Internet search engines have difficulty understanding academic organizations due to a lack of structured data records on the Semantic Web. This poor understanding impedes the ability of search engines to refer users to the organizations and limits the information search engines can hand to semantic technologies, such as mapping and voice-activated applications. Semantic Web Identity (SWI) is the condition in which search engines understand the existence and nature of entities. The display of a Knowledge Graph Card in Google search results is an indicator of SWI, as it demonstrates that the search engine has gathered verifiable facts about the entity. SWI may positively impact the award of research funding, student enrollment, faculty recruitment, and even university rankings. This presentation summarizes research conducted for a recent doctoral dissertation, showing that SWI is poor for Association of Research Libraries (ARL) libraries and that this condition extends to many other academic organizations. The situation presents a bold new opportunity for academic libraries, and this presentation will also provide a case study of Montana State University Library’s success in offering SWI services to campus organizations.
Dissertation:
http://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/handle/1/12517Data set:
http://doi.org/10.15788/M2F590Semantic Web Identity Services at Montana State University:
https://www.lib.montana.edu/services/semantic-web/
