Thesauri are valuable knowledge organization systems (KOSs) that support advanced information retrieval. The Semantic Web has brought a renewed interest in thesauri as a support for semantic searches and other added-value services. Tools that manage thesauri permit them to be created, edited and queried. The integrity restrictions on thesauri should also be controlled by these tools. However, there is also the possibility of thesaurus exchange, which becomes relevant in the Semantic Web context, where information exchange is a crucial facility. In fact, interoperability at the information level has received an important boost with the stabilization of the SKOS standard as a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Recommendation. Furthermore, the feasibility of integrating software is a valuable feature for software developers. An evaluation framework for thesaurus tools is proposed, which includes the issues of functionalities, construct support, integrity, information interoperability and feasibility of integrating software. It is original in focusing on Semantic Web conformity and interoperability.

PurposeThis study seeks to understand the current state of the development of linked open data (LOD) bibliographic portals to discuss their functionalities, contributions, value-adds and user experience.Design/methodology/approachA set of evaluative aspects grouped into three analysis dimensions was established: collections, tools—technologies and standards used—and web user interface. As the object of the study, four projects of diverse nature and volume were selected to help provide a better understanding of the trends in the solutions provided for the end user when accessing linked data collections.FindingsPublishing LOD through visual interfaces maximises information enrichment, contextualisation and discovery, in addition to improving user experience, because of both increased navigation capabilities and interrelationships between data. These more flexible environments have metamorphosised the visualisation of bibliographic information. However, aspects that needed improvement were observed, primarily relating to (1) a more intuitive interaction, (2) possibilities of greater personalisation, (3) enhanced communication with the user to favour user engagement and (4) experimental spaces of data reuse.Research limitations/implicationsFurther quantitative and qualitative studies should be conducted to improve these portals, assess their adaptation to the behaviour of the user and their influence on the use of library collections.Originality/valueThis article investigates the potential of semantic technologies in bibliographic data portals, proposes a methodological model for their evaluation and advances conclusions about the usability and user experience that these platforms provide, compared to classic catalogues.

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, pp. 17-55 tareas investigadoras. La media de artículos anuales consultados es considerable y manifiesta diferencias claras entre las áreas de humanidades, ciencias sociales y ciencias de la naturaleza y la salud. El número de títulos de revistas consultados de modo regular por los investigadores de la Universidad de León se sitúa en una media cercana a 10, resultado que supera el umbral hallado en otros trabajos.

Thesauri are conceptual tools useful to achieve semantic interoperability and reusability, which are relevant goals in the Semantic Web. Thesaurus standards establish, among other issues, the constructs that can appear in a thesaurus. The ISO 25964 standard for thesauri, which supersedes ISO 2788, is the evolution of the ISO thesauri standard to a conceptual approach closer to the Semantic Web. However, it appeared when SKOSthe W3C Recommendation-was already consolidated as the standard for KOS (Knowledge Organization System) representation in the Semantic Web, including thesauri. The evolution from ISO 2788 to ISO 25964, and the relationships between constructs in ISO 2788/ISO 25964 and SKOS, are studied in this paper. From the analysis of this comparison, a methodological framework, that focuses on the construct support, is proposed to evaluate the conformance quality of thesaurus management tools. Target readers are professionals in charge of thesauri edition. A Semantic Web perspective is taken to characterize the effect that using SKOS to represent thesauri can have on the results of the assessment. A proof of concept for the model's feasibility was performed on two tools and the analysis of the results of this experimental validation is presented. The conclusions highlight the model's suitability for assessing conformance to the standards concerning support for thesaurus constructs.