Knowlege Hives Sp Zoo, Poland
SemLib Recommender
SemLib and FollowThePlace Presentation (download)
Our role
- Work Package Management
- Semantic Web & Linked Data
- Advanced Search & Discovery
- Digital Libraries & Archives
- Multimedia Content Indexing
- Dissemination, Communication and Exploitation
- Pilots and Applications with the project's end users
